The Watchmen is an absolutely tremendous comic book adaptation. Set in an alternate 1985, where Richard Nixon is President, the threat of a nuclear holocaust is a very real danger and superheroes exist, the film begins with an unknown assailant tossing an ex superhero out of his window onto the ground below, killing him. Things initially make no sense but slowly and beautifully does the plot unravel. Eventually, the killer is found and the mystery solved, but there is so much more to the story than that. Sure, the suspense of finding out who the killer is, is intriguing, but really that simply serves as an initial attention getter in order to keep you interested for what this story is really trying to tell you. For those that have never read the graphic novel upon which it’s based, this is not a typical tale of good vs. evil where the heroes come together to stop an all powerful villain. In fact, this story is largely a critique of the entire “superhero” concept. This story is both a murder mystery and a morality play that challenges to see the world in shades of grey rather than simple black and white. The “heroes” in this movie all have problems just as any other normal human beings would. Much like actors in a play, once these heroes go home and remove their costumes, they often face many of life’s problems just like anyone else. While those not already familiar with the characters watching the movie and trying to remember all of the characters might seem like a daunting task initially, the movie very skillfully utilizes its lengthy 3 hours of play time to slowly flesh out each of the important characters back stories. That ultimately, is the greatest strength of this film. It does an excellent job of deviating from the main plot just long enough to give you just enough information that you care about the characters on screen without losing focus of the present. It’s a very fine line that this movie walks to perfection. Of course the film has some great stylized action sequences inserted throughout as well. Given the director, Zack Snyder, who also did 300, you would come to expect this level of hard hitting brutality. There’s no fanciness to any of it really. It’s very realistic and serves the underlying purpose of showing that these heroes must do some very violent things in the name of justice. Some even resort to killing, in order to give the bad guys what they deserve. The story makes no commentary against such actions, its just there, for you to make your own interpretation. This is a movie of questions, not answers.
In the end this movie provides one of the most satisfying comic book movie experiences I’ve ever had. It provides a very satisfying ending that makes you question what exactly is good and what exactly is bad in the world. In essence, it uses the idea of comic books and superheroes to tell a story critiquing the basic nature of all human beings, even seemingly infallible superheroes are in the end, just like you and I. Dr. Manhattan said it best when he stated that he still can’t change his reaction to the future, just because he knows about it. Despite having almost God like powers, simple things still affect him emotionally. Watchmen was always my favorite of Alan Moore’s graphic novels, and it’s great to see it get the treatment it deserves on the big screen. I just wish League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was this good.
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