Zack Snyder Directs The Watchmen - Review
Who Watches The Watchmen? If There's Any Justice, Everyone Will
Mar 7, 2009
Watchmen is a superhero movie unlike any other. A sprawling, multi-generational ensemble drama spanning nearly forty years of alternate American history, the only connection it has with the likes of Spiderman et al is that the protagonists like to spend their nights dressed in spandex, beating up ne'er-do-wells. Darker than the Dark Knight, as violent as The Punisher and with a tortured core that questions the very nature of heroism, this is a comic-book for adults turned into an invigorating and memorable movie.
Right from the bruising, vicious murder of a pivotal character to the grim moral dubiousness at the climax, director Zack Snyder stays almost entirely loyal to the source material. No small feat given the multitude of little nuances that peppered Alan Moore's original work and while there a few alterations, by and large the purists will be extremely satisfied.
Dissecting The Superhero Myth: Watchmen
The casting choices for one thing are almost entirely spot-on. Matthew Goode is perhaps just a bit too young-looking for Ozymandias but his arrogance carries him through. Malin Ackerman's Silk Spectre is lonely but feisty, her budding relationship with The Nite Owl/Dan Dreiberg (an excellent performance from Patrick Wilson) giving the most human touch to the story.
Elsewhere, Jeffrey Dean Morgan makes for a perfectly psychotic Comedian and Billy Crudup lends a detached but subtle edge to Dr. Manhattan, the only 'real' superhero of them all. If Watchmen has an ace though it is Jackie Earl Haley as the unhinged Rorschach. Clad in a buttoned up raincoat, face obscured by a shifting ink-blot mask, Rorschach's small frame seethes with barely contained violence, Haley's gruff-voice and physical mannerisms perfectly encapsulating a man more vigilante than hero. Last Halloween all the College kids were dressed as the Joker, this year will be Rorschach's turn.
Zack Snyder: King Of Geeks
Snyder meanwhile directs the movie like a boy who never grew up. He clearly holds Moore's book in awe, recreating numerous scenes as near reflections of the pages and the dialogue in many places is lifted word-for-word. He also handles the occasionally-dizzying narrative strands well. Much of the film takes place in flashbacks that could have been a bit confusing for Watchmen-newbies but Snyder manages to keep things plausible. Even Dr. Manhattan's origin story which shifts from past to present and back again numerous times remains uncomplicated.
The bad news of course is that even running to three hours, not everything could be kept in. Silk Spectre's mother feels a bit underwritten for instance, but what remains is stunning. Rorschach's calculated menace in the prison scene is chilling in its intensity, while Manhattan's journey across Mars in a palace of clockwork glass is a veritable feast for the eyes. The action scenes also are brutally authentic; faces are stoved in, legs bent the wrong way and every punch comes complete with a bone crunching crack.
There is a downside though. Watchmen may soar to moments of cinematic gold, but it never quite reaches the highs of the graphic novel. This is an excellent movie and sure to turn up on a few Best-Of lists come December, but the comic book is still the masterpiece. It is the most loyal adapation of an Alan Moore work to date though and when the extended edition arrives on DVD, Watchmen is destined to become even more rewarding. Highly recommended.
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