Zack Snyder’s newest comic book adaptation of the Watchmen had me holding my breath as I feared for the worst after his short and inconsistent body of previous work. His remake of Dawn of the Dead was the high point of his career, as Snyder displayed a unique sense of independence. On the other hand, his adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300 pulled the director into a disappointing grave of filmdom where the main draw is gaudy special effects and half-naked sweaty Spartans running through fire and brimstone, which I’m sure appealed to some audiences but not to me. Watchmen, however, was refreshing. Adaptations are not easy to do and although the film does have its flaws, it satisfies both as a social commentary and a visual tour-de-force.

To begin an analysis, I’d like to mention that Watchmen might not translate to everyone. It deals with issues not of the current state of the world. The main underlying theme of the film revolves around the Cold War. There are parallels drawn in regards to the war on terror, but I felt that the film does have more of an impact with some background on U.S. political affairs. After President Kennedy is assassinated and after conflicts resolve poorly in Vietnam, superheroes have begun to lose their grip on national security as well as the support of the nation’s citizens. They simply aren’t wanted. The film does an excellent job of conveying this message. Not only does Watchmen give you this encompassing state of mind, it also develops the main characters as thoroughly as the book does. Flashbacks intermingle with our current plot of action as we are delivered a colorful palette of superheroes that also happen to have their own lives. This really humanizes these characters and gave me reason to care about some of them.

Visually, Watchmen is a fine example of modern blockbuster cinematography. Fearing a three hour show of slow-motion fighting à la Snyder’s 300, I was slightly anxious going into it but to my surprise, there isn’t too much of this overdone technique. When it is used, it comes as a tasteful decision instead of a tiring exposé.  The special effects are fantastic and characters such as Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) look especially good on the Blu-Ray version, for those of you who own a player and are interested in seeing more high definition beauty.

My only true grudge held toward Watchmen is of the film’s pacing. Some scenes seemed unnecessarily long or just edited in a slightly botched manner. Still, I can’t say that this alone will ever turn me away from the film, especially one where eighty percent of the scenes seem important to developing the story and fleshing out a believable world and a unique cast of characters. Watchmen gets an A- on my page. – [DVD] [Blu-Ray]

Action/Drama/Sci-Fi/Thriller

Rated R

DVD Release Date: 7/21/09

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