When Watchmen came out a coworker asked if I was getting that movie from Netflix. To be honest, I told him, I had never even heard of the movie. He said I had to get the movie. Not only was it a retro-comic movie, but it also starred Carla Gugino (Night at the Museum). Okay, I haven't heard of her either. So my friend got the movie himself, watched it, and lent it to me.To me the list of characters reads like a list of famous people from Kenneth City, Florida. I don't know any famous people from Kenneth City. There's Dr. Manhattan, Silk Spectre I & II (mother and daughter), Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley - Bad News Bears & Little Children), and The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, mostly known for romantic comedies like The Accidental Husband and P.S. I Love You).
Anyway, the movie starts in what appears to be the 1940's when superheroism was at its finest. Now it is 1985 and the superheroes are old. When one of them ends up dead, Rorschach is out to find out who killed his co-hero. He's convinced that there's a hitman out there to kill them all. The problem is that everyone thinks he's crazy.
Meanwhile, there's an odd love interest in the cosmic and demigod-like Dr. Manhattan and Silk Spectre II (Sally Jupiter). Dr. Manhattan is able to transform himself and work without his using his hands and he is working on a nuclear bomb that can be used to end the world. Funny - I thought J. Robert Oppenheimer invented the bomb.
Though I didn't know the history behind the comic book characters, I was captured by the epic movie (it's 2 hours and 40 minutes long). The historical storyline behind the movie does an excellent job of building the personalities of the characters. And the fight scenes were pretty cool, too. And I have to give it to Jackie Earle Haley's portrayal of Rorschach - he was definitely my favorite character.
The movie was directed by Zack Snyder, also known for 300 and Dawn of the Dead. Watchmen is rated R for violence, language, some nudity (both male and female, though the male nudity is not as evident on a non-HiDef television), and some sexuality.
If there was a sequel to this movie (and I wouldn't be surprised if there was) I would definitely watch it. I give this movie 4 stars.
1 comment:
I definitely agree with you about Rorshach (or however you spell it!)...his character was great. Who would have thought the kid from Bad News Bears in the 70's would go onto such great roles 30 years later?
Oh, and one minor thing - Silk Spectre II is played by the gorgeous Malin Akerman...wow....Sally Jupiter is the character name of the original Silk Spectre. Listen to me, I sound like I know what I'm talking about!?
I've never seen 300, but the opening of Watchmen was pretty cool (set to Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin'")...reminded me of his intro to his remake of "Dawn of the Dead" when he used Johnny Cash's "The Man Comes Around" and the closing credits when he used The Jim Carroll Band's "People Who Died"..clever!
Speaking of Jim Carroll, did you see The Basketball Diaries?
Anyway, glad you enjoyed the movie - the more I think about it, the more I enjoyed it to (sans the Blue Pee Pee, which we really didn't need to see...)
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