Review of Watchmen (2009) by John S — 03 Jan 2016

I never read the graphic novel, but I've seen the film several times now and I can hardly get enough of it. For those of you unaware of the plot, it is a compelling film noir mystery thriller about a group of people who become superheroes, are then used by the US government to fight its enemies and are later discarded by the US government. One of the group was murdered and the others start investigating we he had to die.

Interesting about the back story is that both the socio-political climate and characters are well-developed and realistic. The use of superheroes by the US allowed the Sovjetunion and US to become more polarized than in our reality, making the US government far more conservative and bringing the world very close to nuclear holocaust. The superheroes all have their own unique character traits, each based on real and flawed human beings like I've met in my own life. What's most interesting about the plot of Watchmen is the way these different personalities interact with one another and how they set themselves apart from the rest of humanity.

What sets this film apart from other films, however, is an audiovisual style few people besides Zack Snyder could actually pull off. The visuals are simply breathtaking throughout the entire film and the audio adds to the atmosphere the way only a few other films can. Watching the film, I feel immersed in a surreal dream and the first time I sat glued to my chair for the entire duration because of the sheer beauty of the visuals, the interesting plot and the fascinating characters.

Maybe the graphic novel was even more compelling as the film plot-wise, I don't think anyone could have done a better job making a film based on the graphic novel. Please remember that graphic novel and film are two different media and you'll never be able to tell the entire story of a multiple edition graphic novel into a single film, however you'll also never be able to control the pacing, acting and soundtrack of a graphic novel. It is my opinion that those who didn't like this film either ignore the differences between the two different media and are frustrated by the film straying from the graphic novel more often than they would like or simply didn't get the story and lost interest due to their confusion. After seeing this film several time, I can't really find anything not to like about this film.