Watchmen (2009)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Zack Snyder

Writers (WGA):

David Hayter (screenplay) and
Alex Tse (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

6 March 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

This city is afraid of me. I've seen its true face.

Plot:

When an ex-superhero is murdered, a vigilante named Rorschach begins an investigation into the murder, which begins to lead to a much more terrifying conclusion.

Plot Keywords:

Vigilante | 1985 | Murder | Investigation | Conspiracy

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Malin Akerman	...	Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II
Billy Crudup	...	Dr. Manhattan / Jon Osterman
Matthew Goode	...	Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias
Jackie Earle Haley	...	Walter Kovacs / Rorschach
Jeffrey Dean Morgan	...	Edward Blake / The Comedian
Patrick Wilson	...	Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II
Carla Gugino	...	Sally Jupiter / Silk Spectre
Matt Frewer	...	Edgar Jacobi / Moloch the Mystic
Stephen McHattie	...	Hollis Mason / Nite Owl
Laura Mennell	...	Janey Slater
Rob LaBelle	...	Wally Weaver
Gary Houston	...	John McLaughlin
James M. Connor	...	Pat Buchanan (as James Michael Connor)
Mary Ann Burger	...	Eleanor Clift
John Shaw	...	Doug Roth

Also Known As:

Watchmen: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)
Los vigilantes (Peru) (Venezuela) [es]
Хранители (Russia) [ru]
Cei ce vegheaza (Romania) [ro]
Cuvari (Croatia) [hr]
Les gardiens (Canada: French title) [fr]
Strázci - Watchmen (Czech Republic) [cs]
Strazcovia (Slovakia) [sk]
Valvurid (Estonia) [et]
Varuhi (Slovenia) [sl]
Watchmen (Greece) [el]
Watchmen (Japan: English title) [en]
Watchmen (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Watchmen (Norway) [no]
Watchmen - Die Wächter (Germany) [de]
Watchmen - Les gardiens (France) [fr]
Watchmen - Los Vigilantes (Peru) (poster title) [es]
Watchmen - Los vigilantes (Argentina) [es]
Watchmen - O Filme (Brazil) [pt]
Watchmen - Os Guardiões (Portugal) [pt]
Watchmen - Straznicy (Poland) [pl]
Watchmen: Az örzök (Hungary) [hu]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language. (also director's cut and ultimate edition)

Runtime:

162 min | 186 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44894) | Czech Republic:15 | Australia:MA | South Korea:18 | UK:18 | Netherlands:16 | Ireland:18 (original rating) | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:R21 | Singapore:M18 (edited for re-rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Ireland:16 (re-rating on appeal) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:16 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | Japan:R-15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Brazil:18 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Portugal:M/16 | France:-12 | Iceland:16 | Hong Kong:IIB (cut version) | Hong Kong:III (IMAX DMR version) | Italy:VM14 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | Peru:18 | Mexico:C | USA:R (director's cut) (certificate #45165) | USA:R (Ultimate edition) (certificate #45166) | Denmark:15 | Austria:16

Filming Locations:

Bloedel Floral Conservatory, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Pieces of 80s pop culture shown on Adrian Veidt's bank of monitors include Apple's "1984" commercial for the Macintosh and the music video for "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At Karnak in some close ups of Nite Owl's face, the reflection in his goggles shows actor Billy Crudup in his motion capture suit covered in blue dots, instead of a full rendering of Dr. Manhattan.

Quotes:

Rorschach: [breaking into fence] I shall go and tell the indestructible man that someone plans to murder him.

Movie Connections:

Features Mad Max (1979)

Soundtrack:

The Sounds of Silence

very good, even if you've read the book.

I recently saw a free (oh yes) early showing of Watchmen and have to say that it was very good. There have been few movies that I have been this excited for. Some disappointed horribly (Spiderman 3), and some far exceeded my expectations (Dark Knight). This movie falls somewhere in between, leaning closer to exceeded what I thought was going to be a hard book to turn into a movie.

The first half of the film is extremely accurate to the book and very well done. While there are some differences from the book (for example, Dan Dreiberg goes to warn Viedt about the "masked killer", not Rorschach) but almost all of them are excusable and didn't effect the flow of the movie or my ability to enjoy it. Even as far as dialog goes, the movie stays true to the book. Towards the middle, some of the differences begin to effect the film. The best example I can think of is how Dr. Manhattan acts during his live interview (I'll restrain from giving away any scenes). Not only did the course of events change from the book (which I can understand, given there must be some sort of time limit for a film), but some of what he says was pretty much copy and pasted from other scenes in the book. Nevertheless, I was able to oversee these differences and enjoy the film.

The ending of the movie was the biggest change from the book that I noticed. I think they did this for 2 reasons. 1, I had heard that they were going to include an aspect of energy and where we get it into the film, making it more topical. Secondly, I think the ending of the book would have been too out there for most viewers and would have required a lot more explaining (which the book gives) then would have been feasible for the length of the film (it was about 2 and a half hours long).

I think if you have read the book, you will enjoy the movie. You'll probably spend a lot of time making sure the movie stays true to the book (like I did), but then you'll stop and just enjoy it for being a good movie. I think if you haven't read the book, you might enjoy the movie even more. As most readers know, it is unlike any comic book and actually answers the question, what would the world be like with superheroes? We see even the ones we like have dark sides and the ones we don't have the best intentions.

On a closing note, there are some things I would have changed, had I been to art school and had a gazillion dollar budget for a movie of this magnitude. For one, I think making Dr. Manhattan appear nude, while keeping true to the book, takes away from the movie. I heard a lot of snickers whenever you could see his penis, and I even think they may have showed it more than they do in the book (if you've read the book, take note of the scene were Rorschach comes to visit him and Laurie). I think while it was done with good intentions, covering him up would have been acceptable and not have changed anything about the movie. Also, while I really enjoyed 300 and all the fight scenes in it, the style of slowing down a punch or kick and then speeding it up to real time, I felt, didn't work for this movie and sort of made it seem corny. 300 the book is written like a comic book. Watchmen isn't. The fight scenes, as gritty as they were, still felt like I as watching 300 again. Besides these small points, I thought the movie was awesome and I recommend it to reader and non- reader of Watchmen alike.