“Watchmen” is good, not great, its also not a complete disaster for its $100 million budget.

Its also NOT A MOVIE FOR YOUNG KIDS with its brutally graphic violence, nudity, and adult themes… similiar in nature to “Sin City” (2005).

My review is Spoiler-free !!!

“Watchmen” is, as you would probably expect, visually stunning, with a good story, good writing, really good character development, good cinematography, good acting, good costumes, good sound, mostly good music, good visual effects, good sets, good action sequences, and mostly good makeup.

Okay movie fans.. what Oscar category (that applies to this movie) did I leave out?

Its the category that could have pushed this movie into my favorites….

That category is Editing… you could have also said Directing, but the bulk of my review hinges on the editing.

And that’s why I say “See It” and “Wait to Rent” because YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED… if you’re a die hard fan of the graphic novel, by all means, you should see this movie… if you’re really looking forward to seeing this movie, you should probably see it.  But, if you’re just starting to hear the hype and your interest has now been peaked… you might want to hold off and wait a couple weeks until after the rush… or until you can rent this movie.

First, I must point out that I am not a fervent fan of the graphic novel, nor did I know anything about this movie until last summer when the movie began to get some hype.

Putting the hype aside, this movie is pretty good… but I don’t think its the breakout superhero event movie that “The Dark Knight” was last year, and its not going to make it into my Top Ten Superhero Movies of all time.

Let’s start with the editing: the movie is 2 hours and 35 minutes… and it feels like it, in the last third of the movie I found myself checking the time… and there are several non-essential scenes that could have been trimmed or removed to keep this movie closer to 2 hours.

No really I get it, this isn’t the happy cheery ”Superman” (1978) or dark and edgy ”The Dark Knight” (2008)… I understand its based on a graphic novel, not a comic book, it takes its time to develop… with complex storytelling.   But this movie could have easily been tightened up and improved.

Yes, its kind of epic and is (apparently) trying to be true to the graphic novel, but it also kind of wanders at several points… its lacking that refined focus that better movies have… and at least this audience member trying to figure out if this about the “costumed heros” or a budding love affair… or a heavy handed message movie about wars and death, or is it about having clean energy instead of fossil fuels?  (There’s a not-so-subtle jab at the Big Three with a stubborn Lee Iaccoca not wanting to convert to a new, cleaner energy).

With so much complex storytelling of multiple plots, politics, alliances and allegiances, the blending of character backstories there is no time for distracting the audience with mixed messages and tangential storylines.

The pacing was disappointing from a relatively quick paced first 30 minutes to a slow crawl in the second hour until the movie started moving towards its climatic end.

Okay, its not just the editing….

In a movie about humanity, there’s a lack of humanity in most of the characters…

Carla Cugino as “Silk Spectre” points out the changing times since her hero days: “Every day the future looks a little bit darker but the past, even the grimy parts, keep getting better”.

Yes, its not sugarcoated smiley superheroes with happy messages and uplifting hero endings that I grew up on in the 80’s… but that’s okay for me… the dark tone of this world was okay… the problem is that I never completely bought into everything… from a Richard Nixon that was so clearly another actor covered in rubbery makeup to characters that seemed to be so vague whether they were good or bad and whether they cared about anything had me less interested in what they were doing… and what would happen to them.

The best example of this is Malin Akerman as Laurie Jupiter (Silk Spectre II), who turns in the weakest performance of the main cast… with flat lines said with little real emotion, to the point of distraction and disengagement.

Dr. Manhattan’s consuming powers are making him more and more detatched from humanity…. I get it and appreciated the symbolism of his character… but why in more than half of his scenes could he not wear at least a speedo… do we really need full frontal nudity heroes?

 But it wasn’t all bad….

The character of ”Rorschach” (Jackie Earle Haley) is an amazing character that grabs every scene he’s in… as the slightly crazy but clear right and wrong masked hero with a mask of shape shifting ink blots.

His narrator journal entries are good, but his lines are better: in prison, Rorschach says: “You guys don’t seem to understand. I’m not locked in here with you. You’re locked in here with me.”

Jeffrey Dean Morgan also gives “The Comedian” great depth and character as the good guy that not everybody likes… but is totally willing to be honest about what he thinks and feels.  He’s also the first character we meet in the movie… and the trailer.

The opening titles were a very nice touch…. taking you through the masked heroes’ lives in the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, into the setting of an alternate 1985 where President Nixon is onto a third or fourth term.

Its gritty, its edgy… these are retired heroes, some have secret identities, some don’t, despite only one really having superpowers… its a good combination of characters… but it was missing the complete audience connection and heart that makes a dozen superhero movies better than this (My Top Ten Superhero Movies of all time).

THE BOTTOM LINE: Some of this movie I really liked, but overall, it just doesn’t reach a level of greatness…. I give it 7.0 out of 10. I haven’t put this much time into carefully explaining why a movie was ultimately a disappointment since “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”.

 “Watchmen”

(2009) (rated: R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language)
(2 hr, 35 min)

Starring: Malin Akerman (Silk Spectre II), Billy Crudup (Dr. Manhattan), Matthew Goode (Ozymandias), Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Comedian), Patrick Wilson (Nite Owl II), Carla Gugino, Matt Frewer, Stephen McHattie

Director: Zack Snyder (”300″)

Genre: Action/Drama/Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Superhero

The Plot: When an ex-superhero is murdered, a vigilante named Rorschach begins an investigation into the murder, which begins to lead to a much more terrifying conclusion. 

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

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“Watchmen” poster courtesy Warner Brothers

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