Watchmen

Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.

Today I bring you my long awaited review of Watchmen. Directed by Zack Snyder and written by David Hayter and Alex Tse.

This film is an adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' stunning 12 issue comic series that was condensed into a graphic novel. In fact to call Watchmen a comic book or a graphic novel would be a tremendous insult to the material. There is nothing comic about this book but it's extremely graphic with it's content and themes. The book has become so popular that it stands as the ONLY graphic novel to be on Time's 2006 list of "the 100 best English Language Novels from 1923 to the present". When a "comic book" is recognized as a novel, a boundary has been broken. Watchmen didn't just brake that boundary, it destroyed it.

Watchmen takes place in an alternate 1985, where some everyday citizens dress up as "superheroes." They are more like to what the movie refers to as costumed heroes due to the fact that with the exception of 1 member, (Dr. Manhattan) the Watchmen are super-powerless. With escalating tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, the world is in a state of constant tension as the Doomsday Clock creeps up towards midnight, signaling the beginning of nuclear war.

The movie starts out with The Comedian Edward Blake played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan being murdered in his own apartment. The masked vigilante and resident nut job of the superhero circle, Rorschach played by the very creepy but BRILLIANT Jackie Earle Haley thinks that someone is now targeting costumed heroes and sets out to find the truth. With the help of his former partners (the Watchmen have been disbanded) Silk Spectre II  played by Malin Akerman, Nite Owl II played by Patrick Wilson, and Dr. Manhattan played mostly by a digital Billy Crudup, Rorschach is determined to uncover the conspiracy.

That is the basic plot of the movie but there is SOOOOOOOOOO much more to this UNBELIEVABLE film. To touch on everything would 1st impossible and 2nd unfair to the masterful work Snyder and his team did to film what many in the industry labeled as the "unfilmable" comic book.

As we all know, adapting a book to the big screen is very hard to do. Now some may argue that statement and make the claim that adapting a book isn't as hard because the material is already written. For those people, I will amend my comment and say this.

Adapting a book to the big screen is very hard to do if you want to do it RIGHT! Especially when it has a gigantic fanbase.

And why is it hard? Because you are given the daunting task of re-creating a world that is forever etched in the minds and hearts of people that swear by the original source material. Not an easy feat by any means. Having said that, I believe that Zack Snyder and his writing team have come the closest to a perfect adaptation of a book since Peter Jackson with The Lord of The Rings and Steven Spielberg with Jaws. They have without a shadow of a doubt accomplished what everyone said they couldn't, which was make this film in the 1st place.

If I had to describe the Watchmen book in 1 word I would say DEEP! This is not your garden variety SUPERMAN SAVES THE DAY comic series. The Watchmen is a character driven powerhouse story filled with adult themes and political unrest. These heroes are REAL people with REAL problems just like everybody else.

And going back to the adult themes...Watchmen pulls no punches (no pun intended) when it comes to violence. The book is very violent and rough around the edges. There is also sexual activity between the heroes. So for all of you wonder what it would look like if Superman and Lois Lane got it on? Watchmen will show you. This book is by no means intended for children which may have been one of the many reasons why it has taken so long to turn this book to a movie. The book was written for adults so common sense would dictate that the film version should match the original material.

Thankfully it did take this long because it ended up in the right hands. Snyder's last film was 300. Another graphic novel adaptation with very adult themes and violence. You would think this would be right up his alley and you would be right. Snyder has been quoted to be a big fan of the book and given his track record of staying faithful to the source material, it comes as no surprise to me that this movie was spot on in almost every way to the book with one big exception.....The ending.

This has been a subject of controversy since the story leaked out during production. Snyder and his team felt that the end of the book just wouldn't fit with the vision they were taking the film. So they changed it. The Watchmen geeks screamed bloody murder. For many of the fans, the way the book ends was a highlight of their reading experience and to change it in their minds would be sac-religious.

I read the book and to be honest I was more impressed with the message the end was giving me than the actual execution of said message. I will not say how the book or how the movie ends. I will just say that the message is still in tact completely. The execution is different and I had no problem with that whatsoever. In fact given how movies are constantly updated to fit the world we live in now. The subtle tweaks that were made were more than satisfactory. It doesn't hurt the film or the story 1 bit in my opinion.

This reminds me of a story I once heard when Spielberg was making Jaws. There was a huge debate involving how the shark was going to be killed. I won't say how but the shark dies in a much different way in the book than he does in the movie. When Spielberg came up with the ending of Chief Brody shooting the tank of compressed air with the rifle while it was in the sharks mouth. The writer of the book Peter Benchley was livid. He felt that it was such an absurd way to kill the shark. That people wouldn't believe it. Spielberg responded with this stroke of genius. I'm paraphrasing here.

"These people have been sitting in this theater screaming and cheering for 2 plus hours. They'll believe anything I tell them because I got em."

Absolute genius. He was right back then and Snyder's in a similar situation here. The movie is so mesmerizing and entertaining for over 2 1/2 hours, the last 15 minutes shouldn't ruin the entire experience and it doesn't in my opinion. Yes the movie clocks in at a shade under 3 hours but trust me....it doesn't play like a 3 hour film. Besides I prefer a movie that forces me to sit and think about what I'm seeing. There are too many films made today for the ADD generation. SIT DOWN AND ENJOY THE SHOW PEOPLE!

Watchmen is EXTREMELY violent with some sex added thus earning it's R rating and let me tell you it's a HARD "R" so proceed with caution. I highly recommend leaving the kiddies home for this one.

On the 5 star scale Watchmen gets the full house 5 stars and a "Worth Every Penny" recommendation. I realize that this movie is not for everyone but for comic fans this is a MUST SEE!

That's all from me today. I'm not sure what's on tap for The "D" List right now. I will say that I''m looking forward with anticipation to some of this summer's upcoming blockbusters. In no particular order.

Star Trek
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Pixar's Up
Monster's vs Aliens

Just to name a few.

So have a good summer at the movies and as always....

Until Next Episode....I'll Save You A Seat!

"D"