Watchmen (2009)
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Watchmen Movie Review
Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Jackie Earle Haley and Billy Crudup. It’s one of the best and most underrated superhero flicks.
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“None of you seem to understand.
I’m not locked in here with you.
You’re locked in here with me!“
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In 1985 where former superheroes exist, the murder of a colleague sends active vigilante Rorschach into his own sprawling investigation, uncovering something that could completely change the course of history. This movie bombed at the box office and it received bafflingly mediocre reviews, which again pinpoints how hypocritical and unfair movie critics are when they would criticize this sophisticated film and praise childish MCU movies.
What Zack Snyder did here is faithfully adapt the original graphic novel to the extreme. As somebody who’s read all twelve issues of the original comic series, I was taken aback by just how faithful this adaptation is. In fact, it ranks among the most faithful and detailed movie adaptations out there. I watched the director’s cut of three and a half hours and it was worth it as it literally felt like watching the graphic novel come to cinematic life.
This is by far Zack Snyder’s best and only genuinely good movie that he’s made. Unlike the vast majority of his product, this one isn’t as action-heavy, though it’s just as dark as always. But the darkness is earned and the visuals are actually authentic. Every single sequence was basically storyboarded from the original panels. Couple that with the fact that the movie was actually shot on location with no green screen used and you’ve got a rare recent superhero film that looks authentic and pleasing to the eye.
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The score is great and the sound effects are excellent, though the usual problem of sound mixing is evident here as action scenes and music are overloud and the dialogue is too low in volume. But the movie overall was an audio-visual marvel as it recreated the noirish atmosphere of the original story effortlessly. The editing and pacing are surprisingly strong for such a long film and the acting is mostly strong. The artistry was lost here a bit as the story was best suited for the comic book medium, but for the most part the film really worked.
Every single character was faithfully adapted from the graphic novel and very well developed and performed. Billy Crudup is terrific as Dr. Manhattan as his facial expressions were fittingly robotic, but also subtly human. The character looked impeccable due to strong effects and a solid choice to depict him fully naked. Laurie and Daniel are just as annoying as they were in the original series, but at least they were well performed and both got some cool action scenes.
Matthew Goode was fine as Ozymandias, but this villain was much more intimidating in the original work as here he was much less impactful. But Rorschach was fantastic and Jackie Earle Haley was so perfectly cast in the role. He looked the part and his performance was both cool and touching. Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian was delightfully over-the-top and unlikable in equal measure.
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Yes, Watchmen the movie can be too campy at times with the sex scenes and some action being ridiculous. The animated segments of this pirate tale that functioned as a companion piece to the main story was unnecessary, but honestly it was much more engaging and effective than in the books, and it looked dazzlingly artistic to boot. The action scenes are heightened for better and for worse, but undeniably hugely entertaining. The dialogue is also excellent. It really is a sadly underappreciated gem that ranks among the greatest movies of this genre.
Ranking among the most faithful movie adaptations of all time, Watchmen is also the only truly great movie that Zack Snyder has made so far. It is an audio-visual delight full of great noirish atmosphere, wonderfully developed and performed characters and a well crafted story. Yes, some scenes are ridiculously over-the-top and campy, but the majority of the film is polished, engaging and sophisticated in its narrative and dialogue. The director’s cut is the way to go here. Watchmen really is one of the best and most sadly underappreciated superhero movies.
My Rating – 4.5
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