Who Watches the Watchme..... (Watchmen (DVD))

Member Name: mattygroves10

Product:	Watchmen (DVD)
Date:	18/03/09 (219 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Visually superb . Very faithful to its source material . Exciting . Beautiful

Disadvantages: Female characterisation and casting flawed . Ozymandias' hair . Slightly slow centre section

It's autumn 1985, and cold war tensions increase to worrying levels as Dr Manhattan flees Earth. It's 1959, and a tragic accident utterly annihilates Jon Osterman within an Intrinsic Field test chamber at Gila Flats. It's 1977, and the Keene Act outlaws masked vigilantes. It's 1976, and Nixon is elected to an historic third term. It's 1971, and with Dr Manhattan's help, the US are decisively victorious in the Vietnam conflict. It's 1960, and first, a circulatory system and nervous system appear at Gila flats, followed not long after by an immensely powerful blue man - it appears Dr Osterman isn't as annihilated as everyone thought. It's 1975, and a man who brutally murdered a small girl is himself found cleaved nearly in twain - a masked avenger called Rorschach is later found to be to blame.

It's 1986, and a young woman reads something completely unlike any comic that has gone before - a complex, rich and deep comic book called Watchmen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. In Portland Oregon, she and her friends pour over it, noticing every detail and analysing and commenting upon its every allusion. It's February 2009, and the same woman, now in London and now not so young, re-reads the graphic novel (as they are now termed) and anticipates the film of the unfilmable novel. It's March 6th 2009, and she attends the opening night of Watchmen at the Waterloo IMAX, and is ... impressed.

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I went to see Watchmen with excitement and yet not a little trepidation. After all, with the notable exception of V for Vendetta, the film industry has not had a great rate of success when filming Moore's work. Plus, Watchmen is multi-layered, deeply complex and richly structured. The words and pictures go hand in hand, and can be analysed at great length. Even the chapter titles are important and relevant. How could such a work be successfully filmed, without it lasting eight hours or more?

The short answer is that it can't. Clearly, subplots had to go, and some of the strata had to be eliminated or simplified. Nevertheless, much of what made the book so good is retained. Some of the visuals and much of the dialogue are lifted straight from the book, and any aficionado will recognise Moore's and Gibbon's fingerprints right on the screen. The film really is a spectacle, which, at least in IMAX had me, at times, gasping in awe (even during the most violent scenes - and be warned, many of those are very violent indeed - the film isn't 18 rated for nothing). The dialogue didn't sound hokey when spoken aloud (which can sometimes happen when comic books are translated to the big screen).

The director took great care to retain the feel and spirit of the source material. Although the details of the denouement differ from the book (particularly the exact method of...well, you'll have to see it), the point is much the same - changing the ending allowed for more believable special effects, and the removal of a subplot.

The opening credits are a work of art. They set the background of the world the Watchmen inhabit in just a few short minutes, yet encapsulating everything that makes this world's 1985 so different from our own. Many of the backstories that are explained during the course of the graphic novel are quickly set up and shown to the viewer, without making an already long (over 160 minutes) film impossibly lengthy.

With any adaptation of an existing work, there are always casting challenges. How do you get actors who not only can portray the roles, but also resemble the author's (and, in this case, artist's) visions? The makers of Watchmen did a decent job here. Although Ozymandius' wig practically needed an onscreen credit all of its own, the actors, whilst not being mirror images of the comic book portrayals, were mostly well cast visually. Jeffery Dean Morgan's Edward Blake (The Comedian) and Jackie Earle Haley's Rorschach are especially notable. They acted well, looked the part, and were well directed. Malin Akerman's Silk Spectre was somewhat less so; I'm not entirely sure whether this was down to the scrip, acting or direction.

The film is not without flaws. The female characters get fairly short shrift. Akerman's Laurel Jupiter (Silk Spectre) is very pretty - indeed, stunning - but isn't really given anything to do with any real meat. All the women seem to be glossed over. This is no doubt in part because there are simply so many characters in the story, and to film all the interactions and relationships (eg between Laurie and her mother) would again increase the running time beyond all possible bladder control. Nevertheless, it's a shame the women's characters have been sacrificed - it does make the film feel very blokish - Silk Spectre is there to give the 18 - 25 year old lads something to drool over.

Matthew Goode's portrayal of Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias) was a bit stiff (though the character could arguably be seen that way, especially towards the end - a defensible view, though not entirely consistent with the book), and, as mentioned, his hair was very, very wrong. Peripheral characters are sacrificed for the sake of running time, which makes the end less emotionally resonant than it otherwise might have been.

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It must be blindingly obvious that I am reviewing this film as both a fan of the original graphic novel and a genre fan in general. Not only did I read the book soon after it came out in the mid/late 80s, but I've been re-reading it often (and with annotations) in the run up to the film. As much as I try (and I will), I cannot review this entirely fairly from a non-fan's, or, if you like, a Watchmen Virgin's (WV) point of view. I cannot but help but compare it to the book, both textually and visually. So, do I think you'd like it if you haven't read it? Hmmmmm...

There are good reasons why the official website is so dense. It contains background information (in-universe newspaper articles, advertisements and the like) that would certainly be very, very helpful to people new to Moore's and Gibbon's work. Sadly, the website, I should think, appeals more to people like me who are already converts, rather than to Watchmen neophytes. Nevertheless, if you are, as a WV, wishing to get the most out of this film, you would be well advised to pay the website a visit (and it is beautifully done).

The film could be confusing to people coming in blind. Having said that, there were a few WVs in our group of 12 last night, and at least one of them enjoyed the movie immensely, and seemed genuinely awed by the scope and vision. She's planning on seeing it again during the week (as, indeed, I hope to do). It is certainly a film that bears repeated viewings - like the book, there are so many things to see and to look out for, you're bound to catch details missed upon first viewing.

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Watchmen is not a flawless masterpiece. It is, however, a masterpiece for all that. Faithful in feeling (and often in detail) to its source material, it is visually stunning. The soundtrack too (barely mentioned until now) is carefully chosen (and is available to buy - what a surprise), with recognisable songs including All Along the Watchtower, The Times They are a' Changing, Sound of Silence and more. The acting is by and large very good, and the casting, when done well, is superb (though with a couple of missteps).

Go see Watchmen - make sure you've used the loo and bought your popcorn ahead of time, as you will be rooted to your chair for 160 minutes. Me, I can't wait for the DVD, along with the inevitable director's cut and extra features.
Recommended.

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Official Website: http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/

"The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout 'Save us!' And I'll look down and whisper 'no'."

Summary: Watchmen is for fans and Watchmen Virgins (tm), an ambitious yet violent film. Recommended