Sex! Blood! Superheroes!

Rating: 8/10 (2 April 2009)

WATCHMEN is the latest comic book to gain an adaptation by filmmaker Zack Snyder, whose film 300, based on the Frank Miller series of the same name, became a $210 million phenomenon in 2006. WATCHMEN is also the latest adaptation from the works of Alan Moore (V FOR VENDETTA, FROM HELL and, ahem, LEAGUE OF EXTRORDINARY GENTLEMEN all have big-screen counterparts). WATCHMEN, the comic, is deemed sacrosanct among the fanboy faithful and is considered to be one of those culture-crossing reads defined as a thinking-man's comic while also being a catalyst of change within its own genre giving comic books more mature themes.
WATCHMEN, the film, is essentially a murder mystery that takes place in an alternate 1985 where Nixon is still President, the U.S. won the war in Viet Nam and superheroes are illegal. The Comedian, a costumed hit-man, is murdered causing another costumed hero, Rorschach, an ink-face blotted, overcoat-wearing detective of sorts who provides the film's ongoing monologue, to believe there is a growing conspiracy against former heroes. This conspiracy begrudgingly reunites some of these watchmen as they launch their investigation. Murder, violence and blood, lots of blood, follows.
Snyder and screenwriters David Hayter and Alex Tse provide a faithful adaptation of the graphic novel providing exact panel-by-panel reproductions in some cases and maintaining a majority of the original dialogue. Coupled with spectacular F/X work, most noticeably on the electric-blue CG-character Dr. Manhattan, the film looks great. Where the film differs is the staggering amount of violence and gore added.
WATCHMEN, as story, is definitely R-rated material. Rape, impotency, sex and the aforementioned Dr. Manhattan, who is naked for most of his screen time (he no longer requires clothes for he neither modest nor requires their protection), certainly sets this thematically apart from IRON MAN and DARK KNIGHT. But as genre-breaking as the story might be, WATCHMEN is still a genre film and must abide by certain parameters that bind all genre pieces. These are all ignored allowing instead the glorification of violence and a level of gore must more suitable for Snyder's zombie film than his superhero one. Violence and superhero action can go hand-in-hand and where Snyder does use such to lengthen scenes noticeably shorter in their original form (like Comedian's murder) in other instances, like the disturbingly-powerful near-rape scene and a mugging attempt, the filmatic violence detracts from the hero's true path, used instead to shock the mainstream audience and perhaps wow the teenaged videogamer.
WATCHMEN can be described as a sophisticated, multi-layered mystery using superheroes as the backdrop and is not easily compared to such films as the X-MEN. Such a comparison is akin to relating RAGING BULL to ROCKY or BARTON FINK to ADAPTATION.