Watchmen is dark, violent image of world without hope

The world in which the story of Watchmen inhabits is one that few of us couldn’t possibly imagine ourselves. Based on the groudbreaking graphic novel of the same name, it is a vision completely original in scope and entirely non-commercial in terms of comic book movies. It takes place in a kind of alternate 1985, in which the American landscape is not what you would expect. Here superheroes garner the streets of our cities as if they have always been a central fiber to our existence. President Nixon is serving his 5th term, and the Vietnam war? Well, lets just say, we won. The nations’ fear of mounting tension with the Soviet Union is symbolized in the massive “doomsday” clock that is permanently set to 5 minutes before midnight. With the proverbial stroke of 12, humanity will have finally met its deadliest outcome.

The visually stunning film explodes onto the screen with the murder of a man known only as “The Comedian”. His death triggers a full-scale investigation by his former colleague Rorschach. Rorschach is a masked vigilante who tries to uncover a conspiracy to kill off every member of his old crime-fighting legion, Watchmen. The Watchmen have existed as a kind of second-generation crime-fighting team for quite some time. In recent years however, president Nixon has outlawed all vigilante crime activity, making the watchmen virtually obsolete. They are a motley crew of sorts, while all of them save one having no “super” powers.

The group seems to revolve around one central character however, who is anything but normal. Dr. Manhattan has the ability to bend matter according to his will. In this way, he seems to transcend physical space and time. The inspiration for the character draws heavily on theories of quantam mechanics, but don’t let all this pseudo-intellectualizing bog you down with the fact that he’s a glowing blue naked guy who can teleport.

Do you remember how fun we had watching The Dark Knight last summer? How we watched real-life characters fleshed out on-screen facing big time moral dilemmas all against the back-drop of explosive action and excitement? Watchmen serves as the really unwatchable version of this same story. There is loads of character development, and places in terms of story that are simply daring to tread, but there is a fundamental element missing that holds it all together. I am told that the graphic novel created a whole universe to fill the space in which Watchmen inhabits. Unfortunately, the film leaves you feeling as though you’re only hearing about these elements in hindsight, and it does indeed detract from the story-telling. I would like to see Watchmen again, when I am more familiar with the story, because for all of its bravado 1 film is not enough to devote to all the content that seems to be on the page, written or implied.

2.5/5