Movie Review: Watchmen

*** MIGTH CONTAIN SPOILERS! ***

Featuring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino

Genre: action, sci fi, comics

Plot: When a former superhero is murdered, another superhero who investigates the case comes to the conclusion that it’s all part of a plan to exterminate ex-superheroes, but is it?

Acting: Good for a comics inspired movie.

Drama: US/Russia cold war, nuclear threat, love triangle, you name it.

Action: cool fighting scenes

Funny: come to think of it, not really

Visuals: great CGI, Dr. Manhattan walks around naked most of the time and there’s a particularly interesting scene between him and Silk Spectre II *snicker*, who cares he’s blue?, and Malin Akerman looks ridiculously hot in superhero attire.

Soundtrack: I didn’t find it appropriate, maybe the lyrics fit but not the actual music.

Official website: http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/

Comments: I'll say it from the start, this must be heaven for those who are into Watchmen comics. For regular people like me though, who hadn’t even heard of Watchmen before the movie, it’s a-whole-nother stroy. I guess it was in my advantage the fact that I had watched the Batman saga, X-Men trilogy, Spider-Man movies, Superman, and yes, even the bad Fantastic Four 1 & 2. I haven't read the comics, kinda hard to get them here, but at least I have watched the movies and I had an idea of what to expect.

For a comics movie adaptation this surely is a success, I haven't heard many fans complaining about it. For a movie, I found it too long, with too many unfamiliar characters and plots, to the point of getting confusing at times. I’m sure it made great sense to any Watchmen fan and they couldn’t wait for the next frame, but I kept looking at the watch wondering how much longer it was going to last. Some scene are just too long, perhaps in an attempt to give the movie more depth and an artsy feel.

While the CGI was impressive as stated above, I had a problem with the gratuitous gore scenes. I don't know how they are in the comics, probably more violent, but they could have been done much more tasty. It made me wonder what was the movie's rating, and I just checked it on IMDB. It's R, it figures. But it's an odd choice since the target audience is mainly under 20 given the subject. I don't know enough about it to dig for plot holes, so I won't even bother.

It leaves an opening for a sequel, but frankly, I don’t feel the need for one. And by the time they might make it the character might be too old, Nite Owl was already in a pre-porky phase and I'd hate to see Silk Spectre II out of her tights in a couple of years.

Rating: 8/10

Watchmen Trailer