A risk turned out fine!

Rating: 10/10 (16 November 2009)

It's interesting how I got to finally watch this movie. When I saw the posters for the movie, the six main characters didn't appeal to me for some reason. I just thought "this is another superhero movie". Man, was I wrong. So, fast-forwarding to the last month, I decided to check it out online. The stream was so slow I barely saw around the first third of the film. I was so enticed by it I decided to buy the DVD without watching the whole thing first; not an usual thing I do, I only buy DVDs of movies I saw and liked. I wasn't disappointed. It turned out to be quite a nice surprise.
Some people go as far as comparing this film to The Dark Knight. I can certainly see the "cynicism" and the dark overtones of both films. Both films also depict superheroes (except Dr. Manhattan) as fairly normal human beings (well, with physical prowess of top athletes though; some think like supercomputers). They are both philosophical and crude. However, The Dark Knight somewhat sticks to the good-bad formula (Batman never becomes corrupted, for instance). Watchmen goes way further into depicting heroes as more complex and morally ambiguous, like... human beings! Amazing, the first time comic characters come as close as real people.
The story is also very interesting, full of layers of background history and symbolism. It has many twists and it depicts many bad choices made by the characters (they are no longer perfect). Hell, they even depict one moment of sexual frigidity! That was hilarious, and it is yet one example of how this movie rocks. It becomes a statement in itself: a human, realistic statement. Rorschach is by far the most interesting character for me; an underdog who undergoes several life changes, and becomes a "no-bullshit, all-go" detective type of person who, in his own words "never compromises, not even in the face of armaggedon". His practical approach is the best, and so is his amoral ways.
Well, I've got nothing else to say that hasn't been said a thousand times before. All characters have a role and a personality (well, they could have developed Silk Spectre II more, she's kind of generic), and it mimics real history with flawed characters. A giant step in Hollywood films! 10 out of 10, without doubt.