[Movie Review] Watchmen
Posted by IcedNyior on March 10, 2009 | 11 Comments
I personally really like reading graphic novels. And the Hollywood trend now is to create movies based on graphic novels or games. Some have succeeded (like 300) but others have disappointed. Watchmen is based on a graphic novel by Alan Moore with the same title. It has 12 issues. I watched My friend brought me to watch this movie in GSC Midvalley last Sunday evening.
Watchmen is set at a time where masked superheroes were once revered and adored by the public. Newspaper articles, publicity and fame. Soon after, the people weren’t happy with the vigilantes, demanding that the police do their job. So most of the heroes retired and proceeded to live normal lives. However, when the Comedian is mysteriously murdered, the heroes are come out of hiding to find out what is threatening them.
The movie was captivating from the very start. The intro of the movie was shot like “still 3d images” where the people in the scene were “frozen”- I have no other way of explaining it, you have to watch it yourself. The intro really gives you a glimpse of the current setting – 1985s, where the US was threatened by the possibility of a nuclear attack from the Soviets, and superheroes hug up their masks. I like how they gave this background without any dialog or making the movie longer.
The story then continues with how the public was fascinated with the superheroes who remained in the public eye: Adrian Veidt – formerly the superhero Ozymandias, the smartest man on earth, turned businessman – and Dr Manhattan (formerly Dr John Osterman) who is blue and “can restructure subatomic particles at will, perceive happenings on the subatomic level, live forever, resize himself at will and teleport.”
Then one day, one of the heroes – the Comedian, a man who has strength and is good in combat – suddenly gets murdered. Rorschach – a masked vigilante who wears a sock with changing ink blots over his head – is determined to find out who was behind it. In the process, he also gets set up.
The thing I really liked about this movie was how they portrayed the watchmen as human. Not like some god-like being who are so different that us. They make mistakes, they cry and they feel remorse.
Anyway, I really don’t want to write anymore without giving away too much. Point is, I found this movie entertaining. If you are looking for an action packed flick filled with fighting scenes and not much dialog, this is not the movie for you. If you are looking for something that is deeper and interesting, do go watch it.
Rating : 4.5 of 5 stars
