Review of Watchmen (2001) by Thomas B — 21 Feb 2017

Now I'm not one of those people that was a huge fan of the graphic novel, in fact I've never read it, so my opinion is not encompassing how the film measures up in its adaptation. But the film itself, in my books, is brilliant. .

This is the sort of superhero flick that I like to see, and there are so few of them. Films which show characters for who they are, not for the way they act, their smugness or their smarmy comebacks. The character development section which I got the most out of was of course Rorshach's, a man who turned into a vigilante riddled with hate for the human race and disgust for the world in which he lives. The way the film shows him in quest for uncompromised justice is fantastic, showing his extreme methods along with his good intentions. .

Nite Owl's journey, too, is great, showing a quiet, restrained man who can barely even talk to a girl without his hero suit on who is overwhelmed by the circumstances surrounding him, hating the fact that he has to take action at all. Even though, when he does, it is a sight to see; snapping people's arms in half, pounding people into concrete and causing a right ruckus. .

Silk Spectre's journey is slightly less shown than these two, although there is a clearly shown confused and frustrated woman who has just about had enough of a loveless relationship with both her husband and her mother, with the overwhelming comedian constantly hitting on her and the man whom she really wants in the Nite Owl. .

Dr. Manhattan's journey is the most central to the movie of all of them, though he is the least human and least emotional of all of them. It takes the other characters pointing out his subtle drawing away from humanity for the audience to notice it, such as when the comedian kills an innocent Vietnamese women while the Dr. watches on, but it flows seamlessly nonetheless. The strange detour to Mars is confusing to a viewer with no backstory but acceptable in terms of storyline, as he had to be away from Earth in order for the plan to go in to action. .

The climatic end wasn't quite as fulfilling as I'd hoped, but the film's incredible imagery, action and sequences more than make up for it, not to mention the inspired opening credits sequence. Fantastic film. .

Defining Scene: .

Rorshach finds a girl who'd been kidnapped and brings on the justice.