Artful ‘Watchmen’ stunning on bigscreen

“Watchmen” – 4 out of 5 stars

Ty Hampton
Critic’s Corner

Although the heroes of the “Watchmen” exist in an alternate universe parallel to our own, these masked crusaders ring truer than any I’ve ever seen on the silver screen in this popular graphic novel film adaptation.

The Watchmen are a gang of cops who started wearing costumes in response to theatric criminals and served to protect the American people through World War II and Vietnam. In the Watchmen world we won Nam, the year is 1985 and Richard Nixon is (somehow) on his fifth term as President as the U.S. is headed towards nuclear holocaust with Russia.

Nixon has recently banned the Watchmen from duty as one of them, Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), who is a walking nuclear bomb due to side affects from a terrible government experiment. Manhattan is the only Watchman with extraordinary powers as the rest return to civilian duties or common lives – until shaken awake by the mysterious (and peculiar) death of one of their own.

Although the film jumps between characters, the mystery is unraveled mostly from the view of one protagonist in particular – the masked, vengeful and verging on psychopathic Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley). This guy is my favorite character as he has a haunted past and carries a thirst for justice that he is willing to quench however and whenever – a true superhero bandit.

I was so amazed with Haley’s standout performance as Rorschach that I was bothered why I hadn’t seen the actor before. Then I looked up the guy and I have seen him before, but in a much different role – that of the smelly hippy Dukes character in Will Ferrell’s 2008 comedy “Semi-Pro.” Wow, this dude’s got range.

All the story’s protagonists are unconventional, flawed superheroes who drink, smoke, swear, and aren’t afraid to kill in the name of justice. No doubt, the graphic novel made for very juicy material, and I’ve heard this movie stayed true to epic comic.

However, fans of the comic may stay with the subtleties of the storyline a litter better than the mass audiences who will no doubt flock to the theaters to see this visual masterpiece. But this story has a little bit of something to keep everybody along for the ride.

Director Zack Snyder also captained “300” with help from director of photography Larry Fong on both films. The 2006 Spartan bloodbath was equally as visually stimulating, and if there is anything these guys get it’s how to impress with art direction and special effects.
Being a fan of more traditional DC and Marvel Comics characters as a kid and young adult, I enjoyed learning about the Watchmen universe of these flawed and jaded superheroes who were foreign to me. The storytelling was what made this so interesting and easy to me as the filmmaker did not simply introduce one hero after the other from the get go – rather peeled away layers of complexity throughout.

I’ve always sort of dreamed of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino remaking a classic superhero story from his own point of view and – although this doesn’t have the quirky, clever dialogue of a Tarantino film – I get the feeling Watchmen is about as close as it’s going to get.

Additionally, the music in this film is great and helps to animate the movie even more. From Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable" that is tuned to the opening slaying of one of the original Watchmen, to Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are-A-Changin" and Jimi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower."

Length is a problem though – at a mere 2 hours and 43 minutes this epic’s only saving grace is the fact that they managed to fit it all in, making no hurried haphazard effort to set up a sequel.

At times I felt like the plot was losing speed or draining on, but then as soon as I knew it the protagonists were thrust back into the middle of a high-flying, intense action scene with a plethora of perfected “slow-mo” matrix shots and ballerina-esque choreography.

But if the film could have trimmed even half an hour out, for me the action would have carried me through as there were some unnecessary plotlines (i.e. the love triangle between Dr. Manhattan, the Nite Owl and the Silk Spectre).

Beautiful additions to this epic story are the politically charged metaphors, humanized drama, and its truly unapologetic nature. This movie is in your face for two hours plus.

That being said, this film felt the most like it would fall into the action film genre, being geared towards special effects and extreme scenes of violence.

I believe action films should keep us on the edge of our seats and most of all, entertain at all costs. Watchmen did that on so many levels and was truly, visually stunning so I have to give it four out of five stars for an action/drama. As far as comic book/graphic novel films go I would park this one directly behind, but in the company of, “Sin City” and “The Dark Knight.”

Watchmen is rated R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity, and language. As this film appears to many as just another comic book movie, I would strongly caution parents that the blood and language are as advertised but the sexual content is borderline pornographic.

The film is showing at 4 and 7:15 p.m. daily at Polson’s Showboat Cinema.