Watchmen; one of the most celebrated graphic novels of our century. Penned by visionary comic artist Alan Moore, Watchmen tells the tale of a disbanded group of costumed vigilantes who find that one of their own has been brutally murdered. Rorschach, one of its members, smells a conspiracy and invites former partner, Nite Owl, into the mix. The investigation leads into details and revelations far more complex that any of them could have possibly imagined.
Helmed by director Zack Snyder of 300 fame, Watchmen (the movie) is a visually stunning adaptation of the graphic novel, which literally brings the characters out of the pages of the book and gives them life on screen. Although it does fall short in a number of aspects when it comes to character development and bringing all the essences of said characters to the big screen, it still stands as an epic retelling of the Watchmen story and Zack Snyder has promised a more comprehensive DVD release (rumored to be nearly 4hours long) which will dwell deeper into the alternate 80’s era in which the Watchmen live.
Rorschach. Everyone knows that there isn’t a Watchmen novel without Rorschach, no matter how anyone tries to deny it. Say that the other characters matter as much or say that they all form a complete puzzle, which may be true, but without Rorschach the tale would be just that; another tale of superheroes. Played by Academy Award-nominated Jackie Earle Haley, Rorschach is the engine to the events that unfold after Edward Blake’s (The Comedian) death. Constantly suspecting a conspiracy and a blatant attack on costumed crimefighters, the vigilante sets out to solve the mystery of the murder. And to tell you the truth, the movie itself wouldn’t have been as good if Rorschach wasn’t played as well as he was. Jackie Earle captured the violent, deranged, ugly yet compelling essence of Rorschach, which is what really shines throughout the film. Through the writings of his journal the audience sees how chaotic the world is and almost relates to Rorschach despite his complete lack of mercy and tolerance for those he despises.
The score and soundtrack for the film is beautifully picked and composed. The themes are rugged and gritty while still maintaining its quality and not sounding like a cheap production with half-baked heavymetal artistes. Tyler Bates does an awesome job at composing. The music is almost addictive and the songs fit in all the right places. There’s music and then there’s deep music that triggers emotions, and Watchmen uses the latter.
What Watchmen fails to do, however, is keep the audience focused on the actual plot all the way. While those who have not read the graphic novel may not realize this, there is much more to Watchmen than what was seen on screen. While it may seem like a simple story on the surface, beneath that surface is a hoard of subliminal messages dealing with politics and the way the world is affected by self-righteous politicians, homosexual rights, vigilantism, and the nature of human beings itself. Every character depicts a different moral and portrays views from different angles. There’s the narrow-minded, right-wing-mentality Rorschach who will compromise for no one, there’s the Night Owl who finds comfort in having a secret identity so that he can find solace without the mask when he doesn’t need it, Dr. Manhattan, while trying his best to aid them, sees time as absent and the human race as a degrading, selfish species, and The Comedian who calls his violent ways a tasteless parody of mankind itself. There’s a lot more but those are just a few examples. The graphic novel tells each tale perfectly, and seamlessly binds them into a whole. There’s a whole back-story to the psychiatrist who deals with Rorschach, and the African-American teenager who reads The Tale of the Black Freighter, a tale within the Watchmen story that acts as a parallel image. While it’s almost impossible to get all this onto the big screen, not getting it out there does damage the story in more ways than one and fans of the novel are sure to get a little pissed off.
Watchmen’s core isn’t really about the death of The Comedian. That is only the surface story. By the end of the graphic novel, readers are able to piece together all the parts perfectly and what they have in their hands is a work of art; a compelling narrative of the world and how the existence of superhuman beings would have impacted history as we know it.
This isn’t the average Superman or Spider-Man story. In Watchmen we get to truly see how people would react to the reality of having masked vigilantes and crimefighters walk among them, and it isn’t a pretty sight. It’s sort of X-Men meets Batman meets V For Vendetta. Also, Watchmen completely debunks the notion that superheroes have to look good, smell good, be good, and always do good. Watchmen is a frightening depiction of ordinary people who take up mantles as a means to assert justice, only to realize that reality isn’t like a comic book. When crimefighters fight they sweat, they may smell, they probably don’t look that great, they get fat when they’re lazy, they have weaknesses, they are tempted by vices like we all are, and at times they can even be a little psychotic when under intense pressure.
While the graphic novel makes clear that The Comedian’s death is only the beginning of a chain of events that lead to an ultimate revelation, the movie fails to explain this to the audience and in turn misleads them in more ways than one. The audience is intrigued and captured during the prologue where The Comedian is violently killed, and then halfway through the movie they’re not sure where this is going anymore. The Comedian’s death fades into the background and a number of smaller, lesser stories arise, none of them going as deep as they should due to cinema time allowance. This compromises the movie, and leaves the audience a little confused and somewhat frustrated. By the end of it all, the movie looks more like a documentation of vigilante origin stories instead of an actual movie, as a whole, with a flow. This, however, doesn’t happen in the novel because there is no time or page allowance to begin with. The stories dwell deep, and each character is explained for a specific reason. And they all form a whole.
All in all, Watchmen is a visually stunning adaptation, one that Alan Moore should at least give a shot at watching instead of ignoring all the way. It still is a very well-done film, with actors that are almost perfect for their roles. It’s a realistic analysis of the co-existence of people and a group who choose to be different; one that will make you think of supeheroes in new ways, and probably change your perception towards them, too. Not all superheroes have noble aspirations, and endings don’t always have to be happy. That being said, the movie is definitely worth a watch. In fact, it’s not to be missed. I’m waiting for the DVD to see if what Snyder has promised really comes to be; a 4hour long Director’s Cut of the movie which seamlessly integrates the animated Tale Of The Black Freighter within its plot. I’m sure the DVD version of the film will be way more powerful than what was seen in cinemas. Don’t miss this flick, watch it on the big screen, the sound and music is amazing, and the visuals are worth looking forward to. Watchmen may not be perfect and may not be as compelling as its source material, but it’s one heck of a film and if all else fails, good ol’ brutal Rorschach won’t and is bound to keep you watching all the way. Watch the Watchmen and have fun!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wrap : I give this flick a 3.9 out of 5.0. While it has a lot of quality and is great eye-candy, it had the potential to be much, much more. The source material is powerful, gritty, and haunting. I’m hoping the DVD fares better. Until then, 3.9 it is. Maybe I’ll review the DVD version when it’s out. But for now I feel the movie could have been much better than what it is right now.
Extra Bit : During the trailers, Zack Snyder is marketed as 'the visionary director of 300’. When asked about this, Zack admitted to being a little embarrassed as to why Warner would call him that, seeing as he has only made three major movies to date (Dawn of The Dead, 300, Watchmen), which hardly even qualifies someone to be a visionary. You’ve gotta’ respect this guy. People would gobble up false interpretations like that and use it to their advantage, yet people like Snyder who worked wonders with 300 just keeps himself glued to the ground and admits that the spiced-up credits in the trailers are merely marketing methods. That’s awesomeness right there. Snyder is currently working on a 3D animated film called The Guardians Of Ga'Hoole, due 2010.
This isn't movie related, but it does relate to each and every one of us who live on this planet and call it home. On March 28, 2009 a global election will be held and it's for the sake of Earth's future. The only thing you are asked to do is turn off your lights for one hour. That's not too much to ask for, right? Please click the banner below to find out if your country or city is participating in this historical global movement. Over 1000 cities worldwide are already involved.
Posts
