Watchmen [The Ultimate Cut] [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray] [2009]

This was a blind buy, and didn’t know what to expect. However, I really enjoyed it and turned out to be a fun movie. Picture quality was better than I expected. Very thin layer of grain, but nothing to noticeable. Otherwise picture is very clean and detailed.

This is a Classic Film but in 4K it looks Fantastic with a Cinematic Picture that looks Realistic. :)

I knew nothing about this picture before purchasing the Blu-ray. I bought it because the disk was an inexpensive sci-fi movie. The film takes place in a different timeline (parallel universe?) in the 1980s. In this time and dimension, the United States and the Soviet Union are on the brink of nuclear war. The principal characters are aging superheroes who were once part of a now disbanded league. All have helped the US in both battling crime and fighting in war; however, despite their beneficial deeds, they all suffer from deep character flaws. I enjoyed this movie despite its three-hour duration. The basic premise of very deeply flawed superheroes is original. Their history is told though numerous flashbacks. The action scenes are well done but are scattered throughout the film. Those who are looking for non-stop action will be disappointed. Those looking for character development and mystery are more likely to enjoy the movie.

Considering the Blu Ray set of this version goes for over $100, this is the best way to see it. Better picture, the entire story, and for the most part, it flows better. Where the theatrical cut was excellent and brisk, and the Directors Cut felt uneven, this one feels balanced - not too long, even though it IS longer - and that probably has to do with The Black Freighter being put back in the film. Somehow, it gives you a breather from the main action, and the moral of the Black Freighter reflects the story of the film itself. I won't spoil it...

I saw the Watchmen movie when it first came out in the theaters and thought it was fairly enjoyable, but didn't really revisit it until HBO's Watchmen TV show debuted. I'm a viewer who thinks the TV show is an amazing quasi-sequel to the Watchmen movie and has more visceral gut punches than an UFC match. I personally don't understand all the hate it gets from certain fanboys. In fact, it was so good that it made me want to revisit the original movie, which led me to this 4K Ultimate Cut edition. I had seen the Tales of the Black Freighter standalone cartoon back in the day, but I hadn't seen it spliced into the movie with the expanded scenes of the newsstand worker and the comic book fan reading the story. I have to admit that the cuts from live action to the Black Freighter cartoon were a bit jarring to start, but I felt that it helped enrich the movie experience overall, and it brought life to a couple live action characters who only appeared very briefly in the original cut of the film. I think most fans can treat this as the definitive version of Watchmen - just be ready for 3 1/2 hours of viewing time!

I have had the ultimate cut blu ray set from November 2009 (the big box with the ultimate cut and the motion comic) for a little over 10 years, but since hearing about the HBO series, and after I upgraded my home theater to a much larger television (75") and a 4K model to boot, I was all in on this release. The night I picked it up, I popped it in and was blown away by the PQ. Although the AQ is the same as the ultimate cut blu (Dolby TrueHD 5.1), it still sounded amazing. I do not have an Atmos setup so I am really not missing out. While it might be a tad darker than the blu, the colors were a lot richer and popped with the added HDR10. I went ahead and threw this disc in with the ultimate edition set, and now it is an even more comprehensive set! Fans of DC, fans of graphic novels come to life, fans of some great actors (Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan to name a few), definitely pick up this disc! It also comes with the blu of the shorter Director's Cut, which DID NOT come with the ultimate edition in '09.

Watchmen was quite the polarizing film when it came out - fans of the comic either finding it too close or too far away from the source material. It is a little slow (even more so in the extended editions) but it certainly drops you into that world. This release includes a regular blu-ray of the directors cut, and then the UHD is the even longer ultimate cut. The UHD is a 2K uprez (do to the film being edited and mastered at 2K, despite the film sources). Between the 2K uprez and the rather strange HDR grading, as well as the fact that you're not getting an Atmos upgrade like the Man of Steel UHD, it's kind of a hit or miss release. Super fans, pick it up, regular fans are probably okay to stick with the already great looking and sounding blu disc. Of Note: while the box lists DTS Master Audio (and the regular bluray is that), the UHD is a Dolby True HD track. No real big deal as both are lossless codecs once bit streamed out, but just letting people know.

Having recently watched the HBO series, I thought I would purchase this movie and give it another viewing. My original viewing was in theaters when it was released and I did not really understand the movie at the time. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie this time around. My viewing partner in this case seemed to have a similar experience to mine the first time through. She felt that it was unnecessarily long and difficult to stay engaged. The action scenes are gripping, but few and far between. I watched this on my Sony A9G and found the video quality to be quite impressive, however, not up to speed with some more modern films.