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WATCHMEN is a testament to cinematic bravura. It’s fearless filmmaking. It’s an audacious reminder of why it is ALWAYS better to aim high rather than set your sights on the middle. It’s a great film made from a great graphic novel by the great Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. WATCHMEN is why I love the movies.


When I trepidaciously went to see the film in March, I entered the theater beset with doubts as to how director Zack Snyder (300) could pull it off, but two hours and forty two minutes later I left the Manhattan multiplex in a state of cinematic satiety, my usual garrulous self rendered silent by ineffable joy. OK, enough with the lovefest and lavish praise and big words. I’ve seen WATCHMEN three times: Once in its regular theatrical format, another time in IMAX and now on DVD in a 186-minute Director’s Cut. For those who don’t know by now, WATCHMEN is based on the legendary 1986-87 graphic novel set in an alternate-reality 1985 in which America won the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon is still President. The United States and Soviet Union are on the brink of nuclear war, and as the Doomsday Clock approaches the fatal midnight hour, the murder of the former “Mask” (a.k.a. superhero) known as the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) sparks his retired colleagues to return to action to figure out who is trying to kill off Masks and why.





To describe WATCHMEN as a “comic book film” would be an injustice. And it would be too simple to glibly summarize it as a deconstruction of superhero mythology. A more fitting definition might be “dissection”—and not just of comics and superheroes but, perhaps more importantly, mankind. Oh, and it’s a hell of an entertaining movie as well. Snyder and his casting director did a superlative job of getting the right actors for the roles. Morgan brings the right notes of regret and lament to the jaded, hateful, mercenary Comedian. Billy Crudup (in a mo-cap performance) is spot-on as the sphinxlike, quantum super-powered Dr. Manhattan. Patrick Wilson does an excellent job of showing Nite Owl’s transformation from a sad sack to a rejuvenated man of action. Malin Akerman is feisty and flinty—and looks gorgeous in Silk Spectre’s tight spandex suit. Matthew Goode is quite good as the smartest man in the world, Ozymandias. And Jackie Earle Haley steals the show as that relentless vigilante who wears the inkblot mask, Rorschach. Snyder and screenwriters David Hayter and Alex Tse achieved what seemed unfathomable, remaining affectionately faithful to the graphic novel without letting it getting in the way of telling a good cinematic story. And visually, WATCHMEN is mind-blowing. Snyder pulled panels directly from the comic, meticulously framed each shot and together with cinematographer Larry Fong captured the color palette, look and feel of the WATCHMEN Universe.



So, what’s NEW in this Director’s Cut? Well, here’s what I picked up on: Rorschach has additional dialogue and narration from the comic; a few of the flashbacks are slightly extended; the reason for the atom symbol on Dr. Manhattan’s head is explained; there are new scenes of the military’s surveillance of Laurie and more with Watchmen handler Agent Forbes (Fulvio Cecere); and a few sequences and conversations go on longer. But the most significant addition, by far, is that the Director’s Cut includes Hollis Mason’s (Stephen McHattie) murder by the Top-Knots as well as Dan Dreiberg’s violent reaction to it at a bar. So, what’s the better version? I’d say the Director’s Cut. It’s not remarkably better than the theatrical edition, and some of the added material isn’t essential, but it provides more details for fans of the graphic novel and Hollis’ death scene is quite moving and the best sequence taken from the cutting room floor.

WATCHMEN has arrived on DVD in three editions: a single-disc Theatrical Cut, a two-disc Director’s Cut and a two-disc Director’s Cut on Blu-ray (BUYER BEWARE!: There’s a five-disc DVD coming out later this year). This review is of the two-disc Director’s Cut on regular DVD, and as far as the special features go, there’s a My Chemical Romance music video, “The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics” and a series of WATCHMEN video journals. “The Phenomenon” is a half-hour featurette that examines the comic’s origins and creation and includes comments from the film’s cast, DC Comics employees, initial editor (and STARLOG pal) Len Wein and Gibbons. It’s an informative analysis that touches on why WATCHMEN was such a revolutionary comic, sheds light on Gibbons and Moore’s collaboration and discusses its Charlton Comics inspiration.

The 11 video journals run around five-minutes-or-less apiece and feature behind-the-scenes footage and talking heads. The first superhero team is the focus of “The Minutemen.” Production Designer Alex McDowell discusses the movie’s “Sets & Sensibility.” Costume designer Michael Wilkinson chimes in on “Dressed for Success.” The construction of the Owlship is studied in “The Ship Has Eyes.” The comic’s co-creator is the focus of “Dave Gibbons.” “Burn Baby Burn” chronicles a burn stunt during the prison riot sequence. Snyder’s preparation and storyboards and the movie’s lighting and composition are discussed in “Shoot to Thrill.” “Blue Monday” shows how Crudup and the visual FX artists created Dr. Manhattan. The film’s background details and Easter Eggs for the fans are the subject of “Attention to Detail.” Akerman and Carla Gugino explain why “Girls Kick Ass” in WATCHMEN. And “Rorschach’s Mask” wraps it all up with a look at the different concepts and design work that went into the vigilante’s inkblot façade.

Who watches the WATCHMEN? I do. And now that I own it on DVD, I can watch it over and over again. Yippee!

4 out of 4 stars

Watchmen & All Watchmen & Related Characters & Elements & All Watchmen Movie Images: Trademark & Copyright 2009 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

All Watchmen Movie Images: Courtesy Warner Bros.

Selected Photos: Clay Enos

Smiley Logo: Trademark The Smiley Company/Courtesy Warner Bros.