Directed by:
Zack SnyderCinematography:
Larry FongComposer:
Tyler BatesCast:
Billy Crudup, Malin Åkerman, Carla Gugino, Patrick Wilson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode, Matt Frewer, Stephen McHattie (more)VOD (5)
Plots(1)
In an alternate 1985 America, costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the "Doomsday Clock" - which charts the USA's tension with the Soviet Union - is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion - a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers - Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity...but who is watching the watchmen? (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (16)
What to say? I don't know. Somehow I ran out of words. Not that this movie took them away from me, but I just can't think of anything to say other than it was a clever ride on a spiral of edginess, wit, thought and pain. Even though I'm not a fan of the source material – I haven't read the comic and know nothing about it – I liked the movie. I believe there's a lot of good stuff missing. But I also believe that such a social probe among a superhero group, no one will ever let go and I may never see the "inside" again. Probably a shame.
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Many adjectives can be used for his film. It is impressive, visually polished, excessively comic book-like, and stylishly action-packed. It is a bombastic spectacle that reminds me of the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Unfortunately, I have always preferred small theater forms and similar shows where the idea does not disappear in favor of impressive action that does not impress me. It is over-stylized, illogical, and cold. It is a certain tribute to comics, but to the ones that never appealed to me, namely the superheroes. It is exactly the type of production where I get the impression that the film heroes go through so much effort to achieve a banal goal. I always remember the scene from the first Indiana Jones movie, where a native warrior dramatically fences with a sword in front of a surprised Indiana Jones, only for him to eventually pull out a gun and shoot the warrior while saying "Go to hell." For example, the scene where the villain breaks into the victim's apartment, beats him up for a long time using all the furniture in the room, and breaks a table with him, only to eventually throw him through specially reinforced glass onto the pavement instead of pulling out a gun and shooting him. It is indeed impressive, but incredibly stupid. Watchmen is exactly the type of film where style and effects are everything. Overall impression: 60%. I do not regret seeing Watchmen, but I do not intend to return to the film in the future. Fans of blockbusters can easily add two stars.
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A complex, smart, R-rated comic-book gem. I’m quite surprised by the talk about the complexity of the film, I was afraid that I would get lost because I don’t know Moore’s original. But I didn’t have any trouble and nobody capable of paying attention to a film should, either. Watchmen captivated me in several ways: the intellectual and visual aspects, the brutality and how uncompromising it is. Awesome!
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I was bored as hell for most of the movie, sitting around and actually waiting for a few brighter spots. The bright spots were definitely not worth it though, so I left the cinema pretty bored and annoyed. Worse, though, was that the person who talked me into seeing this "major motion picture" (major only in terms of its running time) was even angrier than I was. 2.5 stars.
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Untouched by the comics, but with thoughts of both Gilliam and Greengrass, I end up being thankful for Zack Snyder, who has grown as a filmmaker in his third film. While he was enabled by an obviously strong premise or rather its script treatment, the way Snyder presents the vast world of rejected superheroes is breathtaking. It’s a powerful reflection on America with an almost meditative thought about humans in general. It is based on excellent dialogue by a group of fresh-faced actors who are occasionally sent into excellent action sequences by the director. Rorschach's rendezvous with the cops took me far beyond mere viewer ecstasy. I left the movie theater very pensive, but a day later I was cheering and I know I have to see it at least one more time. Edit I: It was worth it. It's been a long time since I've experienced a second screening of a film that I've enjoyed so intensely. Edit II The D.C. version is "only" a gourmet cherry on top.
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