I thought Watchmen was an excellent movie.
I am a fan of the original comic (I have a copy and know it well) and thought the film was an extraordinarily faithful adaptation of the comic, right down to the way the shots were framed.
In fact, I think the film helped me understand the characters a little more, for a bunch of “no-name” actors they did a great job.
The only weak links were Ozymandias (his depth and backstory was deleted, likely for pacing) and one particularly cheesy sex scene. But all the violence and adult content of the comic is dealt with and presented tastefully, stylistically and with great attention to detail.
The real surprise for me was how well-developed the characters were. It’s easy to see they are all sick people, the heroes especially, a reflection of humanity’s ugly elements. The film does an excellent job showing that, from Rorschach (“Paranoid? Is that what they’re saying about me now?”) and his borderline sociopathic, morally black-and-white tendencies to Silk Spectre’s low self-esteem to Nite Owl’s feelings of worthlessness and meaninglessness. It’s all there.
One of the greatest scenes which shows this is when Nite Owl and Silk Spectre violently beat the crap out of a bunch of thugs in an alley. For them, it’s a thrill, even a sexual thrill, which brings them closer together. The film is littered with such moments which seem straight-forward but when you think about what it says about the characters, you realize that while they are heroes, maybe they really shouldn’t be out running around trying to save the world; maybe they should be locked up with the criminals they put away. Maybe the angry mobs depicted in the flashbacks protesting against “masked vigilantes” are right.
The movie comes at an excellent time, in an era of cynicism where many people feel that trying to save the world is a futile effort. Like the film shows, it can be saved, but it may come at a great cost. Are we willing to pay the price? And if we do, will salvation last?
