Watchmen

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Plot: Watchmen has a lengthy story involving the killing of a superhero, The Comedian, and the search to find his killer by another superhero, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley). His superhero friends, Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman) and Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) are also afraid of being killed. There is a second plot involving the prevention of nuclear war by Dr. Manhattan, who is powerful enough to win wars for the United States, and the fight for lasting peace championed by Adrian Veidt (Matthew Goode.)

Review: Watchmen is a thoughtful movie that has themes about the depressing nature of life, and the main villian is actually doing evil so that good may come. Rorschach similarly has a harsh evil side. This adult pairing of good and evil is the most attractive element of the story. I thought the plot was well-written and easy enough to follow. The use of Nixon, Kissinger and Lee Iacoca in the story was pretty humorous.

The characters were well-drawn, and fairly well-motivated for superheros. As in many superhero movies, the back stories are the most interesting. The acting was not especially good, or perhaps the direction did not stress emotive performances. For example, the discussion on Mars that leaves Silk Spectre crying was flat. Dr. Manhattan was particularly wooden -- I suppose he was supposed to be, but I think motion-capture is inherently wooden.

Cast and crew:Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson;
directed by Zack Snyder, based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
Rating
3.0


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