Watchmen

Rating: 5/10 (7 March 2009)

Based on the cult 80's graphic novel (comic book to you and me). This is one superhero flick that is definitely not for kids, hence its 18 rating. Re-invents the genre in a film that was widely believed to be unfilmable. Set in an alternate 1985, in which America won the Vietnam war and Richard Nixon is still President, it shows us a group of sad, depressed ex-superheros known as "Watchmen" in a world that has abandoned them - because lets face it who needs a masked weirdo running around in spandex? There is a welcome change of pace from other comic book adaptations as the "heroes" are shown to be very human. There are also moments of dark humour such as the prison scenes and the nostalgic opening showing other masked heroes and their eventual downfall. Unfortunately the film bites off more than it can chew but the main problem is that it gives us no one to root for. The Watchmen are more like a group of sociopaths who need locking up - in one case one of them shoots dead a pregnant woman!?! Another hurdle is that for the majority of the film there isn't even a villain for them to fight - at least until the final 20 mins (which stretches credibility) and the identity of the baddie is revealed to the surprise of no one. Billy Crudup's character of Dr. Manhattan who for some reason walks around the whole film stark naked is one of the dullest characters I've ever seen in a movie of this type. He looks like a member of the Blue Man Group who decided to stop performing with his chums and become a flasher. The film is around 45 mins too long as a result of non-linear writing which results in a lot of time wasting. Plus points are the demented Roarshack who steals every scene in his ever-changing ink blot mask, and the gorgeous Malik Akerman who is a dead-ringer for Lucy Lawless. But these are few and far between.