Watchmen [WS] [DVD] [2009]

This project was rejected by 4 director's before Snider came onboard. This movie was bound to disappoint but surprisingly many of the choices made in the film could have been avoided. First off, contrary to previous reviewer below remarks, this movie DOES go overboard with extended material that was not explicitly detailed in the novel as it is here. The most talked about (and true) examples being the ultra violent fight scene during a jail break, an alley scene and the murder and final confrontation. Nowhere in the novel, which has been quoted as a storyboard for the film, were there ever people being tossed 20 ft away through tile, granite and pillars only to get up and fight back. The very first murder scene takes you through 5 minutes of this over the top Power Ranger choreography while the novel leaves the worst to the imagination and shows a few exchanges before having the victim tossed out the window. I guess the quick exchange wasn't Hollywood enough for Snider and co. Ditto the ridiculous final confrontation that embarassingly has one of the best characters being thrown into a giant marble pillar in a Matrix fashion only to get up and fix his coat and scarf. Again, not in the novel and does nothing to flesh out and add to the story. One couple walked out of the theatre upon a moment where one character deals a fatal blow to a child kidnapper that was pretentious and overtop in it's execution ( When will tHollywood learn what Alan Moore, original author, knew: that less is more.) No need to add fluff. Ditto an intimat scene which was tastefully done in no more than 4 panels in the novel (despite the adult themes and motivation behind the acts) but extended into...I don't know...a 6-7showtime experience with a horrible song choice playing in the background and an unnecessary use of pyro. Though the moment has themes of fetish for the characters involved, I fail to see why it had to be so for the audience members. I wonder if they conducted a survey to determine that it would take that long in film time for us to 'get' that they were having intercourse. With that out of the way, the story is very complex, entertaining and introduces you to characters you love and want to learn more about. You care about the mystery and the plight of these characters though the movie has some difficulty transitioning between present and flashback sequences. The opening credits did a great job of condensing numerous flashback scenes (irony for you Snider, why not shorten the matrix fights and intercourse to add more flashback/story). Overall, this could have been a phenominal hit and did poorly in theatres because of some poor choices made by Snider and co. When you have a time constraint for a story as epic as this, the choices you make are instrumental in it's success and the reality is this movie suffers not because of what couldn''t make the final cut but what was added that did nothing to further the story, characters, or experience. This movie needed to be successful but hopefully Hollywood learns a lesson as to why it wasn't so we wont have a repeat down the road.

This movie is an embarrassment to fans of Watchmen and rightfully avoided by Alan Moore. The beauty of the source material, was that though you had to suspend disbelief of a giant blue man and an evil plot from a very unsuspecting villain, the characters and the themes were grounded and very relatable. You were pulled in by their emotional journeys and sat at the edge of your seat to find out what happened next. It was simply a story of 'what would happen if we lived in a world of masked vigilantes'. Think of it as the Batman Begins of the 80's. The problem with this film is that those elements that are front and center stage in the novel take a step back and are distracted by over the top fight scenes and very unnecessary graphic and cheesy intercourse scene which served absolutely no purpose to the plot. In the comic, that event took place across a very few panels and left the two characters alone as they reached out to one another. In this movie, it's sole purpose is to get your teenage kid a reason to get excited. the fight scenes are an abomination. A character in the book, who's in his 60s/70s, dies early on by being tossed out a window. For some reason, the director felt the need to go into showing this characters head being smashed through granite counter tops and being thrown into walls only to have him get back up and fight as if nothing happen! Pointless. In fact, this Matrix-y style is forced into every action scene in the movie. A scene where two characters get jumped in an alley is just too pointless and choreographed to be true and grounded. A final battle shows more characters being thrown into marble pillers only to get back up, fix their scarfs and walk as if nothing happened. Any truth or grounded relation to the events in the book is demolished. I went with a couple of friends and my dad who were not familiar with the source material and they called early on who the villain was thanks to a horribly horribly miscast member in the movie. On the PLUS side, the movie is beautiful to look at, the soundtrack is fabulous, but that's honestly the only prop I can give it. The ending was altered for some reason and I am neutral on that issue, myself. Please, do not support this awful awful abomination of what is a great story on print. I ask you to ignore the arguments that what works for print does not translate on film because it is irrelevant to the irrelevant material thrown into this movie which did nothing to heighten your curiosity of the murder that takes central stage in the book. I will never watch another Zack Snyder movie ever again.

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.

Don't listen to the people who say the violence is over the top, or the "intercourse is ridiculous." This graphic novel is so loaded with nudity and violence (in a good way) that the movie would have to include it to be faithful! I love the gritty look that Snyder gave it. It reminds me of the amazing art from the book. Sure, there are some minor adjustments to plot and the ending is slightly different (better if you ask me). But, film and print are 2 totally different media types! Why do fans always have to complain that the movie was a little different? Who cares? Your comic books are being brought to life. Isn't that what we all wished for when we were kids? I am willing to let a few changes go (just a few) if that means I can see my childhood heroes in motion on screen. I am also really glad Zack got to put 24 minutes back into the film for the video release. There is so much going on in the book that you would have to make a 6 hour mini series to even touch it, but a 3-hr movie is great, especially after seeing the theatrical version this spring. I just wish the Blu-ray had all the webisodes of the making of the film as extras. Don't forget to pick up the companion disc of the Black Freighter. It's really well done and the main character is perfectly voiced by Gerard Butler. Watchmen Rules!!!

Not counting Batman(1989), Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight, I have never seen this epic of a movie based on a graphic novel. The cast of characters for the most part look like they were torn from the pages of the graphic novel. For those not familiar with it: Watchmen follows viglante Rorschach on his quest for justice (vengeance?) after the death of a former superhero in a alternate 1985 where superheros have been outlawed. Rorschach begins to uncover a plot that jepordizes millions, at least. And Jackie Earle Haley is impressive as Rorschach, he almost looks exactly like him. Watchmen: The Director's Cut features 24 extra minutes of footage (a 3 hour and 30 min. version with Tales of the Black Freighter spliced in will be released during the holiday season), video journals, commentary, and a music video, if you get the basic Director's Cut. You can find most if not all versions of Watchmen at best buy (plus two special editions, one case looking like Rorschach and the other is one of the godlike Dr. Manhattan, which are BestBuy exclusive). Watchmen must be seen to be believed, it is a thrill ride that will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat until the very end.

This film may not have been a huge blockbuster that everyone hoped it would be but I find it very intriguing. Every character has very interesting back stories and the movie does a great job of spending an appropriate amount of time with each character. While it can feel a bit long at times, and it can be very dark as well, I find that I have enjoyed this movie the more times that I have watched it. Also, even though it isn't exactly like the comic, I felt it was a fair adaptation that was very close to the source material. So you should watch the Watchmen too! Steelbook doesn't really provide many additional features other than the extra widescreen format. I had the original on DVD and felt I needed the upgrade, plus I'm a sucker for steelbook. But if you aren't a steelbook collector, then it isn't very necessary to get this version if the regular case is available.

Zach Snyder shot and stylized this piece quite well. However, it drags in certain places...and in other places, too. This has been noted before, but Mr. Snyder thrives on "the moment" in his films. Going for the next moment to the next moment...and slowing down the film's speed to make certain you indeed see each and every moment. Also, right from the get-go you should notice something missing in the opening credits: Frank Miller. He, in fact, sued to have his name removed from this film as he was so disgusted from it vs. his graphic novel. While watching the movie, it does make you want to read his novel (in hopes that it's substantially better). For example, does the graphic novel contain many Hollywoodized vague cliched fallacies trying to be philosophical truths without any debate and argument? The movie does have a fairly nice soundtrack. Several Bob Dylan songs Woop! and a couple Leonard Cohen's. Will I watch this movie again? Not sure, really.

Incredible visuals and scenes seemingly ripped straight from the panels of the graphic novel. Accompanying probably one of the best opening credit scene I ever seen, is a comic book movie that stays more or less faithful to the graphic novel. Some story elements are sacrificed in order to keep the movie at a reasonable run time and some story elements are changed to appeal to the modern audience. Most of the changes are welcome and understandable. Overall a really enjoyable film. The Director's Cut Steelbook unfortunately doesn't include the motion comic or The Tales of the Black Freighter like I hoped it would, but it does include Maximum Movie Mode which is a cool interactive alternative to a movie commentary. I personally think the artwork on the steelbook is just okay and could have been better.