Super-Cember Day #21: Watchmen (2009)

(Originally posted December 21st, 2017)

I have no idea what I think about this one. On one hand, it's one of the most unique movies I've ever seen, but on the other hand it's a lot of those unique elements that drag it down a bit. On one hand, it's intriguing, but on the other hand, it's boring. This is a very dichotomous movie, and I don't know what to say about it. The movie in question is Watchmen (2009), and it's something I'm definitely glad I saw, but it still really annoys me in some parts, which is what makes this so difficult to talk about. Starring Jackie Earle Haley as Walter Kovacs/Rorschach, Patrick Wilson as Daniel Dreiberg/Nite Owl II, Malin Akerman as Laurie Jupiter/Silk Specter II, Billy Crudup as Jon Osterman/Dr. Manhattan, Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Edward Blake/The Comedian.

Watchmen (2009)

Like I said, this is a very unique movie, and what makes it so unique are the themes explored throughout. These are very interesting things to talk about in a superhero movie, and the film does a great job of exploring these ideas. The other thing that really helps this movie stand out is its alternate universe it takes place in. Granted, all movies take place in an alternate universe than our own, but this alternate history doesn't influence our characters. Our main characters are the ones that directly influenced history, and that's fascinating. It makes complete sense that this group of people shaped the world, to the point where Richard Nixon got elected for 5 terms. That's something I love when movies do, and I don't think I've ever seen it done better than here.

Robert Wisden as Richard Nixon

The two characters that really left an impression on me were Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan. They are, by far, the best thing about this movie. Dr. Manhattan is just such an interesting character, and his battle with his on humanity was one of the more compelling themes in the movie. He also just looks fantastic, and one of the things I'm glad they did with him was that they didn't overuse him. This is a character with all-powerful abilities, and it would have been so easy to just send him into a room and deal with the conflict immediately, but they actually found a really clever way of removing him from the action for most of the film. Rorschach was definitely one of the more compelling characters here, and I was so impressed by how they managed to get him to emote so well with that mask on his face for most of the movie. They manage to convey so much emotion, even when he isn't talking, utilising the Rorschach blobs. It was definitely one of the cooler effects in the movie, and the character was probably my favourite in the entire thing.

Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan

Sadly, I found the other mains surprisingly bland. I say 'surprisingly' because the movie devotes so much time going over their backstories, but I was never as invested in the other Watchmen as I was with Rorschach and Manhattan. Nite Owl and Silk Specter were so forgettable, the only part I actually found myself interested in with them is where they resume their vigilantism purely because it gets them hot for each other. That was an interesting take on the 'let's start saving people again' thing. Apart from that, not really interested. Also, how the hell did the Comedian last as long as he did with the team? We see him do some really crappy stuff in the first hour of this movie, and he never got booted off the team, or sent to prison for what he does. Seriously, some of his actions are downright evil. I know that's what they were going for, and it's an interesting character, but why do the other Watchmen insist on keeping him around? Especially Silk Specter? I was bothered by that the entire movie, and I was bothered for a very long time.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian

This movie is long. So, unbearably long at times. Which would have been fine had they really made use of the extended running time, but they really don't. Over half the movie was over and they were still devoting extended chunks of the movie to explaining the backstories of our characters. There was a better way to tell this story. The movie feels like over 2 hours of build-up for a final climax that lasts all of 10 minutes. The pacing is beyond slow, and it's by far the biggest problem with the film. They could have easily cut about 40 minutes from this, which would have brought the film down to a tidy 2 hours, and I don't think you would have lost anything. I get that we need to take the time to establish the world and the characters, but it goes beyond that. There's a montage during the opening credits that gives us a lot of information, but a lot of it is irrelevant to the story they're telling. This felt like it could have used one or two redrafts. The one thing that redeems it, of course, if the climax is amazing. It's not even very action-heavy, it's just the direction they go is one I didn't see coming, and it was another really interesting idea. I don't think I wanted to sit through 150 minutes of movie until I got to that, though.

Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach

Overall, Watchmen (2009) was only kind of good. Only a couple of our mains are actually interesting, the world is fascinating, the finale is wonderful, but the first half is somewhat boring and the rest of the main characters failed to hook me. I'm definitely glad I saw it, but I don't think I'd want to watch it again. 6.5/10.

Tomorrow: The Wolverine.