News Archive - March 2009
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3-17-2009
St. Patrick's Day
Happy St. Patrick's Day 2009!
3-7-2009
Watchmen
If you haven't heard about the film Watchmen then you've been living under a rock for the past several months; the marketing blitz for this film is one of the largest I've seen in a while. It's based on a 12 issue comic book series published in 1985 and '86 and tells the story of an alternate United States where masked superheroes are real, Richard Nixon is in his fifth term as president and the world is on the brink of nuclear war between the US and USSR.
The comic, and subsequent release as a graphic novel, has been widely hailed not only in the comic world but also mainstream literature, being named to Time Magazine's All-time 100 Novels list.
If you've never read the comic or graphic novel, you should. You won't need to in order to see the movie but you owe it to yourself to read the story at some point. I admit that I hadn't read the graphic novel till last year but as an avid comic reader in the early '90s I'd heard of this book many times both in comparison to contemporary comics and superheroes and in hushed, reverent terms by fans.
I'm going to cover mostly the performances and themes of the film as it's really too deep and complex to discuss the plot, plus I don't want to completely ruin it for everyone. But, as always, there are spoilers in the review.
Here there be spoilers
The basic plot of the film involves the investigation of the Comedian's murder, set against a back plot of a nuclear showdown between the US and USSR and what, if anything, they have to do with each other.
The main characters are an eclectic mix including Jackie Earle Haley as the mysterious and violent Rorschach, Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl, Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre, Billy Crudup as the only real being with power, Dr. Manhattan, Matthew Goode as Ozymandias, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the Comedian.
For the comic readers that have yet to see this film, note that the following plot points don't make it to the film; the squid is out, no Tales of the Black Freighter (that's coming to DVD in a couple weeks), the newspaper stand only has a cameo as does the newspaper office and Hollis Mason only has a cameo at the start of the film. I believe there will be more on Mason in the DVD as well.
What's is in? Pretty much everything else. Zack Snyder, the director, sticks very close to the comic just as he did with the film 300. Depending on who you ask, that's either a good or bad thing. In my opinion, it's good. Very good. The story is very thick and much of it is told in flashback and by sticking to the plot you get the motivation for the characters as well as a look at what puts the country on the brink of war.
Rorschach is the main character of the film, not only is he investigating the death of the Comedian but also fills in the story with narration. Jackie Earle Haley is absolutely incredible in this part. It's his Heath Ledger moment and he never misses a beat of the character. And he does this completely in a mask with only a few parts, the prison scenes mostly, without it. To pull that off takes a lot of talent. I get the impression that Haley probably read the book because his performance is incredible, he's almost exactly what I expected Rorschach to be like.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is also spot on as the Comedian. He's a very talented actor and fans of either "Grey's Anatomy" or "Supernatural" will not be surprised by his turn in this film. The only down side is that Comedian doesn't have more of a role in the film.
Patrick Wilson makes a very believable Nite Owl both in the costume and in normal life as Dan Dreiberg. He successfully captures both the hesitant, meek Dreiberg and the much more masculine Nite Owl. As his romantic counterpart, Malin Akerman does a nice job as Silk Spectre. You may remember Malin as the hottie Liane in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle or from last year's 27 Dresses. Luckily for us, Malin has no problem with the GTO and for that, thank you central casting!
The other standout of this film is Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan. Since most of Manhattan was created in the computer, Crudup lends mostly his voice to the character but it's enough to convey the aloof and indifferent being he has become. Matthew Goode is fine as Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias, but, unlike the comic, he stands out too much as a guy that's probably not as stand up as you think he is. Unlike Crudup's aloof and indifferent attitude, Goode's is just stiff.
Visually the film is stunning. The detail on the sets and backgrounds that Snyder was able incorporate is astounding. From headlines on newspapers to picket signs in crowds to graffiti on walls to the multiple televisions in Ozymandias' secret base, there's multiple things to look at in nearly every shot. The comic is the same way, but to capture that on film? Amazing. The special effects in the film are well used. It's one of those movies where you watch it and not once do you wonder how they did something, you just buy that it happened and move on.
The pacing in the film is surprisingly well done. There is a lot of exposition in the film that's handled in voice over and even during the opening credits. I didn't feel once in the nearly 3 hours that the film was lagging behind. Even when there weren't action sequences going on, there was still a lot of detail to look at while you took in the narrator or dialog between the characters. The core of the story is all in the film and that is impressive in itself.
There were a couple things that I didn't care for in the movie including the Richard Nixon scenes. I don't know if it was just the addition of more scenes for Nixon, the guy playing him or the terrible makeup, but every time they cut to him I just shook my head. Props to Frank Novak as Henry Kissinger, however, because as soon as they showed him on screen I knew who he was. Same can be said for Walter Addison who portrayed Lee Iacocca. Instantly recognizable.
Anyway, the other thing I missed were the scenes at the newspaper stand, Tales of the Black Freighter or not, because that newsie was a character in the comic and his small scenes near the end seemed thrown in. Same can be said of the newspaper office. It was tacked on but since nothing of the office had really been shown before the end, if you hadn't read the comic you may be wondering "where did these guys come from?"
Overall the film is stunning in it's accomplishments whether it's acting, writing, the sets or the special effects used to bring it all together. It's deep and complex and lends itself to multiple viewings. The DVD release has already been mentioned to include nearly another hour of content plus bonus material and then you have the March 24th DVD release of the Black Freighter animated film. An ambitious project that I believe has paid off for all involved.
Go see this film, read the graphic novel, buy the DVD and watch it all again and enjoy some incredible storytelling. I'm giving this film 4.5 wheels of cheddar out of 5.