Watchmen

In an alternate timeline, the United States and the Soviet Union are in a Cold War.  The threat of a massive launch of nuclear weapons by both countries is growing more and more imminent, and humanity is becoming increasingly unstable and corrupt.  A group of masked citizens known as the Watchmen, successors of the Minutemen, come out of retirement and social banishment to save the world from itself.  But someone is hindering their efforts with murder, and the investigation of the death of a Minuteman, the Comedian, reveals a greater plot of the exctinction of the human race.

That is the storyline of The Watchmen, one of the greatest graphic novels published of all time.  The movie, directed by Zack Snyder, most known for 300, retains all the epicness in the simplest manner: copying the script and scenelines frame for frame out of the comic book.  Looking back, it was probably the best way he could've created this movie.

Almost everything about this movie was done to perfection.  The casting was absolutely brilliant; every actor brought out their character seemlessly.  The action sequences, as expected of Snyder, were brilliant, utilizing his famous "slow-mo zoom-in" camera work and shot sequencing in fight scenes that no longer involved giant spears and swords, but bone-crunching kicks and punches.  The tracks was well selected, fitting the 1980's timeline perfectly with some great classical tunes that kept reminding you that despite the flying airships and a floating nuclear man, this is still set in the past.

The only problem with the movie, which I have observed as a constant theme for those who had negative opinions on the film, is within the actual story itself.  For those who haven't had the liberty of reading the graphic novel beforehand, the movie may seem long, drawn out, and dull.  There are sequences of scenes that go on for quite a while dealing with flashbacks, character development, or plot development.  Of course, these are necessary unless the movie was going to be full of plotholes, but even to someone who has read the comic before (me), the movie just never seemed to want to end.

But if you have read and enjoyed the comic, or like sociological and philisophical discussions on human nature, then this movie is a must watch.  It probably won't make the big bucks in the box office, but this movie is definitely worth at least two watches, and an eventual Blu-Ray purchase.

Grade: 8.5/10