Comic Book Blood & Porno fest?

Rating: 5/10 (9 March 2009)

Well, a convoluted comic became a convoluted movie, with gratuitous sex and violence added.
Here's the plot: It is 1985 and society is very different than the 1985 many of us lived through. Richard Nixon has just been elected for his 4th term in office.... how, you may ask? Well, the USA has the one super-powered hero in the world on its side... Dr. Manhattan. After a freak accident in an atomic experiment, he is given god-like power (and gradually develops god-like notions). Although there have been costumed heroes before (The Minutemen) and a second generation (the Watchmen), none were super-powered... they were merely highly-motivated normal humans with costumes and gadgets. Anyhow... in 1971, Nixon requests that Dr. Manhattan intervene in the costly Vietnam War... after 1 week on the job, the Viet Cong surrender and the war is over. The fear of Dr. Manhattan and his power accomplish two things: (1) The USA becomes the dominant super-power... backing off China and the USSR and allowing Nixon to basically seize power for as long as he wishes, and (2) it creates a backlash of anti-hero sentiment among the population, which eventually leads to the outlawing of costume heroes (except a couple who do work for the US government secretly). Now, in 1985 again... the USSR (and the rest of the world) are sick of the iron-handed policies of Nixon and the constant threat of Dr. Manhattan's powers. The USSR begins a policy of provocation against the USA and stockpile nuclear missiles with the thought of forcing the US into an Armageddon showdown once and for all. The world is on the brink of nuclear annihilation as the Doomsday Clock ticks down to midnight (meaning nuclear war is imminent).
Now the background: in 1940 the first team of costumed avengers is formed, called The Minutemen... it consists of several heroes... Mothman, The Comedian, the Silk Spectre, the Night Owl, and many others. As time goes by, the Minutemen grow old and a new team, The Watchmen (which includes The Comedian and The Night Owl) is formed. Another generation goes by until a last version of The Watchmen is formed including The Comedian, Rorschach, Silk Specte II (daughter of the first), Night Owl II, Dr. Manhattan, and Ozymandias (the smartest man on earth). The Watchmen's heavy-handed style of law and vengeance, along with the fear of Dr. Manhattan's god-like powers lead to protests and outcries, until they are banned, forcing the team to go into retirement. Now, old heroes are being murdered. Rorschach has refused to retire, continuing a vigilante form of justice, and begins to investigate how and why The Comedian was murdered. He eventually contacts the other surviving members of The Watchmen who more or less aid the investigation, although they prefer to stay hidden. Ozymandias (Adrian Veidt) has become a billionaire using his brains and skills to form a multi-national corporation and seeks positive solutions to make humankind's existence better. As the threat of nuclear annihilation deepens, Dr. Manhattan (who has the ability to see the future) claims he is "blocked" and assumes the world will be destroyed but no longer cares. His emotional detachment- including his relationship with Silk Spectre II, and her subsequent fleeing to the arms of Night Owl II- is one of the many soap-opera subplots in the story. Eventually, as things deepen even more, the surviving Watchmen come out of retirement and help Rorschach trace the clues and unravel a plot to save the world which would kill millions. The surprise villain and the eventual decisions made by the team to avert nuclear destruction lead to Alan Moore's favorite theme- the convoluted sense of right and wrong and the gray areas of morality. Each hero is supposed to represent a different philosophical/moral school of thought from the nihilistic misanthrope Rorschach to the amoral Comedian and so on.
Unfortunately, four main issues prevented me from enjoying the film... 1. the hectic time pieces. Unless one knows the book, the bouncing back and forth could be really confusing to ordinary viewers. 2. The empowering of the heroes. They were not super-powered, and the movie gives them advanced strength and speed beyond human abilities. 3. The added scenes, not in the book, that change some of the themes and try to put a happier spin on some things. 4. The blatant graphic sex and violence. I am so not a prude, but this movie had too many unnecessarily graphic sex scenes and blood. A Freddy Kruger movie had less blood and gore, and the sex scenes were just too explicit. This movie easily should have been an NC-17 rating. From Dr. Manhattan constantly presenting his large blue schlong to the several sex scenes of Silk Spectres I and II with various characters (including the rape of Silk Spectre I by the Comedian). The movie was rated "R' but the graphic sex was not in the book- just hinted- and it is, to the general public, a "comic book movie" and many people brought their 9-11 year-olds and left the theaters. I understand the director wanted this to be graphic and really get behind the masks of the heroes to show they all have human issues and needs (the book was a super-hero soap opera on many levels)- but it just did not need to be done so thoroughly here. We just don't need to show things. It was excessive and took away from the movie. In the end, while it tried desperately to capture the themes, edginess, and depths of Moore's story... it tried too hard and failed on several points and presented an overly-complex superhero movie that bordered on being a porn movie in many places. I am sure some fan-boys are just giggling in joy at the greatest graphic novel finally reaching the big screen and probably enjoying all the spandex sex and nudity- but, having read the novel 25 years ago the movie really did not accomplish anything positive for the book.