Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3/4
May not be true to original but still good
TommyL31 - wrote on 04/17/2009
I really enjoyed this movie. I haven't read the graphic novel but I thought there were a lot of strong characters including Dr. Manhattan, Rorschach, and the Comedian who had very good roles and pulled them off well (did anyone else think the Comedian looked a lot like Robert Downey Jr?).
I thought a lot of the visuals and lighting were well done. Rorschach's mask was pretty cool and I want one.
The mood was set well. I liked the lighting and the staging of both the sex and violence really set the tone well.
I thought the story was told fairly well. The history of the Watchmen could have been addressed better but, in genneral, I think flashbacks were used effectively. I think the message and the ending were very good (even though I'm told it is different from the graphic novel) …
Rating of
3.5/4
Less Heroics, More Substance
Unknown - wrote on 03/20/2009
After a second viewing (via director's cut), I've grown an appreciation for this film. Beyond the excellent visuals, there is a rich super hero-esque story that's all about these flawed characters and the overly violent alternate version of our world that they inhabit. This is an adult piece that subverts our own society's lack of hope. We gather most of this through the narration of Rorschach, who is the most noble and, ironically, the most offset of all the former heros. But even more surprising is that the emotional core of the film generates from the cynical and volatile Comedian, who has done despicable deeds. The three hour runtime packs in deep information of all the characters at a swift pace. That is, up until the final hour when things slow down for more explanations. …
Rating of
2.5/4
Disappointed...
Purplicious81 - wrote on 03/15/2009
Because of all the hype from my friend's about Watchmen, I decided to go see it, but was gravely disappointed. Apparently, Watchmen is a very popular comic book, but the movie fails to live up to it's standards. Watchmen was not like every other comic book, hero movie. For the first time, the villain actually completed his plan, and one of the heroes died. But it still left you wondering, did the villain win or lose or did the hero win or lose, when the answer is, neither. The storyline of the movie was very weak, and unoriginal. The movie was like adults playing in kiddie costumes. None of the heroes seemed to have powers, except for being able to fight, besides the blue man who had a vague power to do pretty much anything. There is a lot of unneccessary nudity, and gore. The movie …
Rating of
0.5/4
Watchman: 9 Years of my life I will never get back
GoodFella82 - wrote on 03/14/2009
Anthony’s Journal March 9th: [Insert cheesy Christian Bale Batman voice]: This movie was Horrendous. Let me start off by saying that the only thing I love more than a good superhero movie is a superhero movie where the main characters are flawed, there is a dark, gritty, real theme to the movie, combined with a stimulating plot and original back story which causes the viewer to empathize with the hero [or the villain] on a human level. This is NOT that movie. In the spirit of this convoluted mess of a movie. I will begin with a 7 hour introduction.
The hardest challenge for a director who is adapting a novel or series to the big screen is translating what made that particular novel successful into an equally compelling and entertaining film. The director failed miserably in this …
Rating of
2/4
Watchmen, Average Flick
Nick - wrote on 03/10/2009
Prior to seeing this movie I decided to read the graphic novel. To be honest, I never normally do this, if I've read something a movie was based on it was just by chance. The graphic novel is supposed to be one of the best ever written. I thought there was too much pointless dialog, too many flashbacks, and I felt the story shouldn't have been told when the super heroes were already retired. The movie followed suit exactly the same. In fact, it's like the graphic novel was used as the story boards for the movie, picture by picture, word for word. And because of this, it doesn't translate well on the big screen. The movie dragged on, and that's not what most people want to see in a super hero movie. They want action, not an insane number of flash backs during key action scenes or …
Rating of
2.5/4
Watchmen okay but does not match source.
Ichabod Crane - wrote on 03/09/2009
Watchmen I must review from the point of view of someone who has read the graphic novel. Although by brother did enjoy it enough and he did not read it. Anyways I thought it was a semi effective film although I did not believe It could emulate the book perfectly and it doesn't because of the length. It also fails I think in the things that it changes. Everything works better as it is done in the book. Though I was not bored watching it through once although I have no desire to see it a second time. The performances for the most part are good enough with only Jackie Earl Hayley excelling as Rorschach. There was only one performance In thought was below and that was Ozymandias. He is not played right at all in my opinion because he was too one dimensional and one note played. Almost a …
Rating of
3.5/4
Are we all doomed?
Movies - wrote on 03/08/2009
Zack Synder's Watchmen is a film that adds to the flow of adaptations that have been legitimizing the superhero genre. While Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man appealed mostly to the wide masses, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and now Watchmen are comic book adaptions that grind themselves into a dark and grim filled reality. This is a far cry from the happy-go-lucky tale we saw in Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie crafted over 30 years ago. Also, this as been widely hailed as the greatest graphic novel of all time. The rule of thumb when it comes to books and movies is that the source material will almost always dominate its film adaptation counterpart. This is why I chose to go into this film somewhat blind and reserve reading the praised graphic novel from Alan Moore. Whether it's seeing a …
Rating of
3/4
Watchmen: Too Much of a Good Thing
Chris Kavan - wrote on 03/08/2009
One of my most anticipated movie in a long time. Watchmen is, to date, the best graphic novel I have read. The good news about Watchmen is that Zack Snyder has created an almost pitch-perfect film that captures the graphic novel in all its glory. The bad news is that Zack Snyder has created an almost pitch-perfect film that captures the graphic novel in all its glory.
What I mean is that when you're reading Watchmen, it feels different than when you're watching Watchmen. Certain elements don't translate as well, and at nearly 3 hours, this is one time when maybe eliminating a few things would have been better (even at the expense of making some fanboys, perhaps myself included, a little miffed).
First, the good. Jackie Earle Haley and Billy Crudup pretty much steal the show as …
Rating of
1.5/4
Artistic and Dull, Watch me fall asleep
Josh C - wrote on 03/08/2009
Could they have made this movie any more dull? Probably, but I am glad they didn't because I would have left the theatre. I thought this movie was going to be similar to X-men: great action, solid story and a fast pace that keeps things moving along. It was everything but that. I never read the graphic novel, maybe you need to like that to like the movie.
I enjoyed the story, but it dragged waaaay tooo muuch. I couldn't stand all the narration by Rorschach. I was also annoyed by all the flash backs. Just when you thought the story was going to start moving along, you got sucked into past stories that were dull.
Even the action suffered from this "flash back" style they loved to use in this film. When a fight would be happening they would flash to something else that would be …
Rating of
3.5/4
Who watches the Watchmen?
filmfan09 - wrote on 03/08/2009
In an alternate version of 1985 -- Richard Nixon is still president, and nuclear war with the Soviet Union feels inevitable.The movie begins with the murder of The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a retired crime fighter who was part of a group of former vigilantes known as 'The Watchmen'. One of his former colleagues, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley)come out of hiding to find his killer. Rorschach investigates a conspiracy to eliminate costumed heroes. He seeks help from his retired friends Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), and Silk Sceptre II (Malin Akerman). Even Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), the only one among them who's truly gifted with superpowers to find who's behind this plot of working down a list of crusaders. So who's watching the Watchmen?
Zack Snyder …
