Watchmen

Shocker. I heard about this movie for quite some time living with Robby. If you know Robby, you probably heard about this movie too. So the build up for this film probably started about nine months ago. (This is going to be random, but speaking of 9, there is a new movie that's coming out titled 9. I'm very excited and will force people to see it with me when it comes out in theaters. If you haven't seen a trailer for it, clink on the link.) I had never heard of this story before, but Robby kept talking it up. Fast forward months to this past Christmas and Santa brings me the graphic novel. I still at this point didn't know much about the story other than it was about superheroes in the real world. Sounded interesting, but I wasn't overly excited. If you are intrigued after reading this post, you can find it here at Amazon. Unlike any other superhero story, I found it to be much more interesting as a social commentary. Nixon as a beloved president, the US winning the Vietnam war. That gives you an idea. I completely understand how it was ranked in Time's 100 Greatest novels.

I'm sure everyone has seen the trailers on TV since the movie got a lot of buzz, but just in case you didn't, I'd have to agree with Jon in that its one of the best I've ever seen put together. BOTH of them.





So Robby did a good job of convincing me to be excited for the movie. I flew through the book, couldn't wait for March to get here. We get a group of 13 of us to go to the midnight showing of the film. It's a 3 hour movie. And that's only because they cut it down to that length.

Popcorn? Check.
Huge 110 oz. soda? Check.
Sour Patch Kids? Check.

Let's get this show on the road.

Movie started off well. Kind of jumps right into the story, keeping the true to form with the book. The movie was shot well, definitely pretty to watch. I think that if you know nothing of the story, it will be pretty hit or miss. Most people expect a lot of action in a comic book movie, and I will say, the prison scene is pretty incredible in this one, but there was a lot more story involved. Though it can be fantastic at times (not fantastic in the incredible way, but fantastic in the out of the ordinary as we think of things) its a grounded story. One character, Rorschach, thinks that superheroes are being targeted and killed and it becomes a mystery. Rorschach is definitely the best character, and after you see the film or read the book, you'll understand why. The casting was done quite well, the actors all did a great job with their respective roles. I think that my only critique of the movie was the ending. It was really the only big difference from the book, and I understand why they did it, but it just didn't sit well with me. I hear it will be an alternate ending on the DVD though. Since Robby will probably buy 58 copies to keep as 'collectibles' I'm sure I'll get the opportunity to check it out.

I give the film a strong 4 out of 5 manatees. Maybe the DVD version I'll rank higher since I hear its over 4 hours uncut. If my review doesn't sell you enough to see the film, then I'll just say there is a lot of time that you will see a Mr. Manhattan's blue penis. Put that penis on a 90 foot movie screen, or better yet, an IMAX screen, that's a lot of penis.