‘Watchmen’
‘Watchmen’ is set in an alternate 1985 America, where costumed heroes have existed since World War II, and the ‘Doomsday Clock’, which charts the likelihood of nuclear fallout between the USA and the Soviet Union, is set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit past and present masked heroes. As he reconnects with his former group of retired heroes, he uncovers a conspiracy with links to their shared past, and catastrophic consequences for the future.

For those obsessed with the critically-acclaimed graphic novel (which would be almost anyone who has read it), or for audiences looking for a stylish action film, ‘Watchman’ is worth–well–watching… For those obsessed with the critically acclaimed graphic novel (placed in Time magazine’s top 100 novels of all time), or for audiences looking for a stylish action film, ‘Watchmen’ is well worth the ticket price.

Those who felt ‘The Dark Knight’ was almost too dark, will be in for a shock with Watchmen. As far as superhero movies go, this graphic adaptation of the comic book series from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons makes Christopher Nolan’s Batman films look tame in comparison.

‘Watchmen’ opens with the assassination of Edward Blake, aka The Comedian, a former member of the Watchmen group. Rorschach, one of the only masked vigilantes still working, learns of his acquaintance’s death and spreads the word to the other former members, who may also be in danger.

The film takes its time delving into the background of the Watchmen and their ideals. Without question, the heart of the movie lies with The Comedian. Jeffrey Dean Morgan creates a vivid character who adapts with the increasingly graphic world.

As a supposed hero, he unflinchingly shoots down a pregnant woman in Vietnam, and attempts to rape a crime-fighting partner. No matter how morally devoid he gets, this character and his representation of society, give the rest of the Watchmen a reason to fight for a better world.

Director Zack Snyder, was undoubtedly set a gargantuan task in adapting ‘Watchmen’ from its source material. The material is so dense, with sub-plots, backstories and even a comic book-within-the-comic-book to contend with, that it’s no surprise that ‘Watchmen’, not unlike ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, was often thought unfilmable.

Snyder has done an amazing job, but there is still a sense that the ‘Watchmen’ story should have been done as a TV mini-series, or a trilogy of movies, in order to do justice to the scope and scale of the original. It feels almost like Snyder got half-way into shooting the movie at the perfect pace, and then suddenly realised he had to cram the rest of the story in, with only an hour to play with.

The climactic final revelation is rushed. The build-up is badly fumbled by the time constraints, and it’s a crying shame. The work that has gone into the movie up until this point; the incredible opening sequence, the flashbacks to the thirties and forties with the original watchmen, the Mars sequence, and the inspired soundtrack, almost feel like part of a different movie– one where the ending will have been given the care and attention of the previous two-thirds, but no, it hasn’t.

The ideal way to enjoy the ‘Watchmen’ story, is to pick up a copy of the novel. Read it first, and then view the movie as a companion piece. It’s a lot more fulfilling.

Rating: 4 out of 5