Keeping a Watchful Eye

Watchmen Scores and Falls Flat on a Grand Scale
by Morgan P Salvo
3 stars



The making of Watchmen was besieged with controversy and problems from the get-go. Producers fought over rights, writer Alan Moore took his name off the project, lawsuits flew—it was a messy Hollywood legal battle on a grand scale begging the question: would it ever be released? Well fear not! After all the dust has settled we have our Watchmen movie in its entirety.
With Zack Snyder (Dawn Of the Dead redux and 300) at the helm, Watchmen is really good for about two hours. There are some amazing special effects, some exceptional acting and some of the best dialogue I have ever heard, but then just when I told myself I could watch this all day, Watchmen took a turn for the worse and never wholly recovered.
This film reverently follows the graphic novel of the same name, an award winning masterwork of literature comprised of a 12-comic book series illustrated by Dave Gibbons, written by Alan Moore (V for Vendetta and Swamp Thing) and published by DC Comics. The story follows a group of masked avengers who, after being outlawed, live empty and lonely lives. The film opens with “The Times Are a’ Changing” by Bob Dylan while a montage of stills and clips unfolds the saga of the days of politically motivated super heroes. Set in a time warp of 1976-1985, Richard Nixon is the American president and has been elected to five terms. This universe has a tradition of masked crime fighters. These so-called vigilantes have been forced to retire, banned for using super powers (despite ending the war in Vietnam) but they can still wear those goofy get ups if they want. When the superhero named The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), is brutally killed, pal Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) wants to know why. Rorschach takes up the task of getting to the root of the real reason for the death, instigating a reunion of sorts with his league of super heroes. Together they stumble onto something much larger than he could ever have expected: racing against a doomsday clock and nuclear obliteration.
With its nihilistic approach Watchmen is really a character piece, filled with complicated, articulate stories told in flashbacks for each hero. There’s Dr Manhattan (Billy Cruddup’s weirdest performance) playing the big blue demi-god who swings some pipe, treating us to some full frontal. Haley takes charge of his role as Rorschach propelling the story’s intensity. He deftly plays the psychopathic, paranoid and complex character from behind a mask of shifting inkblots. Morgan has the most fun with The Comedian’s “screw-you-life-is short” attitude, complete with smiles, muscle flexing and cigar chewing. Super-intellect Adrian Veidt (Matthew Goode) is a really integral character but the performance is just sufficient. Night Owl (Patrick Wilson) is just a mediocre wimp. The poorest acting comes from Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre. Starting with an unbelievably bad rendering of her opening line, her acting is wretched throughout, proving to be a complete distraction. The love story between Night Owl and Silk Specter was by far the weakest link and drawn out beyond necessity.
The screenplay, written by David Hayter and Alex Tse, sticks like glue to the original for the most part, but then gets sappy, mushy and bogged down, retreating to a snail’s pace.
When, near the finale, the evil genius says, “I am not some comic-book villain!” we are so far beyond that I felt a communal rolling of the eyes in the theatre. At some point the filmmakers should’ve realized some ideas don’t translate well and should’ve left well enough alone.
Despite its flaws, there is a lot to like about this movie. The music is remarkably cool throughout. Some great song choices during fight scenes provided dichotomy, like when “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole plays while some massive head busting is going on. There is no skimping on the blood, guts and gore in this always bleak, dark look at life, riddled with hailing bullets and other forms of sadistic brutality. There are many great lines, the best one being when the Night Owl asks The Comedian, “What happened to the American dream?” The response from The Comedian is with an all knowing gleam in his eye. “It came true.” The social commentary and political satire is relevant to our contemporary issues and even takes on our dependence on oil.
When all is said and done, Snyder’s version is a well-paced, extraordinarily shot and beautifully rendered vision keeping a watchful eye on all things sacred from the original until the dreary overly drawn-out soap opera swallows itself whole in a metaphysical whirlpool.

Watchmen
Staring: Billy Crudup, Malin Akerman, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Director: Zack Snyder