Movie Review: Who’s Watched the Watchmen? (Watchmen, 2009)

Moving, engaging, modern, anthemic, tributary.

Such are words I can use to describe Zack Snyder’s big screen adaptation of Watchmen.

Zack Snyder’s work on 300 has established him as a director true to the original work he adapts.  In Watchmen, he once again displays a hint of fandom of the visual work on the comics he has rendered on film, in this instance, by illustrator Dave Gibbons and colorist Jack Higgins.  Every frame of the movie is a tribute to the brilliant art that graced the pages of the popular comic series.  Even small details, like the angle by which The Comedian’s blood-splatted Watchmen pin was taken, were created with an unfaltering attention to detail.

The soundtrack is a work of brilliance in itself.  When seeing the old costumed hero days of the Minutemen, we hear songs by artists like Bob Dylan and The Beatles.  When seeing present times, we hear fun, upbeat tracks of the 80’s (the story is set in 1985).  As scenes develop into pensive, retrospective mood, we hear beautifully sentimental music, like All Along the Watchtower, playing in the background as two modern heroes fall in love, and follow their heart’s desire, donning costumes and saving the world despite the law commanding them not to.  We hear this welcome combination of old music from varying generations to set our mood at erratic twists and turns, an indication that music allows effective means by which a movie gets through to its audience.

So many important aspects of the comic book were deleted off the movie.  There were science and literature and poetry and lyrical narratives, and a huge chunk of these were taken out.  Instead, we get a condensed version that focuses on the plot and some dramatic points of the story.  This would make for an easy reason to rant, even the comic book writer himself argued that the plot just really isn’t the most interesting thing about Watchmen, but that’s not exactly telling on the success of the movie as regards its power to entertain.

If we must stay true to the story of one of the greatest comic books of all time, why not pen and helm a trilogy?  Or better yet, produce a mini-series of 12-parts, one for each chapter of the book.  That way, we can cover every detail and even spring in the juicy, more engaging supplemental prose pieces at the end of each chapter.  But all we really have here is a two-and-a-half hour long movie made to sell millions.  That’s what we get given a stringent budget and projections for box office sales.  That is also what we get after decades of planning and what seemed like gazillions of interested film directors who just wouldn’t push through with making it.

Watchmen is a cult classic, not the best/fastest-selling book of all time.  Its fan base is maturing men with old people responsibilities (aka the teenage fanboys of 1985), not kids of all ages.  It is not a superhero story, but rather a story that humanizes heroes and strips them off any god-like superhero qualities, that comic books have given them through the years, to reveal petty, weak creatures who would take each other down if it comes to that, just like the rest of us.  These kinds of stories are written for a few select people with a taste for higher storylines, less flashy action, and more mature drama.  Transforming these kinds of stories into movies means it can only go so far being commercial, without sacrificing art and literature, so it’s wise not to expect for it to become the next Titanic of box office sales.

And Titanic of box office sales it will not become, but it will entertain just the same.  With what little time Zack Snyder has to retell, he has paid tribute to Alan Moore’s classic with a tale of simpler twists, less poetry, a lot of music (Did you wish there was dancing like in 300?  I did.), and overall a platform for a strong comeback of the Watchmen-crazed generation, by making new Watchmen fans in today’s teenage boys and girls.  Sure, it’s not slated to be remembered for all time, but it could be one of the most entertaining comic book adaptations of this year.  Not so bad then, is it?

In the movie, I loved hearing Rorschach say these favorite lines of mine from the comic book:

Is that what happens to us?
A life of conflict with no time for friends
So that when it’s done, only our enemies leave roses

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