Watchmen (2009)

Based on the comic book limited-series of the same name, Watchmen is an ambitious film which has been in the works in one form or another for 20 years. After countless fits and starts, director Zack Snyder was finally able to use his newfound Hollywood muscle to claim the project and take it to multiplexes across the country. The resulting movie falls just short of the high standards set by original creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, but it does so in spectacular fashion.

The film is set in an alternate 1985: a world where America won Vietnam, Nixon is serving his third term as President, the U.S. and Russia are on the brink of nuclear war, and masked crimefighters really exist (despite a law banning their activities). As the film begins, 67-year-old Edward Blake (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is attacked in his apartment by a shadowy intruder and thrown to his death on the streets below.

Enter Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley)–a hardened costumed vigilante who conducts his own investigation into the Blake murder. When he discovers that Edward Blake was actually the retired superhero known as The Comedian, Rorschach immediately suspects that someone may be targeting members of the hero community.

As he warns his former associates, we’re introduced to the film’s other principals: Dan Dreiberg aka Night Owl II (Patrick Wilson), a slightly-overweight gadgeteer and Rorschach’s former partner; Adrian Veidt aka Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), a successful businessman and possibly the smartest man on the planet; Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), a blue-skinned being who works for the U.S. government and wields frightening powers; and Laurie Jupiter aka Silk Spectre II (Malin Ackerman), a former heroine and current companion of Dr. Manhattan.

As the characters begin to interact for the first time in years, events are set into motion which reveal a dangerous conspiracy. Old passions are rekindled, assassinations are attempted, and mysteries are slowly unraveled. Meanwhile, Russia and America move ever closer to global annihilation.

While most superhero movies deal with subject matter which could be crammed into one or two issues of a comic book, Watchmen attempts to tell a 12-issue-long story within 2 hours and 42 minutes. The narrative feels appropriately ambitious, although one doesn’t need to have read the original work to sense that so much more material was left on the cutting room floor.

What does make it onto the big screen is faithful to the graphic novel, although this will hardly matter to those unfamiliar with the source material. All they’ll care about is whether or not the film is entertaining, and I’m happy to report that it is.

A number of thrilling action sequences are provided for the popcorn crowd, and the film’s best fight takes place at the very beginning of the picture. For those less interested in action, Watchmen also offers up a dizzying whodunit which will keep you guessing until the latter stages of the film.

For a cast this big, the acting is surprisingly solid across the board. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is able to commit reprehensible acts as The Comedian yet still remain sympathetic, and Jackie Earle Haley manages to stand out even when concealed behind Rorschach’s ever-changing inkblot mask. Haley also deserves praise for being able to convincingly sell his character’s abbreviated pattern of speech (which seemed far more natural on the pages of a comic).

But despite its many triumphs, the film is not free of flaws; Snyder is working with so much material that certain portions of the movie don‘t feel adequately fleshed-out. For example, characters are introduced and then discarded without further mention.

The climactic fight scene goes on for too long, especially considering that the end result of each “round” is essentially the same. An inexplicable scene was also added in which the villain receives his just deserts without protest, despite having violently resisted only minutes before. The latter seems to have the stench of meddling Hollywood executives all over it, although it will no doubt prove to be a crowd pleaser.

Unlike most superhero flicks, the Watchmen is the kind of movie which might actually lead viewers to discuss notions such as moral ambiguity and the end justifying the means. While many will simply enjoy it for the elements of action and suspense, there’s a much deeper subtext awaiting those who care about such things. For this reason (among others), Watchmen is a superhero film which soars above the crowd.