The Watchmen: For fans only!

Rating: 5/10 (12 December 2009)

Zach Snyder's latest visionary epic is very impressive, yet ridiculous. It has a lot of elements about it that I loved, and I thought were very memorable and entertaining; There were just things about the movie through its seriousness that were either laughable, questionable, or just stupid.
First, on the positive side, this film is not without its redeemable qualities. For instance, the performances wielded by the cast were very admirable. Especially Jackie Earle Haley's portrayal of Rorschach. On a side note: It's nice to see such a familiar face reemerge from the seventies golden-age of cinema, and begin making appearances in mainstream film once again. Haley, if you remember was in the Bad News Bears films and Breaking Away. He was a teen idol from the seventies. Another great aspect was the graphic violence of the film. Scenes of devastation, mutilation, and impressive choreography were very intense and pleasing to the entertainment value. And the story, though complicated and, at times, hard to pick up on, carried with it several surprises.
As far as what weakens the film, I found it to be extremely comical in parts, and also questionable as to certain elements. For one thing, seeing people as costumed heroes interacting in a human drama made it hard for me to take it seriously. That of course is just my opinion and very much debatable from person to person. But that Jon character walking around in a speedo for half the film and with his dingaling hanging out for the other half, I just couldn't take it seriously. Not just his appearance, but the other costumed vigilantes as well. There costumes were almost goofy. Then there is the questionable aspects. If they can be killed by a mere bullet, what was to stop them from being killed already. They call them superheroes, but they weren't too super to me.
I say for fans only, because I think most casual viewers would not appreciate it for what it is. I think unless you are a fan of comic books, you might have a hard time getting past the same things I did. But that is also what I admired about the film. You can literally tell that this is a movie for the comic book fans. It did not compromise itself or its own integrity to suit the masses, so for that, I commend Zach Snyder for the direction, and for the Warner and Paramount hierarchy for staying out of the way.