Watchmen

What if . . . the American dream came true?

To begin with, I have never read Watchmen, barely knew it existed to be honest – I heard the writing was excellent, but that was the extent of my Watchmen knowledge.  This film was brutal and unapologetic, giving us a glimpse into a past much different than our current version of history, to start with Nixon is elected for over three terms, we won the Vietnam war and made it our 51st state – to the victors go the spoils, and let those who oppose be damned.  In an eerie montage we are shown the immediate differences in writer Alan Moore’s version of an America seemingly without boundaries, as we possess the first “Superman” – in a direct homage to Nietzsche’s raw uber-being, Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup).

From the opening scene, the hostile nature of Watchmen is exposed with lethal effect.  Pathos and empathy are immediately injected into your soul as you watch a once proud hero broken and shattered into the void of an ever hostile and morally decaying New York city.  It is 1985,  as the ghostly visages of the World Trade Center towers constantly remind you that times are much different, the Soviets still exist and are poised to annihilate the much feared, expanding United States of America and we are on the brink of a world war for a burgeoning conflict for oil in Afghanistan.

While I didn’t quite agree with the message of Watchmen, the film was amazing, the graphic nature of the graphic novel lends credence to that label.   Moore shines a dismal light on a violent, chaotic, and power-hungry America – set to rule the world once the Russians are finally dealt with.  The message is a little preachy and a bit anti-American at times, but the story-telling is superb.  Each character is given a decent amount of origin time, and while the film is quite long – you won’t really notice that, in fact if you were like me, you won’t want it to ever end.

So many comic book movies have been made that try too hard to be something they are not, films, this was a comic book that just happened to be framed on a movie screen.  With fight sequences directed by 300 fight coordinator, Richard Cetrone, the stop-action violence will surely ring a bell and is rigidly efficient. Like a comic book page, violence and action are difficult to pull off without being forced, director Zack Snyder does an excellent job with balance and gritty power.

The only less than awesome component of Watchmen was how little time was spent wrapping up the underlying conflict; a little too much was left to the imagination.  The special effects were covered in a murky cloud of grit that is hard to explain without experiencing it first-hand, like the false-future 1985 NYC streets, stained and ugly.  And the soundtrack will probably quickly be downloaded by all children of the 80s.

There were certain elements in Watchmen you will not see in mainstream Hollywood; it has an almost indie film confidence, which is why I say the director is unapologetic –  sure to draw the most criticism is the attire of Dr. Manhattan, but when you notice it, you realize that Dr. Manhattan is beyond the need for material possessions and has become so ethereal that to add vanity to his character is simply catering to Hollywood modesty that is becoming obsolete anyway.

Rorschach will no doubt be everyone’s favorite “hero” as he is the narrator.  Brilliantly acted by a familiar character actor from the 70s Jackie Earle Haley  – who incidentally recently co-starred with Nite-Owl (Patrick Wilson) in Little Children.  Rorschach is uncompromising and unapologetic, releasing the dark thoughts haunting writer Alan Moore.   Rorschach’s  narration is dealt with superbly, nothing is left to mere comic book convention as all things are revealed eventually.

Some of the characters were less compelling or interesting, Silk Spectres I and II, played by Carla Gugino and Malin Akerman respectively, lacked something that approached real pathos.  There is some brilliant dialog for some characters and trite, meaningless dialog for others that tends to get a little too repetitive, you will see one scene over and over again to the point where you roll your eyes and think, ok, I get it already.  The action never suffers though, as our heroes struggle to piece together the riddle of their lives –  Who Watches the Watchmen?

This film will be a legend in Hollywood, not only raising the bar, but reinventing the bar for comic book films to come.  This was a wonderfully told, dark drama set in an alternate reality, a political message movie, a little preachy, but entertaining enough that you won’t care – you will be laughing and cringing at all the right parts, so what if the message is touchy feely, the action and violence in this film sure weren’t.

These heroes were anything but; you won’t find yourself rooting for many of the Watchmen as the stereotypical good guys.  The Watchmen are true anti-heroes.  I have a feeling our newer heroes will start to become something darker and more pragmatic, as the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) reminds us in the film – man is a savage creature that only plays at being civilized – to deal with man, you must be savage as well.  While the Comedian openly uses this logic without apology, the other Watchmen fall in line but don’t seem to revel in their tasks – where the Comedian relishes the primal nature of his character in every sense of the word.

If you have a choice of feeding the baby or seeing this film, I am sure you can find some spam or vienna sausages you have stored up for Armageddon – I think babies can eat that stuff nowadays.  So, get your priorities straight!  It’s a joke.