Review of Watchmen (2001) by Ryan H — 08 Nov 2017

It's long, occasionally dull, and its narrative structure can be confusing and hard to keep up with (kinda like this review), but Watchmen is a very underrated film. Malin Akerman's performance seems phoned in and leaves much to be desired, but thankfully the rest of the cast make up for it.

Jackie Earle Haley steals the show as Rorschach, somehow managing to be more emotive with the mask than without it, and his performance is so great that I forgive him for failing as Freddy Krueger in the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Matthew Goode is fantastic, and his performance makes Ozymandias one of the most underrated villains in cinematic history. Billy Crudup is perfectly detached as Dr Manhattan, Patrick Wilson is criminally underrated as Nite Owl, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan absolutely nails his performance as The Comedian.

There's not as much action as you'd expect from a 163 minute long movie, but the action itself is fun, entertaining, and brutal. Zack Snyder's direction isn't fantastic, but he does a very good job.

I haven't read the graphic novel, so I can't comment on its faithfulness, but the film stands very well on its own. Overall, Watchmen isn't exactly top-notch in any respect, but it's still very good.