At the time of its printing Watchmen, a twelve issue miniseries (it was not a "graphic novel" as it is called today) was a dissection of the superhero comic book and asked the question for the first time – what if superheroes were real? That being the case it seems that at this time, when comic book movies are at fever pitch, is the right time for a movie adaptation to hit the big screen.
Coming from the man who brought 300 to our screens you won't be surprised to hear that this is a film not for the faint of heart. The sex and violence are extremely gratuitous and, while I can see the need for the latter, some of the sex scenes seems a little out of place and unnecessary (just as it did in 300). The violence you will see is crucial to the narrative, it needs to be so harsh and unrelenting to show that, should extra ordinary human beings choose to don costumes and take to fighting crime, it would not be the simple SLAM, BANG, POW that your favourite comic book would have you believe. Rorschach is an example of the 'Batman' figure seen in the extreme. Even in the excellent Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, the square jawed handsome hero gives the bad guys a few hard knocks and sends them off to the pokey before heading home to his mansion/penthouse. Rorschach shows that to have the kind of commitment to fighting crime that Batman exhibits you would truly have to be a deeply disturbed individual with serious anger issues.
On the issue of sex, as I said before, some of it seems unnecessary – such as the length of Nite-Owl and Silk Spectre's love scene for example. What I do have to say is this: let's be grown ups. Yes you can see Dr. Manhattan's penis, but even if you were unaware of his nudity before entering the theatre, surely, one snigger is enough. On the flip side of that issue it does have to be said that I could have lived without the shot which comes from the ass-crack of a floating Dr. Manhattan while he sits in the lotus position.
The films soundtrack features great music though I did feel that some of the choices were a little off. The best example of this would be The Ride of the Valkyries, doubtlessly played in homage to Apocalypse Now during a Vietnam scene. As effective as the music is in the classic war movie's helicopter scene, played against the backdrop of a giant blue man blowing up the VC, it makes the scene play a little comically.
A sore point for many of the die hard fans of the comic book will be the ending, but at the risk of being unpopular, I would have to say that the films ending makes much more sense than that of the comic book. Just to be clear: I am saying Alan Moore is not infallible.
Overall the film is excellent and has come at the correct time in order to make sense to people who are not comic book readers. That being said I could not recommend this to everyone. Probably best to send mum and dad off to see Slumdog Millionaire. I would also warn that if you find the entire concept of superheroes unacceptable then, obviously, this is not the film for you. In closing, if you want to see a slick, stylish, adult superhero movie then you will enjoy this. However, even if all this is true but you don't think you can get over the sight of a male penis, do the rest of us a favour and wait for the DVD.
