"...the flawed masterpiece."

Rating: 8/10 (12 July 2015)

Director's Cut
If crime cinema has its own "The Godfather", then superhero/comics would have accomplished "Watchmen". "Watchmen" does not win a point on terms for cinematic quality as much, but the narrative depth that it offers is thoroughly similar. Alan Moore's Watchmen is a complex story, with complex characters, in troubled times. Set in the cold- war era, "Watchmen" undertakes a visual scope of the darkest universe, with whores and wronged politicians dwelling.
'Watchmen' is a group of costumed vigilantes, working for a sole purpose – to eradicate crimes completely and attempts to make the world a 'better place'. They are Rorschach (Jackie Earle Harley), Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Dr Manhattan (Billy Crudup), Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman) and Ozymandias (Matthew Goode). "Watchmen" is probably similar to the batman universe. The only contrast would mainly be that Watchmen's has six, but Batman has one.
Mostly during the course of the story, "Watchmen" shows retired superheroes (except Rorschach). Those being crime-fighters are merely a past. It is a national law called 'The Keene Act', which is being released during that point of time which made any form of vigilantism illegal.
The story begins with the murder of The Comedian. His comrade, Rorschach, was being made to be wary, and immediately warned other Watchmens that there might be a formidable enemy intending to annihilate the group. Rorschach understands that The Comedian is not an easy target, and he deems the murderer to be no less than 'extraordinary'. The story then moves forward with Rorschach, the only active vigilante, striving to unravel the mystery by disclosing the identity of the killer, and the reasons of it.
Even if it abruptly charges with a mystery, "Watchmen" never stays in that direction. The film continuously digs deeper- into the implications from the murder, and also into the characters. "Watchmen" shows competence in character development. For instance, Dr Manhattan is flawed morally, despite being the only person who is gifted with superpowers. He betrays his lover, lacking care for people and blindly obeys orders from the President to interfere the Vietnam War and mercilessly murder people. Perhaps amidst enduring the unparalleled abilities which none other will have, he loses touch with humanity.
Ozymandias is questionable. A villain, an anti-hero or actually a hero? He is responsible for the peace made between nations in the world, but consequently, millions are killed. Ozymandias setting up exploding energy reactors in major cities to eliminate conflicts completely, reminded me of the efforts made by the American to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to bring an end to Word War 2, and ultimately to carry peace to the world. If the world never condemns USA, then I don't see the need to put Ozymandias down. What he does, is actually similar to what American had done during the Second World War –kill millions, to save billions.
Roscharch is most loyal to a set of principles he clings on. A fixed devotee of vigilantism he is, although he is actually the least merciful of the six. The Comedian has his story to tell, Nite Owl is a naïve-nice guy preserver and Silk Spectre II, the only woman in the team, shows weaknesses and shares unwell ties with her comrades. "Watchmen" shows strength in showing that all the characters play pivotal parts to bring the story forward. None of the characters is wasted, and if one goes off, the adventure will never work.
I could imagine seeing "Watchmen" on a big screen and experience wonders. The competent cinematography led by Larry Fong brought images of streets to awe. David Hayter and Alex Tse too should be credited for putting up a deep, well-written intricate screenplay for the screen. The performances are uniformly excellent, especially from Jackie Earle Harley and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
"Watchmen" is not your "The Avengers", "Captain America: The First Avenger", or "Thor" or anything that Marvel had been releasing for the past few years. "Watchmen" is different. It is dark, brutal, complex and distinctly pictured human nature – us. Celebrities or 'heroes' are well supported or admired in front of cameras or media, but the dark sides of them are concealed, just like the six heroes in "Watchmen". If superheroes are real, they would just be like the 'Watchmen'. No one is devoid of sins, and mistakes are clearly humans' closest adversary.
"Watchmen" – the flawed masterpiece
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