Awesome Cinema!

Rating: 9/10 (11 March 2009)

OK, let's get this out of the way......I have not read the much lauded graphic novel and went to see Watchmen from a completely neutral perspective. I thought Zach Snyder's two previous movies movies were awesome. The re-imagining of Dawn Of The Dead was brilliant (and I love the original Romero film) and '300' was like nothing I've ever seen before. So I went to see his celluloid version of Watchmen with a sense of trepidation and excitement. Firstly, those people who have posted negative reviews probably think films like 'Armageddon' and 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' are cinematic masterpieces! The visual style of this film is stunning and surprisingly the use of CGI is limited (apart from the obvious portrayal of Dr Manhattan). The main characters are superbly realised and the acting is top notch. The standout characters for me were the aforementioned Dr Manhattan( a superbly understated Billy Crudup), Rorschach (a stunningly psychotic Jack Earle Hayley) and The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). The rest of the superheroes are also superb and I really cannot fault any of the actors all playing difficult roles. Much has been said of Malin Ackerman's 'botched' portrayal of Silk Spectre II......don't buy into this, she is good and super sexy in this pivotal role. I also thought Patrick Wilson was excellent as Night Owl II and Matthew Goode was superb as Ozymandias, the so called smartest person in the world. This film makes great use of the period music and is brutally violent in places but don't let that put you off! Having not read the comic, I found myself drawn in by the characters and plot and didn't find it confusing at all. There is a great twist that I didn't see coming and the much maligned 'alternate' ending fits so well with the film that the ridiculous space squid ending in the comic would have been misguided. This film is nowhere near perfect....there is a ridiculously OTT sex scene which drew lots of unintentional laughs and Richard Nixon's make up is pretty poor but overall the film was as good as I expected, if not better!
All I can say is kudos to Zach Snyder for tackling a movie that was initially deemed unfilmable and I don't think ANYONE could've done a better job! Go see this film with an open mind and don't expect a Spiderman or even the ultra-successful Dark Knight type superhero flick and you won't be disappointed.