Watchmen Review

I saw Watchmen at midnight last night and I figure people will be asking me about it. I figured rather than explaining over and over again I would just write a semi-formal review. Put that journalism training to good use.

I feel I should warn you ahead of time about my biases. I am a fan of the graphic novel. I read it at the end of my senior year of college and a few months ago in preparation for the movie. I have read the ramblings of fanboys much more rabid than I, and I was prepared for Watchmen to suck large quantities of balls. However I should also note I am not as big a fanboy as many of these fans. I am open to the possibilities of adaptations not being EXACTLY like the book. I understand that for any movie to be true to a comic I would have to sit through a slideshow of the graphic novel.

All that being said I feel that Watchmen overall was a very good movie. The novel had to be cut down substantially and sequences were shortened from their length in the graphic novel, but Alex Tse, David Hayter, and Zack Snyder all earn some credit that every major sequence made it into the movie. A notable exception to this was the death of a secondary character which had a large emotional impact in the story but didn't have much to do with the overall story, so I see why it got cut.

Immense care was taken with the writing and it was preserved to a level that I have never quite seen in a movie adaptation. It was because they took such care in keeping the writing that the movie turned out so well. All the characters were spot on, with only Laurie being somewhat weak. I should note however that Laurie is somewhat weak in the graphic novel as well. I challenge you to search the "favorite watchmen character" threads and find anyone who says Laurie was an excellent character.

I heard many people complain that Zack was too much of an action movie director and that the slow motion trailers were a sign of deviation from the core ideas of the book. It is interesting to see that movie has a definate increase in action and fore than the book, seeing Snyder's work this is not totally unexpected. The fight scenes with the ramped up gore didn't add much to the story. However Snyder did a great job in casting and directing each character.

Rorschach stood out head and shoulders above the rest in the movie. Jackie Earle Haley was cold sociopathic and brutal, as the character should be. Rorschach's backstory had to be cut down a lot but Haley did a great job of making me empathize and even to a degree understand Rorschach.

I was worried about Dan Dreiburg / Night Owl II. I was worried that they wouldn't get him right, either upping his awesome level to a point that didn't match the novel or they would push him so far into comic relief that a lot of his compassion and idealism would be lost. Snyder did push things uncomfortably in the direction of comic relief but not enough to lose Dreiburg's character.

Also I was worried about the chemistry between Laurie and Dreiburg but Akerman and Wilson managed to pull it off better than I expected. Granted I am used to love scenes from the likes of Push and Star Wars, this one was actually fairly well done, but I am sure people with higher expectations will not be as fond of it.

I hated Billy Crudup's voice for Dr. Manhatten in the trailer, but I must admit he made me a convert and I am now very much a fan of his performance. The Comedian was no surprise, when I saw Jeffrey Dean Morgan I knew he would be perfect and this was a rare instance in which I was not disappointed. Carla Gugino as Sally Jupiter was an unexpected excellent performance. Ozymandius feels as though he caught the worst of the cutting room, much of his backstory and philosophy are lost, making the ending feel a bit more forced, even compared to the novel.

I heard many complaints about the the slow-motion, but I realized throughout the movie that the slow-mo was in place so that the audience could appreciate the level of detail in each frame. From the Sally Jupiter pin-up in the comedian's apartment and the Sally Jupiter lighter to the care put into Night Owl's and Ozymandius' Lairs, you can tell this movie was made by a fan. I want to see the movie again just so I can catch the more of the detail.

The only other thing I should add is that while I realize a lot was cut for time, the movie still felt a bit too long. Granted I was watching at midnight after a long day of work with another day of work looming outside the theater, but at around two hours and thirty minutes, when I already knew how it was going to end, I wanted it to pick up the pace.

Also as mentioned above some of the increased violence and gore were unneccesary and detracted away from the characters.

The music was a mixed bag. For the most part the use of period music like Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel worked very well. However there were two or three times when I raised my eyebrow and said "Really?" upon hearing Snyder's choice of music. Most of these scenes invovled Laurie, and I will say this, there is no place for the song 99 red balloons in any movie, ever.

Despite the instances of bad music there were very few moments when I felt pulled out of the experience. One that comes to mind is when Night Owl suits up again after years of retirement and the music playing is practically the batman theme. We get it Snyder, he is an analogy for batman. I know it was intentional and it really just annoyed me more than anything and approached a level of camp that the offset the grit that had before been the mainstay of the movie.

So in conclusion, the movie is good. The acting and writing are great. The visuals are detailed and great. There are moments when humor uncomfortably tries to lighten the mood. The music for the most part is fantastic, with moments of being very offsetting.

I recommend to all my friends to see it, but I suggest doing it after a meal and after using the restroom, because it is Lord of the Rings long.