I Watched the Watchmen

Over twenty years of anticipation has come to an end. The Watchmen hit theaters this weekend and it slammed its competition at the box office. The flick brought in nearly $56 million, or eight times the number of sales as its nearest competition. It remains to be seen if the film has this kind of staying power, or perhaps all the fanboys say it the first weekend and the box office take will wither. This review concentrates on how this stands with and stands apart from the original printed work. To me, the Watchmen is an unqualified success as a film. Zack Snyder hits all the right notes for the narrative to ring true with the original comic. I say comic because although the work is often called a graphic novel, it was originally released as twelve separate issues. It was not compiled into a graphic novel until later. As a story it unfolded naturally over twelve monthly issues. It was the definition of a slow burn with thirty days between installments to mull over what was going on. As a collected work the graphic novel feels much more dense and I can see how it was long considered unfilmable. In my opinion, most folks considered the story untranslatable to film due to its scope, but with the refinement of CGI, scope was no longer the issue. The sheer complexity of the narrative emerged as the stumbling block. The filmmakers do a fine job snipping here and there the least essential bits. Yes, that is a bit of an oxymoron, but with a story this complex something has to go in order for it to work on film. To me the real triumph of the film is that the internal spirit of the story is maintained while making it accessible to a larger audience. I can only hope that if the film resonated with people they will make the investment of time and read the graphic novel as well. This could be a gateway to the more serious works available in the medium of comics. One strong caution, if graphic violence isn’t your cup of tea then I would suggest you stay away from this film. Unlike simple slasher films, the violence in the Watchmen is calculated to impact the audience on a deeper level. Each instance is carefully crafted to make you squirm uncomfortably. Also, anyone who brings a kid younger than 17 into this movie needs to have their head examined. The story addresses issues and ideas that younger folks should not have to deal with. Human nature is on trial throughout the film and the result isn’t pretty. I would also suggest some other choice for a first date. All in all, I give the Watchmen a solid 4.5 thunderbolts out of five.