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WATCHMEN

Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson

Directed by: Zack Snyder

Rated R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language

By John Delia

Watchmen is every mature teen’s dream film, but don’t leave out us action lovers as it kicks huge butt on the big screen. The film goes way beyond other comic character tries in that we duds get some background on each of the superheroes making it more fun to watch. Sure everyone knows about Batman and Superman, but unless you are a comic book muncher, who ever heard of Rorschach, Silk Spectre, The Comedian, or Nite Owl? I found them to be cool crime crusaders.
Watchmen is a very complex, multi-layered mystery adventure set in alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society. During this period of history the President of the USA is Nixon and the cold war has sprung its devilish head with Russia on the move to take over Afghanistan. With America possibly in the sites of Russia for a nuclear attack, the USA has no-one left to help them. Especially since most of the superheroes have retired or lost face in the rag tag society that wants peace, but without the Watchmen’s intervention. The last time the USA was bailed out was Viet Nam, but their biggest weapon Mr. Manhattan (Crudup) has gone into hiding. When The Comedian (Morgan) gets killed, Rorschach (Haley) takes offense and ties to find the killer. After some targeted street attacks, both Nite Owl (Wilson) and Spectre (Akerman) join Rorschach in an attempt to bring the perpetrator down.
It was fun seeing Haley (Bad News Bears) and Wilson (Phantom of the Opera) in the superhero roles. As Rorschach, Haley does some very devastating damage on his foes. The jail cafeteria scene will go down in my mind as the single most wickedly disturbing scene in movies. On the complete opposite side of the coin, Wilson’s Nite Owl uses his brain along with his brawn to thwart his opponents. Trying to choose between his skills in the alley vs. some very tough dudes or his fight for life during the prison break has me on the fence.
The direction in Watchmen by Snyder is brilliant in the way he keeps his characters believable throughout. He does a terrific job with the flash backs that give you the background of the heroes and their reasons for their timely return to the streets. His control of the cinematography does get a little off kilter at times, but he makes up for it during the action sequences. He makes use of some excellent choreography for the hand-to-hand street fighting.
The special effects in this film are awesome. When someone gets blown away, you can’t count the number of parts or the amount of blood that flies around the set. I will say, however that the city models were a bit too unreal and some of the war scenes a bit too over the top.
The film is rated R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language of which there is a lot. So be cautious if your youngsters are immature.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Watchmen is a thriller and a killer. (4 of 5 Palm Trees)