07/07/09 - Watchmen

Watchmen (2009, 186 min)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409459/

First off, I'll say that I haven't read the graphic novel Watchmen. So I went into this movie not really knowing what to expect. I had heard many good things and many bad things and with not really knowing what the goal of the graphic novel was I was completely blind to what the movie was going to do. As it turned out, I was greatly surprised by Watchmen.

The movie is an alternate history of the world in 1985. The Cold War is still going strong and the threat of nuclear war is extremely close. However, throughout history, groups of "superheroes" have formed to provide the justice needed in the world - a world that is decaying more and more. These superheroes aren't normal superheroes though as they appear to be average people (though considerably bulkier and quicker to react and that) but except for Dr. Manhattan have no magical abilities. By 1985, masked vigilantes have become outlaws and few remain. With the murder of one, Edward Blake as The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), another crime stopper begins a probe for answers. Walter Kovacs as Rorshach (Jackie Earle Haley) attempts to warn former friends of this possible villain by going to: Dan Dreiberg as Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson), Jon Osterman as Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), Laurie Juspeczyk as Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman) and Adrian Veidt as Ozymandias (Matthew Goode). Though a complicated but easy to follow plot it is determined Veidt is behind everything with the goal to unite the world against a common enemy and thus prevent nuclear holocaust. Unable to stop him and with Dr. Manhattan framed for everything, the group decides they must keep the truth a secret. Rorshach is unable to accept this and demands Dr. Manhattan kill him so that he can avoid this lie of a life. Dr. Manhattan eventually leaves to go to another world while the rest of the group must make their own futures in the newly peaceful world.

As one can see from above, I barely scraped the surface of the plot, yet the paragraph is remarkably long. Watchmen has a greatly interwoven plot yet somehow is still easy to follow. Other movies (see The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy) have a convoluted plot that quickly grows out of hand and is almost impossible to follow. Watchmen has a more complicated plot but everything ties so well together and flows that it's still a joy to watch. No time is spent trying to figure out what just happened. As an added bonus to this, I never really knew where the movie was going to go. It seemed to weave back and forth through different themes and plot points, somewhat meandering without purpose, only to every once and a while piece a bunch of points together. Overall, it was very enjoyable.

Another great part of the movie is the soundtrack. The opening montage to Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" to open the movie with the opening credits is superb. I can easily place it up there with the montage from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as one of the greatest I've seen. Other great music choices are: All Along the Watchtower, Hallelujah, Ride of the Valkyries, and The Sound of Silence. These are all perfect fits for their scenes. Though I am singling these out, the entire score is extremely well done.

What I think I'll remember most about this film is the ending. The ending is not the typical happy ending that one might expect from a "comic book movie" (though I get the feeling that Watchmen is not a typical "comic book"). Anyway, with Dr. Manhattan framed, Ozymandias free, and Rorshach dead for his inability to compromise, we have an extremely negative ending. Sure we have peace in the world and everyone is happy (perhaps too happy), but it's not what we were fighting for these past three hours. Is it better than what we wanted? Somewhat, I guess. It is world peace after all, but it's still a downer. And it works perfectly for this film. It's much better than any stupid happy ending would have provided.

I guess now I'll focus on the negatives I had with the story. Notably, some characters acted strangely and stupidly. I would call into question Silk Spectre II's motives and ability to easily switch from Dr. Manhattan to Dan Dreiberg so easily. Also, Ozymandias's powers seemed somewhat implausible (the ability to catch a bullet from point blank range for instance). Finally, the beginning hour was somewhat slow and dragging. Perhaps this was necessary to get the plot and story rolling, but many scenes were slow during this opening time.

Overall, I gave this film an 8/10. It's great and everything, but to me it lacked some feel and certain qualities to make it a top tier movie. No doubt, this movie is one of the greats to come along in a while (and to me, more enjoyable than either 300, Sin City, or V for Vendetta which all have similar feels). Having made me want to read the graphic novel, the movie greatly succeeded in that regard.

[Note: Due to a voting update, I have changed the rating of Watchmen to a 7/10.]