Does Snyder's 'Watchmen' Do the Trick?
Superhero Spectacle Will Be Watched By Many, Liked By Fewer
Mar 10, 2009
If one subscribes to the stylized violence that graces most of today’s superhero flicks, they won't be disappointed with Watchmen. The film has plenty of that and more, not limited to cascades of bloody imagery, garish, retro/futuristic costumes and (of course) a blue superman complete with genitalia. Watchmen is a visual feast.
Unlike the revered graphic novel on which the film is based, however, very little is left to the imagination here; whatever subtleties one could find in the book are not present in this big-screen venture. Watchmen is a Las Vegas buffet: bright, bulky and plentiful, but utterly mediocre fare.
Alternate Universe
The film is based in an alternative 1985 where Nixon is serving his third term as U.S. president, Vietnam was “won” by the United States and the Cold War has escalated to the point of nuclear war. A giant ‘Doomsday Clock’ has been set up to mark the countdown to humanity’s obliteration.
Amidst a grimy cityscape lurk the Watchmen, self-appointed masked heroes who patrol the streets to snuff out crimes.
At least, in the glory days. In the 40s and 50s, the likes of Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, the Comedian and others kept America safe, and were acclaimed for their services.
A less happy time
Now, they are social outcasts. Either decrepit, dead or no longer active, only two remain: Rorschach, an ultra-conservative assassin sporting a white and black patterned mask, and Dr. Manhattan, a former physicist turned superhuman, thanks to a freak lab accident. He can do pretty much everything, including teleportation, molecular rearrangement and the ability to see into the past, present and future simultaneously. He is the United States’ deterrent to nuclear-armed Russia.
The ranks begin to dwindle when the retired Comedian is thrown from a window in his skyscraper penthouse. Rorschach investigates and uncovers a potential plot to kill off the former and current Watchmen.
He hurries to warn his circle, including the second Nite Owl, an insecure geek named Daniel Dreiberg (Patrick Wilson), the second Silk Spectre (a stunning Malin Akerman), the brainy Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) and of course the indestructible Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup). The four (with the exception of the lofty, disinterested Ozymandias) must unite to defeat the hidden threat and save the world from nuclear war.
Focus of details overwhelms the larger themes of the story
The scope of the plot is enormous, and while Watchmen is largely faithful to the book, director Zack Snyder chooses to focus on the trees instead of the forest.
What is the forest? In the novel, it is a broad sketch of humanity. Isolated men and women, amidst a decaying society, don costumes and decide for themselves right from wrong, good from evil. The best and worst emerge from human nature as the line is blurred between heroism and vigilantism. The reoccurring question is: What does a superhero culture do to society. To responsibility. To power.
Watchmen the film contents itself with the trees: gore, stunts and sex that were incidental to the book. There are engaging moments between Dreiberg the owl and the Silk Spectre, and there are enough gotcha moments to please the fans. The opening credits are brilliantly arranged. That’s basically it.
Perhaps a film adaptation is too tall an order for the twists and turns of the story. Snyder, to his credit, makes a valiant effort. It is an effort, unfortunately, that misses the point.
