By Richard Luong
I’m a huge fan of Watchmen so I figured I’d buy the HBO series that aired late 2019 for $35. Although the show had some delightful moments, overall it felt lackluster so I thought what’s more better than to review the first adaptation of the 1986 comic series, Watchmen (2009). Watchmen, directed by Zack Snyder, is one of the many long attempts to adapt Alan Moore’s comic series, but the first one to succeed in production. It generally stays truthful to the source material with hints of artistic liberty from the director.
Set up in an alternative 1986 America, in the brinks of the Cold War, where superheroes existed but are now outlawed, where the United States won the Vietnam War, where Richard Nixon has five terms, former second generation Watchmen member, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) attempts to uncover a mystery which takes him into visiting the rest of the former Watchmen, Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), Laurie Jupiter AKA Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman), Daniel Dreiberg AKA Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson), and Adrian Veidt AKA Ozymandias (Matthew Goode). His investigation leads him to uncover a plan that’s bigger than them all. The Comedian is scattered throughout the film respectively and Jeffery Dean Morgan plays him perfectly and in my opinion, is the best part of the film.
The message in Watchmen is about morality. It makes you wonder what truly is right and wrong and the in-between. It’s about understanding that things aren’t just black and white and that there’s always a grey area. The audience gets to go along the film choosing which character they side with as they each have their own views and opinions on their situations at hand. This is a very important lesson especially with the current political climate with each party becoming more far apart with their ideologies.
The movie is rated R so it’s mainly for older teens and adults but honestly, it takes a certain type of person to love this film. I reckon the majority of high school viewers will find this boring. This isn’t your traditional Marvel Cinematic Universe film that follows a predictable structure filled with action and terrible jokes that interrupt the tone. This is a philosophical film that has purpose within the movie for each scene you watch.
The film goes through two generations of the Watchmen, with the first generation being set around World War II, the hero costumes are very accurate to the comic as they represent the golden age. The film represents the change of time exceptionally well with the different color pallets and the change in wardrobe.
The music is just phenomenal with it being from throughout the 20th century such as “Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel and “All Along the Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix. The props of the films are very memorable and stunning. As a prop connoisseur, I enjoyed the attention to detail with the props and how spectacular they looked.
My favorite prop out of the bunch were the Comedian’s dual silver M1911 pistols that were given to him as a commemorative piece from Richard Nixon. The artistic liberties do sway away from the comic series a bit and change up the story which may upset some fans but didn’t for me.
There are three versions of this movie, the theatrical cut, director’s cut, and the ultimate cut which are all quite long but very well paced. The director’s cut and ultimate cut are over three hours as there are deleted and extra scenes.
The first time I saw the film I enjoyed it but didn’t truly understand it. As I go through multiple viewings of the film I began to truly appreciate it. If you’re into a heavily political, historical fiction, darker superhero film this is definitely the movie for you. It’s honestly a film that was too sophisticated for its time. I’d give this film nine bloody smiley faces out of ten.
