A Groundbreaking Achievement Of Its Genre

Rating: Null/10 (31 March 2015)

A gorgeous blend of art & entertainment that's accomplished on both technical & narrative scale, Watchmen is one of the greatest adaptations of a graphic novel on the silver screen for it not only manages to translate the feel, texture, tone & essence of its source material on the film canvas in its absolute form but is also the most thematically rich of all the films that have surfaced in the superhero genre of cinema, so far.
Set around the mid-1980s in an alternate reality in which superheroes came into existence, America won the Vietnam War & the nuclear tension between United States n Soviet Union is at an all-time high, the story of Watchmen concerns a group of mostly retired American superheroes who, while investigating the recent murder of one of their colleagues, uncover a far more sinister plan which they try to stop before it is implemented.
Directed by Zack Snyder, Watchmen is his most accomplished work to date for he's able to bring on screen what was considered un-filmable by many & unlike 300, he succeeds in doing so without going for the green-screen unless left with no choice. Using the existing comic book as storyboards, Snyder is able to retain the texture & tone of the novel which when blended with his very own trademarks, turns Watchmen into something that feels truly unique to its genre.
Screenplay is deftly written, characters have a well-defined arc and the various themes & pop-culture references it deals with are expertly handled. Production design team provides an otherworldly setting to the film with its intricately designed sets, Cinematography makes near-perfect use of colour palettes & lighting plus the lavish use of slow-motion actually fits its narrative. Editing paces the plot steadily throughout its 186 minutes of runtime & the way its incorporated songs exhibit a contrasting effect to accompanying scenes is sheer genius.
Coming to the acting department, Watchmen features a very unconventional cast in Patrick Wilson, Malin Åkerman, Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode, Billy Crudup & Jeffrey Dean Morgan and all of them deliver damn good performances although it's Haley who ends up stealing the show as the masked vigilante Rorschach as every scene involving him is a treat to watch. Yet my favourite moment is the segment showing us the origin of Dr. Manhattan for the way it is arranged, scored, executed & presented is no short of perfection.
On an overall scale, Watchmen is an immensely rich, unflinchingly bold & unquestionably unique take on superheroes and in more ways than one, is a groundbreaking achievement of its genre. With a lack of any star in its ensemble cast, a complex & allegorical plot that unravels more on multiple viewings and its extremely grim & depressing tone, it is destined to polarise its viewers & garner a devoted cult following but just like any great work that was quite ahead of its time, this masterpiece will one day have the respect it truly deserves. Strongly recommended.