--Dr. Manhattan, Watchmen
"We are all puppets, Laurie. I'm just a puppet who can see the strings."
--Dr. Manhattan, Watchmen
One of the last movies of its type to not be a part of a shared film universe, Watchmen offers a grim take on a genre that has often since been thematically watered down. This is a review of the extended director's cut, so some of my comments might not apply to the theatrical version to the same extent or at all. Watchmen portrays protagonists far darker, more complicated, and more atypical than those in usual Marvel or DC films. These heroes are also not superheroes in the traditional sense, as only Dr. Manhattan actually possesses special abilities, though the film is still roughly a part of the superhero genre. These features set it apart from many subsequent films in its genre, but, unfortunately, the gratuitous runtime means the story sometimes inches from one plot point to the next, a problem that Zach Snyder's 300 and Man of Steel did not have. Regardless of its issues with storytelling and pacing, though, Watchmen feels right at home in a postmodern world: it depicts a world where "heroes" are jaded, apathetic, confused, and sometimes torn between conflicting moral impulses.
Patrick Wilson (one of my favorite actors), Carla Gugino, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and the other actors and actresses of Watchmen offer great performances. Silke Spectre, Rorschach, the Comedian, Nite Owl, Dr. Manhattan, and the other heroes (I use that term loosely here) are depicted in a realistic way, having their own demons and complexities. Some of them are developed with more attention than others, and the characterization of the Comedian and Dr. Manhattan is particularly excellent. The thorough quality of the production values is perhaps the most successful aspect of the movie. Visually, Watchmen is very uniquely stylized, as one might expect of a Zach Snyder film--the visuals still largely hold up today, and the cinematography is excellent. It is a shame that the slow pacing might drive some people away from appreciating the well-executed aesthetics.
Story
(Spoilers!)
In an alternate 1980s, superhero activity has been criminalized, and the Cold War between the United States and the USSR has many people worried about what safety the future holds. During this period of suspense, a former "hero" called the Comedian is murdered, his killer throwing him out of a high window. A vigilante named Rorschach defies the Keene Act that prohibited superheroes and decides to investigate the death, periodically meeting with former hero Nite Owl.
As more information surfaces, it seems that someone is targeting retired superheroes. Dr. Manhattan, a former scientist transformed into a supra-human entity by an accident with an Intrinsic Field Subtractor, leaves the planet for Mars due to his increasing detachment from human affairs, which leaves the US far more vulnerable to the Soviets, as Dr. Manhattan's presence deterred foreign powers. Able to teleport, vaporize or reconstruct matter, and perceive the future, he helped America win the Vietnam War.
World events increase in their volatility until Rorschach and Nite Owl learn that Adrian Veidt, known previously as the crime fighter Ozymandias, seeks to unify the world by killing millions of people and framing Dr. Manhattan (he also killed the Comedian). Dr. Manhattan eventually teleports to Adrian's base of operations, where he sees a broadcast from President Nixon affirming an alliance with the Soviets against himself. Exposing the true nature of the events that led to the peace would likely return the political landscape to chaos, and Rorschach must be obliterated by Dr. Manhattan in order to keep the information safe. Like The Dark Knight, Watchmen ends with the concealment of a lie that seems to bring tranquility.
Intellectual Content
Dr. Manhattan seems to be, in a sense, a representation of God--at least how some people perceive the concept of God. As viewers observe how he shifted from a fairly normal human existence to that of a transhuman being with the ability to gaze into the future, teleport, and shape matter at will, they see him grow detached from human concerns. He intentionally distances himself from claims that he is divine more than once, but it is heavily implied that he represents the idea of a cold, distant deity, one who is seemingly apathetic towards the universe and the inhabitants therein. It is such a deity that many might charge with callousness or responsibility for evil. At one point, the Comedian, right after killing a woman with a firearm, even asks Dr. Manhattan why he didn't prevent the murder by using his manipulation of matter, solidifying this theme. Rorschach, however, counters the idea that God (and Dr. Manhattan, indirectly) is responsible for the grim nature of human life, saying, "God doesn't make the world this way. We do." The worldviews of the characters are not particularly developed in many cases, but they do guide the actions of the characters.
As an aside, Dr. Manhattan's abilities do grant him access to knowledge outside the scope of human limitations, but this does not stop him from making incorrect claims about how everything is preordained, nothing truly ends, only what can happen does happen, and how phenomena at the quantum level can scarcely be said to occur. Dr. Manhattan, like most movie characters, is not a rational person! He spews out obvious fallacies and errors that he mistakes for truths on quite a few occasions.
Conclusion
Watchmen is not the most streamlined, viewer-friendly "superhero" film. Some viewers might find themselves confused at the way the story unfolds or frustrated with how long the movie is. Perhaps some of these problems are minimized in the theatrical cut, but, since I only viewed the extended cut, I do not know how different the plot pacing seems in the former. The style and themes of Watchmen render it a somewhat polarizing film. Some people might appreciate its uniqueness, and some might dislike its differences from many other superhero movies. Either way, it remains unique.
1. Violence: Though the action in Watchmen is largely contained in a relatively small number of scenes, those scenes show arms get sawed off, people get hurled into fixtures, and bodies get twisted in abnormal ways.
2. Profanity: Profanity of various sorts is used throughout the movie.
3. Nudity: Dr. Manhattan's post-transformation body is shown, from the front, fully nude in multiple scenes. His penis is entirely visible.
4. Sexuality: Nite Owl and Silke Spectre have onscreen sex.
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