| Who Watches The WATCHMEN? |
| Written by samxpx | ||
| Sunday, 22 March 2009 12:23 | ||
Watchmen is no mere loose adaption, or movie based on a comic book. This film is the 1986 comic book series in cinematic form. And it’s incredible. If you’ve never heard of Watchmen, then when you see the trailer you’ll probably question why some camp-looking kids’ superhero movie is being pitched to an adult audience. The answer is simple. It’s not a camp kids’ superhero movie. Watchmen, written in 1986-7 by Alan Moore, is the “seminal text of the comic book medium”. It is the yardstick by which all other graphic novels can be compared. It is a violent, gritty, and cynical insight into global politics and the human condition. And it was brilliantly adapted onto screen by director Zack Snyder (of 300 fame). Watchmen is set in an alternate-reality 1985 where Richard Nixon is still president, masked vigilante heroics have been outlawed, and a Doomsday Clock predicting nuclear war between the US and Russia is precariously set at five minutes to midnight. The story begins with the murder of The Comedian – a US-employed superhero and bastard of an anti-hero with a reputation for murder, rape, and not giving a damn about anyone. When the police have no leads on his killer, the masked outlaw Rorschach undertakes his own investigation into what he believes is a conspiracy to kill off masked crime fighters. Rorschach – who hides his face under a hood and wears his anger on his sleeve – attempts to warn the remaining superheroes who haven’t yet been murdered or incarcerated: Nite Owl II – Rorschach’s former partner who retired in the 1970s; Ozymandias – the world’s smartest man and self-made billionaire; Doctor Manhattan – the only superhero in Watchmen with superpowers, who won the Vietnam war for America and keeps the Soviets at bay; and Manhattan’s love-interest, Silk Spectre II. The strength of this film is in the way it stays true to the comic. Snyder fought hard to make a movie for the fans (rather than just another blockbuster based on an old fan favourite). You will enjoy Watchmen if the film is your first experience with the series; but if you’ve read the graphic novel you will enjoy it all the more. As someone who has read the book, I knew what was going to happen throughout the story, yet I was still fascinated when I saw it on screen. The twist is just as chilling and clever the second time around. The film has kept in (almost) everything that made the novel so amazing – the paranoia, the mystery, the pain in the characters’ lives that explains why they don costumes and fight crime at night. The movie stays true to key plot points and lifts many of the characters’ lines directly from the book. Some of the minor aspects of the novel (the news stand, the psychiatrist, serving tea onboard Archie) are given less focus but still eluded to. With a running time of over two and a half hours, Snyder did his best to pack as much of the novel in as he could. Only occasionally did I find myself in the theatre thinking, this is silly. Yes; they’re superheroes without superpowers who wear odd costumes (except for Doctor Manhattan, who walks around unashamedly nude). But the plot is so engrossing and the actors so perfectly cast that it soon becomes ‘normal’ for people to teleport to Mars and walk around dressed as owls and Greek emperors. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and would recommend it to anyone who can handle the violence and other R16 themes that attach to the poster. This is not a kids’ movie; nor is it a feel-good movie. The villains are bad and the heroes are worse. But if you’re a fan of Sin City, V For Vendetta, and The Dark Knight, get down to the cinema now for an experience you won’t forget. |
