WATCHMEN
STARRING:
Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode, Billy Crudup, Jeffrey
Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Carla Gugino, Stephen McHattie, Matt Frewer
2009, 163 Minutes, Directed by: Zack Snyder
 “It’s
refreshing that there’s no compromise,” director Zack Snyder said in an
interview about his Watchmen movie adaptation.
And he’s right. The keyword when describing this
full-length live action movie version of the superhero graphic novel of the
same name is “verisimilitude.” The film-makers have gone to extraordinary
lengths to bring a faithful adaptation of this tale about embittered
middle-aged superheroes uncovering a plot to kill off supers to the big
screen. They have done a more than admirable job at condensing the 416 or so
pages of the densely plotted comic book into a two-and-a-half hours long
motion picture. More than that they have maintained the graphic novel’s
violent and gritty aesthetic, resulting in it getting a well-earned R
rating.
Make no mistake: this is not a superhero movie for
kiddies. It’s more Scorsese than Superman – the
Movie! Parents should do well to heed its age restriction. It is violent
and bloody and doesn’t shy away from any nudity (both male and female)
either. Like in the comics the god-like – and well-endowed - Doctor
Manhattan can’t be arsed to wear so much as a stitch of clothing. And don’t
expect any distracting Austin Powers-like “hide the schlong” type of
parlour games either. There is also a very violent attempted rape scene that
audiences will find disturbing. This ain’t the
Fantastic Four you know! It’s even more “adult” than The Dark Knight
. . .
Sure, out of necessity the screenwriters have shed a lot
of largely extraneous bit characters and minor subplots as well as condensed
some events. But the result is 100% Watchmen. As fans of the original
graphic novel will know, the plot is both complicated and yet simplistic at
the same time. Many of its pages are spent on back-story, slowly immersing
the reader in its alternate history world in which not only superheroes
really exist, but America has won the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon was
elected U.S. President for three times. The movie takes as much care as the
book to richly detail this alternate universe and retains much of the
back-story and the graphic novel’s flashback narrative structure. For
audience members unfamiliar with the science fiction tradition of alternate
time lines, Watchmen may represent a serious disconnect but sci-fi
fans will feel right at home. (This is probably the first major Hollywood
movie to represent the concept of parallel realities in such depth and
detail.)
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"A darker and much more philosophical version of The Dark
Knight . . ." |
If you had any qualms about the film’s casting: have no
fear. I have rarely seen such spot-on casting for any film. Despite the
updating of the book’s corny spandex costumes, every character is
practically an exact replica of their print doppelganger. All of the actors
acquit themselves admirably in their roles. The makeup used to age
characters is also unobtrusive. It may have taken more than twenty
frustrating years for this adaptation to be made, but comics fans should be
grateful: making Doctor Manhattan a super buff CGI creation was a brilliant
decision. Can you imagine a pre-CGI Manhattan? Some actor with his skin
painted blue like an extra in an old ‘Sixties
Star Trek episode! Only problem is the
voice talent used for Doctor Manhattan. Instead of sounding ethereal he ends
up sounding effeminate. It frankly takes a while getting used to the actor’s
voice. Incidentally, if you can manipulate all matter – including your body
– at a whim, you would also chose to come back as a well-hung, super buff
light-blue skinned bald dude, wouldn’t you?
This is a movie adaptation that will appease even the most
rabid Watchmen comics geek out there. Heck, it might even appease
Alan Moore himself! Or okay, maybe not. (Comic book legend Alan Moore who
wrote Watchmen has a reputation for being wildly cantankerous and
antisocial. He has out of principal disavowed all movie adaptations of his
comic books without even having seen them. Movie adaptations of his work
include League of Extraordinary Gentlemen – who
can blame him on this one? - and V for Vendetta,
which was actually pretty darned good under the circumstances. Moore has
publicly stated that he will not bother, er, watching the Watchmen
movie. His name also isn’t even featured on the credits of the movie poster;
only artist and co-creator Dave Gibbons who has been much more supportive of
the movie version, has been listed.)
Having read the book several times throughout the years
since its publication back in 1986 I probably count amongst those rabid
geeks to be honest. Not only does the film closely follow the graphic
novel’s plot, but it also takes shots straight from the comic panels and
repeat whole chunks of dialogue verbatim. Watching the film I felt like one
of those cult heads who can recite dialogue before the onscreen actors can
utter them!
Watchmen is however more than a slavish adaptation
of the graphic novel. Along the way it also takes some unexpected creative
routes. There is for instance a fun opening credit sequence set to Bob
Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ documenting the history of this
alternate 1986 universe on the brink of nuclear destruction, showing
costumed superheroes hanging out with Andy Warhol and one of them shooting
JFK. Mixing arresting visuals with surprising music choices of some
well-known pieces (Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Philip Glass, Mozart, Leonard
Cohen!) results in some startling scenes even though one or two of them
serve as a serious disconnect and can only be judged as creative missteps.
Do we really need yet another Wagner’s Rider of the Walkure Apocalypse
Now homage?
 But
does all this unquestioning devotion pay off? After all, comics and movies
are two very different mediums . . .
Watchmen crams a lot of plot into its brief running
time. I say “brief” because for such an epic tale it is only about 10
minutes longer than the recent Dark Knight,
which admittedly dealt with far fewer events and characters. Fans of the
comic will be delighted: this is the movie adaptation which Watchmen
deserves. Fans can’t hope for any better. (Although there is talk of a much
longer director’s cut for DVD.) But what about newbies who have never so
much as heard of Watchmen? Does it offer them anything?
Newbies will see a darker and much more philosophical
version of The Dark Knight with touches of
300-like stylized violence thrown into the mix. The alternate history
aspect which plays a big role in the movie may strike them as “weird”, but
Watchmen (the movie) is sure to win converts. It is violent, yes, but
it isn’t a continuous gore fest like the recent Punisher War Zone. As
soon as the viewer starts getting slightly restless Snyder throws in some
gut-wrenching action scene that packs quite some punch. The
two-and-half-hours running time represents no problem because it is so
crammed with incident. At times it feels as if huge chunks of plot
exposition are being thrown into the audiences’ laps like a Reader’s Digest
précis of the novel, but director Snyder will soon enliven onscreen events
with a crackerjack action sequence or some eye-popping visual effect.
Make no mistake: Watchmen is the first real
blockbuster of this year’s summer season. However despite the precedent set
by the likes of 300 and Dark Knight
it is also everything your average brain-dead Hollywood special effects
blockbuster isn’t: thought-provoking and genuinely visceral. It’ll have you
thinking afterwards as it doesn’t merely deal with somewhat abstract
superhero notions of vigilantism and justice like Dark Knight, but
rather, ahem, the “human condition” itself. (Newbies will also see plot
elements from The Incredibles, but should do
well to remind themselves that Watchmen’s source material actually
predates the Pixar movie by more than a decade.) Its images will stick in
your head and you will want to see it again – take my word for it!
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