“Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon.
That's always been the difference between us, Daniel.”
Rorschach.
Script Logic; 2/2
Pace; 1/2
Acting; 1/2
Aesthetic; 2/2
Originality & Intention; 1/2
Final Score; 7/10
There is much to be said for the Watchmen, both good
and bad, so I think I’ll return with a longer post at a later point…
Watchmen is a difficult watch, especially for anyone not familiar
with the original graphic novel- a complicated story set over three decades,
involving a number of characters, all played out to the backdrop of Cold War
politics and paranoia. Hardly sounds like a laugh, and one of the film’s
problems is its grim and humourless subject (although it would seem unfair to
hold that against a film for sticking close to its source). The adaption is, by
and large, faithful, and manages to fit in its running time an impressive
amount of backstory, which on the flip-side alienated a large part of the audience
who struggled to keep up with the almost endless exposition.
The film ‘looks’ perfect, and I can’t imagine the characters
bought to life in any better visual sense (contemporary yet always respectful
to the original designs), and most are well cast.
Probably my biggest gripe with the film is its depiction
of the heroes in their ability: The Watchmen novel went through great pains explaining
that (with two notable exceptions) the heroes of the story were ‘real’ people
with no superhuman abilities. So why, oh why, does Zack Snyder include so many
slow-motion action scenes where the characters fight like coked-up Spartans?
Obviously I still need to address the fan-rage caused by
the alteration of the book’s ending, but that will have to wait for now. What I
will say is that, so far as the film’s narrative is concerned, it was a smart
move.
In the end, The Watchmen is a flawed diamond; an act
of slavish devotion to material once considered unfilmable, and in that respect
this is an impressive success. Not one for fans of regular superhero fodder,
but for anyone who likes their violence dark or gritty, and your narrative murky with thick chunks of
moral theorizing, then this going to sustain you nicely…
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