Movie Review – The Watchmen

Justice is coming to all of us. No matter what we do.

 I haven’t read the graphic novel The Watchmen, but I was keenly aware of the controversy swirling around the making of this movie.  Lawsuits aside, countless fans of the graphic novel clearly did not want this movie made.

 I had the luxury of walking into a movie theatre without expectations.  And this is where it might be helpful to know something about me as a movie-goer.  I’m not much of one.  If I see three or four movies in the theatre over the course of the year – two being kid movies – that’s normal.

 I’d pay money to go see The Watchmen again, and when the director’s cut DVD comes out, I’ll be first in line.

The story is complex, yet simple.  It’s 1985, and the world of 1985 is not the one we remember.  Nixon is still president, term limits have been repealed, and the world is on the brink of nuclear war.  Masks – what we might call superheroes – have been outlawed.  Most of the former masks are trying to get on with their lives and forget.  Some can’t.

 The movie opens with the murder of The Comedian, a colourful character who is not all good or all evil, but like most real people is some mix of the two.  Despite the fact that the movie opens with his murder, he’s a critical character in the story, and the murder sets the stage for suspicions.  

 Rorschach – possibly my favourite character, certainly a compelling one – is convinced someone’s gunning for masks.  His former colleagues, who are trying to move on with their lives, dismiss The Comedian’s death as a “pattern of one” and point out that The Comedian had more enemies than friends, and his friends were some of his enemies – a testament to his complex nature, to the shades of darkness that were prevalent in his character.

 While Adrian (Ozymandias), Dan (Night Owl II), Jon (Dr. Manhatten) and Laurie (Silk Spectre II) all dismiss Rorchach’s concerns, they effectively leave him unprotected, on his own, trying to uncover a conspiracy that could lead to the destruction of the world. 

 The existence of life is a highly overrated phenomenon.

 To focus on the specifics of the story and how it unfolds would be a disservice to anyone on the fence about going to see the movie.  One of the best things about the movie is its ability to move backwards and forwards in time and juggle all the components and make it all make sense.  The writers and directors did an excellent job of holding cards back until the right time, of disclosing information at the best possible time to maximize the effectiveness of the revelations.  

 The special effects are excellent.  I was aware that filming had been done in The Greater Vancouver area, and yet they managed to make each venue used (including Coquitlam’s infamous Riverview Hospital, which was used on more than one occasion for filming X Files episodes) distinct.  There have been times I’ve watched a movie that’s been filmed near where I’ve lived and found reality distracting, but nothing could be further from the truth with The Watchmen.  

 I’m aware that not everything from a book can make it into the film adaptation.  One of the toughest jobs is to streamline the story, and still tell it effectively.  I can’t speak to what didn’t make it into the film version, but the film on its own was tight, packed with tension, excellent action scenes and a meaty story that deals with moral questions about justice, whether the ends justify the means, what it is to be human, guilt, sacrifice and forgiveness.  I’m not going to argue with fans of the graphic novel about what they feel are the shortcomings of the film, but I found the story compelling enough to motivate me to read the graphic novel, and look forward to it.  For now, I highly recommend the film.