SCI FI PI

Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Carla Gugino
Directory Zack Snyder
Rated MA 15+
Released March 6





This is a lavishly shot super-production that is as faithful as any true believer of Alan Moore's original could hope to see.

Which means, as a Hollywood Blockbuster, it's one hell of an anomaly. The traditional experience of the comic book movie is turned on its head. The usual lines that separate good and evil are blurred beyond recognition, and the the touchstones that we usually use when watching this kind of movie are missing.

So now, the world that exhilarates in the new found joy given it by Iron Man and The Dark Knight, gets something they haven't bargained for. This is not comic book made real or dragged into our 'reality', but a comic book world that is real, in and of itself.

To enter the world of the Watchmen successfully, it helps to have the universe of comicbooks at your fingertips. The stylistic references, and the points of difference and similarity to classic comic book melodrama of the source material are what make it such a rich experience for die-hard fans.

For those with no profound knowledge of comics, or Alan Moore's classic, the film will still be a rich, multi-layered experience. The trick really will be in whether your mind can cope with a film about caped crusaders that has all the quality and tone of a multi-Oscar winning film. The source material set out to create flawed, human characters that dwell 'Under the Hood', whose inner demons are just as important (actually, moreso) than the ultimate fate of humanity that is at risk during the events of the film. The inner world is more important than the external one - not quite what you'd expect in a movie that looks to the untrained eye like it could have 'zowie!' and 'boff!' exploding on the screen.





To successfully translate this concept onto the big screen is probably director's Zack Snyder's greatest acheivement in his treatment of Watchmen. To tinker also with the original framework and provide an ending that is actually more plausible and consistent than Moore's original ending is also a huge tick. To stay faithful to key sequences and key character flaws (with barely a flinch) is often astonishing, given the film's megabudget and Hollywood's penchant for playing it safe when they're rolling out a film costing more than $100 millon. There are some confronting moments of brutality, cruelty and nudity that will be surprising for many, but refreshing for most to see.

The departures from traditional structure, safe goodies and baddies, safe pacing and safe character resolution make this film more akin to a low budget indie than a tentpole blockbuster. It shows real guts on Paramount's part to trust in Snyder's vision.





So what does this all mean to those few who still know little of Watchmen?

The Watchmen are a small band of masked vigilantes, following on the traditions of their predecessors and parents who began 'adventuring' in the 40's.

In a parallel universe, it is 1985. Rchard Nixon is still President, and the threat of global nuclear annihilation escalates every day as the superpowers of the USA and USSR jockey for supremacy in the cold war. The one thing that stands between mutally assured destruction is Dr Manhattan, the earth's only true superhero, mysteriously given the ability to control space, time and matter after an accident in a phsysics lab.

Dr Manhattan's connection with humans drifts and fades, as his understanding and involvement with the universe on a subatomic and cosmological level grows. For a man who can exist in several times and spaces at once, who can rearrange matter with his mind and teleport himself and anything anywhere and at anytime, the day to day struggles of even his closest friends and lovers begin to fade into insignificance.

Pushed beyond irritation by human frailty, he escapes to Mars, to get some peace and quiet. With him gone, the Doomsday Clock ticks closer and closer to the Apocalypse.





On the streets of New York, the masked adventurers who once made up the Watchmen are being targeted for death. The one remaining hold out, Rorschach, is obsessively trying to track down the killer and warn the survivors. Those who've retired, Night Owl, Silk Spectre, and the most rich and famous of them all, Ozymandias, are next on the list - for what purpose, no one knows.

The film is part classic detective story, part rollicking comic book action-fest with plenty of hard-punching, bone-crunching (literally) fight scenes and part philosophic journey, taking in the scenic route from the basic nature of good and evil to the purpose and importance of human life itself. In a universe where the most extraordinary human that ever lived is as important as a cockroach or the atoms in a tiny grain of sand, where is the logic in protecting even an entire planet of humans?

To discuss and discover this one miracle of human life, it's claim for the right to exist, is the purpose of the film.

Whilst it does hold all the facets of a giant blockbuster movie, it is in this microcosm of plot, character and structure that the film truly impresses.





It's pretty bold stuff for a film peopled by characters hopping about in leather and latex. That is the film's real tightrope, and it may come down to the individual's acceptance of this fact as to whether they enjoy the film or not.

The alternate world of 1985 is stunningly detailed, beautifully crafted, and retains the sense of menace that those who grew up during the Cold War may still remember. The younger generation who sees the era of global terrorism as their greatest fear know nothing of the mortal terror that gripped a world subjected to the daily possibility of the obliteration of life on Earth; the terror of a nuclear winter, of radiation sickness that made your hair fall in clumps and your teeth drop out as your organs slowly bled out into your rotting body.

A carefully crafted backdrop then has these caped crusaders placed upon it - well thought out, all (except for Dr Manhattan) perfectly human, willing to accept ridicule for their silly constumes so they could act as tolerated vigilantes in a world that needed them - until it said no, and they were outlawed by the Keane Act. What makes a man put on a suit and punch up bad guys? Not a healthy mind, it seems, with almost all of the Watchmen damaged goods. Some, like The Comedian and Rorschach, plain evil and crazy. Yet these are our 'good' guys!





The actors who play them have a hell of task, but with such fanboy pressure on them, they have turned in performances that straddle comic book action and realistic humanity. Often these two opposing forces are compartmentalised, even played out in the same scene, which can be jarring and for those unconvinced by, and unused to the comic book origins of the film, it may be a bit too much. The line between sickening violence and cartoony violence is a blurred one. It's also hard to empathise with a naked glowing blue dude with pupil-less eyes. However, it is very easy to be impressed by the awesome glowing, pulsing energy that seeps through his skin from his veins.

Singling out actors individually is hard in such an ensemble piece - they all play their character's most important facets to the hilt, but it's tough to work behind masks and CG. The most succesful 'real' human in the film is the pin-point casting of Patrick Wilson as the ageing, pot-bellied Dan Dreiberg, the retired Night Owl who has to get his mojo back. It is his most human journey, taken with Malin Akerman's Silk Spectre, that gives the film it's human glue of both frailty and triumph and it's backbone, despite the mammoth events that surround it. Whilst Akerman's sexiness is often mesmerising, it is Wilson's inhabitance of a man at first defeated and suburban and then physical and revitalised that gives Watchmen its beating heart.

The film is tremendously entertaining in its treatment of history, toying with events to suit both pure entertainment and story. With an emphasis on historical context, the music of the film also reflects the turbulent times leading up to the 'present', with a collection of often truly inspired soundtrack moments. Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah', Simon and Garfunkel's 'Sound of Silence' and Jimi Hendrix's 'All Along the Watchtower' are lead by the credit sequence's use of 'The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bod Dylan in the official introduction to the history of the Watchmen. It's a glorious editorial symphony.

Combine the groovy soundtrack with exquisite sets and some spectacular special effects and you have more than enough to satisfy those looking for cheap thrills.

If you're looking for a pure comic book movie, with pure goodies and baddies and the usual ending, you will not get it. If you're looking for complex, completely realistic characters, you won't qute get that either, but you'll be far closer to the mark. The film really succceeds in its broad, epic strokes. The final revelations play out well, with a breathtaking twist on the genre for those new to the material.





Where the film falls down - there are makeup moments where physical (ageing and prosthetic) makeup doesn't quite match up with the precision of other aspects of the film. Some cahracters age well, others look like they've been in a plastic surgery accident. President Nixon looks like Harvey Keitel fallen asleep in a hardened bowl of porridge. That and the non-signposted blending of the 'comic book' with the 'real' are what will give most viewers pause. The denseness and complexity of the story may also be a challenge for some, but for most, this will be a plus - Alan Moore's multi-layered work of art brough to living, breathing life.

It's a long film filled with incident and adventure, and seems destined to be a classic of the ilk of Bladerunner, so rich it is with detail, and anti-establishment plotting, character and resolution. For this bravery though, it may risk dissappointing a world bred and raised for easily digestible fare. Let's cross our fingers for the film that it finds an audience willing to accept something quite different and challenging, rather than one confused by a blcokbuster that doesn't act like a blockbuster at all.





For die-hard fans of the original comic, the Tales of the Black Freighter and Under The Hood segments will be available on DVD, but will not be screened as part of the theatrical release. A mega director's cut will eventually come out, running at around 3 hours and 40 minutes.

For fans looking for the ultimate Big Screen Watchmen Experience - Watchmen will also be appearing on IMAX. Check your local guides for details.

If you'd like to explore the world of Watchmen further, have a look at our extensive collection of Watchmen videos on our Spectrum Video player, here .