Watchmen: A Review
March 17th 2009 08:19
Visually appealing with a biting storyline and gripping plots and twists seem to describe this movie the best.
This is no movie for the faint-hearted (think “Kill Bill” and to a certain extent, “300” depictions of blood and gore) as director Zack Snyder heavily borrows from his previous movie, “300”, in terms of computer graphics and how he gets away from the classification board with his CGI nudity and comic-strip like fleeting excerpts of violence.
The glue to the movie seems to be Silk Spectre a.k.a. Laurie Jupiter (played by Malin Akerman) as her name appears first both in the ending credits and on the imdb page of the movie. You don’t realize that she seems to be the focal point of the movie as it switches between her, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) and the Night Owl (Patrick Wilson); however, the movie is heavily narrated by Rorschach’s journal entries. Again, I have to reiterate, it doesn’t stay on one particular character for very long.
I have had friends say that the movie had no ups and downs, flat if you will but I found it highly innuendous. The conversations and on-screen drama and chemistry between the actors and actresses give a very full and complete cinematic experience. I’m sure they spent a whole lot of money on the props, soundtrack and lighting as well; all in all, it just seemed they paid a lot of attention to the fillers that make up a graphic novel turned movie alongside the music, timing, acting and location that a ‘normal’ movie requires. With the advent of digital manipulation, it literally brings the comic superheroes to life.
The similarity in the movie-making techniques of “Watchmen” and “300” are sometimes so alike that you would not be able to tell them apart if they were not set in times so different (the noise and grain coupled with the sometimes super enlarged pores of actors faces in “300” make a second appearance in “Watchmen”).
“Watchmen” is also targeted for more mature audiences than for “300”. Expect bucketloads of blood, half a dozen of bone damage related incidents and a super long sex scene. I understand if you argue that pornography is becoming more mainstream but personally, I would rather keep the two as far apart as possible.
As a finishing note, if you are one who can stomach deep conversations circa 1985 and understand history well, you will enjoy this movie. There are heaps of references to ‘famous’ war-time pictures (one from WWI and few from the Vietnam War) in the opening credits as they whisk you through the history of the Watchmen with an American country song twanging in the background.
Watch it for its quick story changes and bouncing back and forth perspectives from each of the characters and just for a generally well thought of, clean and well made movie.
4 out of 5 stars.
DM
This is no movie for the faint-hearted (think “Kill Bill” and to a certain extent, “300” depictions of blood and gore) as director Zack Snyder heavily borrows from his previous movie, “300”, in terms of computer graphics and how he gets away from the classification board with his CGI nudity and comic-strip like fleeting excerpts of violence.
The glue to the movie seems to be Silk Spectre a.k.a. Laurie Jupiter (played by Malin Akerman) as her name appears first both in the ending credits and on the imdb page of the movie. You don’t realize that she seems to be the focal point of the movie as it switches between her, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) and the Night Owl (Patrick Wilson); however, the movie is heavily narrated by Rorschach’s journal entries. Again, I have to reiterate, it doesn’t stay on one particular character for very long.
I have had friends say that the movie had no ups and downs, flat if you will but I found it highly innuendous. The conversations and on-screen drama and chemistry between the actors and actresses give a very full and complete cinematic experience. I’m sure they spent a whole lot of money on the props, soundtrack and lighting as well; all in all, it just seemed they paid a lot of attention to the fillers that make up a graphic novel turned movie alongside the music, timing, acting and location that a ‘normal’ movie requires. With the advent of digital manipulation, it literally brings the comic superheroes to life.
The similarity in the movie-making techniques of “Watchmen” and “300” are sometimes so alike that you would not be able to tell them apart if they were not set in times so different (the noise and grain coupled with the sometimes super enlarged pores of actors faces in “300” make a second appearance in “Watchmen”).
“Watchmen” is also targeted for more mature audiences than for “300”. Expect bucketloads of blood, half a dozen of bone damage related incidents and a super long sex scene. I understand if you argue that pornography is becoming more mainstream but personally, I would rather keep the two as far apart as possible.
As a finishing note, if you are one who can stomach deep conversations circa 1985 and understand history well, you will enjoy this movie. There are heaps of references to ‘famous’ war-time pictures (one from WWI and few from the Vietnam War) in the opening credits as they whisk you through the history of the Watchmen with an American country song twanging in the background.
Watch it for its quick story changes and bouncing back and forth perspectives from each of the characters and just for a generally well thought of, clean and well made movie.
4 out of 5 stars.
DM
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