Superhero Noir

Rating: 9/10 (7 March 2009)

I may be in a unique situation here, I am a huge Superhero fan, but not a huge fan of reading comics. How is this possible you ask? Well my love for the Superhero is based on Cartoons and video games I indulged in as a kid from the 80's and 90's. So it'll be of no surprise that I write this review with no prior access to Watchmen, but saw the movie with a raw sense of intrigue.
Watchmen was unique for me in the sense that it gave me the chance to reverse roles. Spiderman, Fantastic 4, X-men etc I had no choice but to have expectations going into these films, so I found them frustrating in the sense that the character development was deliberately slowed in order to open the film up to a new audience. Also the story lines in the aforementioned movies were often hacked up for the same purpose. So here comes Watchmen where I had no idea what I could expect so I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.
Watchmen for the best part delivers a dark and noir-ish feel to the superhero genre. It shouldn't be compared to the "Dark Knight" I don't feel it fair to either film to pair them together. Christopher Nolan's effort had a responsibility to salvage a franchise that had become disenfranchised.
Zac Snyder's film on the other hand attempts to re-invent the superhero movie concept using Watchmen almost as fresh clay to mould. He does this by focusing on themes murder, sex, and politics which are illustrated by extreme violence , nudity and satirical exhortations. Watchmen emancipates the superhero genre from the turgid stink of teen angst (Spiderman), stupidity (Fantastic Four) and patronising lessons in humility (X-men) that have blighted previous superhero efforts.
The cast is terrifically ensemble, perfect for a story that refuses to single out any character as central. However through no fault of the films direction Jackie Earle Haley dominates as the tough talking, tough walking vigilante Rorschach. And gives the film it's Noir like feel, as he investigates the murder of one of his former colleagues. Following on from Haley is Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl a character manages to combine elements of Batman and Clark Kent, whilst giving Nite Owl an authentic feel of his own. Still as previously mentioned it's a great team effort with Crudup as the Powerful Dr Manhattan, Jeffery Dean Morgan as the wild Comedian, Carla Gugino and Malin Akerman both add a feminine touch as the Mother and Daughter crime fighters. The delightfully plucked Soundtrack add's a depth to the film mixing in some popular music from some of the best in American musical history including Dylan, Hendrix, Simon and Garfunkel to name a few.
Overall Synder delivers a movie rich in cinematic bluster and verve whilst creating a dark atmosphere in a world rife with paranoia and fear. The story ticks over nicely with plenty of educating flash-back sequences which enables the new viewer to get to grips with both plot and characters. The only negative is that you're treated to over 2 hours of a gritty, edgy adult viewing then the last 30 minutes leaves you feeling like you had just watched any other superhero film. Which is a slight let down but not enough to tarnish a very entertaining piece of work.
A must see for superhero fans.