Watching The Watchmen

Rating: 9/10 (23 March 2009)

Watchmen is a rare film and because of that it may scare off some looking for the usual superhero fare. Watchmen packs in a lot in its two hours and forty minutes so it never feels too long or boring. The film is densely plotted and original. Give director Zak Snyder (300, the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead) credit for turning Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons graphic novel into a film; the project had been long gestating since the late 80's. Terry Gilliam was set to direct at one point but ultimately deemed it to be "unfilmable".
According to many Snyder's vision of Watchmen is faithful. Not having read the novel I have to believe they are probably right. Snyder did not seem to want to compromise the integrity of the project. At one point, the studio was in talks with Snyder to make it PG-13 but ultimately Snyder decided it wasn't going to work. Snyder has also said that he is going to add an hour for the DVD and Blu-ray version of the release.
Now on to the film itself, The Watchmen meets and exceeds expectations. The film is set in an alternate reality of the US in 1985. Nixon just won his 5th term in office and the US is in a cold war with Russia and nuclear war is all but on the brink. Masked vigilantes have been part of the culture since the 40's the first group was called the Minutemen and we get a brief synopsis of what happened to them. The latest group are The Watchmen. Some of the Watchmen don't don their masks and fight crime anymore as superheroes are now made illegal. Some decide that its still their obligation. Did I mention someone is trying to kill off superheroes? This brings the group back together. The movie has a lot going on including a very involved mythology which is very engrossing. The film is very satisfying and will leave you discussing and thinking about the film for a long while. Very highly recommended.