In an alternate reality of 1985, superheroes have been outlawed or taken under government control. Vigilante Rorschach (Haley) investigates the murder of a former superhero, which reunites him with some old, albeit flawed, colleagues: Dr. Manhattan (Crudup), a giant glowing blue nudist; Silk Spectre II (Akerman), the sexy daughter of a former superhero; and Nite Owl (Wilson), a Batman-knock off. After investigation, the Watchmen uncover a conspiracy to discredit and kill the retired crimefighters. The unconventional structure and focus on backstories often make it difficult to follow. Director Snyder's highly-anticipated and ambitious attempt to bring Alan Moore's postmodern cult graphic novel to the big screen will inevitably upset some fanboys, and send others to orgasmic heights, but overall, it's an uneven disappointment.
Alan Moore was right. His masterful and influential Watchmen may be forever un-filmable. It certainly wasn't filmable by Zack Snyder. The director of 300 has made a loud, violent, poorly paced, disjointed, and misguided film that's both too loyal to its source material and uncertain of what that source ...Read More
I disagree. I think that Snyder is in a no-win situation here. As mentioned, to make a film replicating the entire Watchmen series would be 4 hours ? at least. The alternative was to ?interpret? the series and make it more watchable for people who have never read the book. Of course, had he done this, fans would be enraged that he had prostituted Alan Moore?s masterpiece just to make it ?Hollywood?. Instead, he stuck as closely to the story as he could, crammed as much as possible in under 3 hours and produced what I?m sure most fans would agree, is a pretty great homage to one of the best graphic novels written. Seeing almost exact images from the book translated to the big screen was a thrill and I thought they did a great job. I thought the cast portrayed the ?feel? of the book very well. While the sex scene may have been a bit overdone I thought the overall relationship was just as believable in the movie as it was in the book. Haley played Rorchach to perfection and Patrick Wilson made a good Dan Dreiberg.
Having said that, I?m curious to see how people who have never read the book will take this movie. Personally, I think that without the benefit of reading the book and having the entire back story, the movie wouldn?t be nearly as enjoyable. I don?t think this works well as just a standalone movie the way other comic book movies do ? you don?t need to read a Batman comic to enjoy ?The Dark Knight?.
As a big fan of the book and of Alan Moore?s work I thought this was a great movie and I can?t wait to see the longer director?s cut.
Newspaper article from: Entertainment Newsweekly; 10/30/2009; 906+ words...all-new Fight-Scene-of-the-Year category. Comic book-inspired blockbusters "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "Watchmen" each nabbed 13 nominations, big screen adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's best selling novel "Twilight" received 10 nominations...
Newspaper article from: Entertainment Newsweekly; 7/31/2009; 890+ words...The Matrix, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Men in Black and most recently for the Silk Spectre II character played by Malin Akerman in Watchmen. Syren's costume for Michelle Pfeiffer's role in "Catwoman" was recently on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art...
Newspaper article from: Entertainment Newsweekly; 6/12/2009; 1025+ words...Housewives; Rupert Gregson-Williams for Bedtime Stories and You Don't Mess with the Zohan; Tyler Bates for Californication and Watchmen; and Graeme Revell for Pineapple Express and Eleventh Hour. Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI) is an American performing...
Newspaper article from: Entertainment Newsweekly; 5/8/2009; 1105+ words...production designer Martin Laing (Pearl Harbor), editor Conrad Buff (Shooter), costume designer Michael Wilkinson (Watchmen), visual effects supervisor Charlie Gibson (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End), and animatronics supervisor...
Newspaper article from: Entertainment Newsweekly; 3/27/2009; 921+ words...becoming one of the industry's busiest young actresses and is currently starring as Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II in "Watchmen." Her previous credits include "27 Dresses," "The Heartbreak Kid," "The Comeback" and "Entourage." She will next...