Not your standard comic-book superhero movie

Rating: 5/10 (5 March 2009)

(Synopsis) The year is 1985, and the world is on the brink of nuclear annihilation with the "Doomsday Clock" being set to 5 minutes before midnight. The superheroes have been retired for many years, when "The Comedian" (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is murdered by being thrown out of a window to his death. The psychopathic "Rorschach" (Jackie Earle Haley) who wears the ever-moving mask begins to investigate the murder and discovers a conspiracy that someone wants to kill the other superheroes. Rorschach goes around warning all of his former costumed colleagues, but they dismiss his warning until Ozymandias "The World's Smartest Man" (Matthew Goode) is almost shot by a hit man. The beautiful "Silk Specter" (Malin Ackerman) and the "Nite Owl" (Patrick Wilson) team up to find the truth. They uncover something much larger than they ever expected.
(My Comment) This is not your standard comic-book superhero movie in which the bad guys are brought to justice and sent to prison, but they are beaten so bad that limbs are broken, brains exposed, and blood is splattered everywhere. You see that not all superheroes are always good, but some kill for the greater good, especially, Rorschach who maliciously uses a meat cleaver to kill a child killer. There is a high level of graphic violence and plenty of gore. The super-powerful Dr. Manhattan just annihilates his enemy. Usually, the world is on the side of the superheroes, but in this case, the world labels them as vigilantes and gives them no respect. Actually, Dr. Manhattan is the only immortal superhero with real superpowers; the rest are human with expert fighting skills but can be killed. The film drags on a bit too long and some of the film feels outdated since we know the real history about Nixon and the Russians. The acting, fight scenes, and special effects were good, but I still left the movie underwhelmed. This is not a kid's movie, and there is a reason it has an R rating. (Warner Bros., Run Time 2:43, Rated R)(5/10)