The accomplishment of director Zack Snyder and his team of filmmakers cannot be understated. Considered unfilmable after numerous attempts, Snyder does what many believed couldn’t be done: Tame the dense, expansive source material from creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and transfer it onto film almost panel by panel, while creating a superb film that lives and breathes in its own right.
Watchmen: The Story
Set in a parallel Earth circa 1985, the United States and the Soviet Union are on an unstoppable course to nuclear war, and super-heroes and masked vigilantes have long been outlawed.
Against this backdrop, the vigilante Rorshach (Jackie Earle Haley) begins his own investigation into the death of a fellow hero, the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). In doing so, a conspiracy of major ramifications for the world is revealed, leading to a climatic showdown in the Antarctic.
Watchmen: What Works
The look and style of Watchmen is lovingly recreated on-screen thanks in no small part to the involvement of Dave Gibbons, artist and co-creator. The attention to detail is amazing, and fans of the comic will no doubt enjoy numerous viewings to catch every aspect.
The script, credited to David Hayter and Alex Tse, encapsulates most of the original material and creates a tight narrative that keeps the viewer engaged. Working with cinematographer Larry Fong, Snyder creates a visual style that both has an ethereal comic-book feel but alternately seems real enough to touch, an impressive combination.
In terms of leading performances, both Jackie Earle Haley and Jeffrey Dean Morgan are standouts in bringing their respective harder-edge characters to life. Also notable is Billy Crudup who plays Dr. Manhattan, the one character with real powers that have made him a god-like figure losing touch with humankind.
Patrick Wilson (Nite Owl) and Malin Akerman (Silk Spectre II) do serviceable jobs but don’t leap out as much as their castmates while Carla Gugino seems to channel Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard in playing Akerman’s on-screen mother, the former Silk Spectre I.
The change to the ending of Watchmen will be a source of debate for many, but the ending chosen for the film has a consistency with both the story and character development while still generating the necessary emotional impact.
Watchmen: Minor Quibbles
Much of the supporting cast from the graphic novel is made up of real-life characters from history and are portrayed in the film to varying degrees of success. Figures like Henry Kissinger and Lee Iacocca are mostly passable, while former President Richard Nixon is made to appear more like a caricature as opposed to a real person.
Watchmen: The Verdict
Watchmen is not only a good film, but a major step forward for the super hero movie genre as a whole. In much the same way the original graphic novel signaled an evolution in the comic book world towards more adult and complex themes, Watchmen signals a parallel shift for super hero movie adaptations as well.
