Okay, guys. Last night I finally got a chance to go see Watchmen and after years of self doubt as well as anticipation, I thought the movie was AWESOME! I truly believe that Zack Snyder was definitely the man for the job. I have been a fan of Zack's since he changed the game with his Dawn of the Dead remake and the visually poetic "300." I could not see any other director taking this film on and staying faithful to the graphic novel.
Speaking of the graphic novel, the film starts off exactly how the graphic novel does, with the death of the Comedian at the hands of an assassin. great choice of music with him fighting to the death as nat King Cole's "Unforgettable" played in the background. The film then goes into the credits and a montage of photos letting the audience know what happened to the Minutemen (the very first superheroes) as Bob Dylan's "These Times are a changin'" plays in the background.
Once the amazing opening and credits dissolve, we go right into this alternate 1985 New York where Richard Nixon is elected for a third term, and the Keene act has been passed, where superheroes can no longer practic. Rorschach (the masked vigilante played by the excellent Jackie Earle Haley) begins to investigate the murder of one of their own. Soon he's pulling all his retired superhero friends together to help solve the murder.
I loved that Zack stayed faithful to the graphic novel, but I felt as a movie-goer that the film started to alienate those who weren't familiar with the graphic novel. As someone who read the book twice, I knew practically every scene coming up, which left me no room to fully enjoy the movie. i would have liked for Zack to have added a little of his style to the film, and I don't mean the visual effects. Speaking of visuals, can we take a moment for Dr. Manhattan's body. Dr. Manhattan, played with a Hal-esque monotone by Billy Crudup had the most amazing body I've seen on a superhero in a long time. His body was so amazing, one male movie-goer I heard say "he's walking around with his pee pee out." Mind you this is the same idiot who brought his two kids who both looked under the age of ten to an R-rated film that had explicit violence, sex, and full frontal nudity. If you don't want to have that awkward conversation about where babies come from to your yunglings before they're even ready, don't bring them to see this film.
Patrick Wilson as the Night Owl II and Malin Ackerman as Silk Spectre II were convincing with their Clark Kent/Lois Lane action roles (great ass on Patrick, BTW). Night Owl's suit could definitely give Batman a run for his money. I would have loved to have seen more scenes with NO and SS in the film, but they kept me stimulated with their amazing fight sequences in the alleyway and when they went to rescue Rorschach from prison. Speaking once again about Rorschach, I cannot give enough praise for Jackie Earle Haley's role as the masked Rorschach. I felt he truly shined during his unmasked scenes in federal prison. That is when I felt he truly grasped the character. If the rebooters of A Nightmare on Elm Street are not going to allow Robert Englund to reprise his role as the iconic Fredy krueger, I definitely feel Jackie is up for the task.
All in all, this was a good movie, not a great one, and a little long at almost three hours. I heard there will be an unrated director's cut with more footage added in on the DVD (which I will be buying). Curse of the Black Frieghtor (which was left out of the film) will be included on the DVD. Unless you've read the graphic novel and you are a hard core Watchmen fan, I think you will truly enjoy this film. Otherwise, it may be a little hard for the non-fans who are used to the simplicity of Batman, Spider Man, and Iron man to wrap their head around.
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