THE ABYSS GAZES ALSO. A REVIEW.

I wont spend time digging into the plot here but WATCHMEN follows a masked crimefighter's quest to solve a murder and his discovery of a plot far more terrifying, and reuniting with his former friends along the way.  In my reviews I try to stay away from giving movies any specific ratings like amounts of stars or rating on a scale, I usually express the impact, if any, the film has left on me.  And WATCHMEN hit me like a ton of bricks, in a fantastic way. 

First you have to understand, this is NOT a superhero movie.  It's a neo-noir, murder mystery, detective story with elements of sci-fi, comedy, and starring masked crimefighters.  I received some pushback from a certain person who read the graphic novel and claimed that there wasnt 'superheroes in it' and it was a 'waste of time'.  Let me just say I never told this person it was a superhero comic, I said it had a great story.  Which is true for the film.  If you want heroes chasing bad guys, cat and mouse games, goofy one-liners, and heroic deeds then rent BATMAN & ROBIN and turn off your brain, because WATCHMEN will bore you.  This is an unconventional story with an unconventional resolution, laced with quantum physics, teeming with brutality, and when the ending hits you, you wont know what to think, and you'll see why when it happens.  This is a far more intellectual comic book movie than your SPIDERMANS or FANTASTIC FOURS.  Second you have to know this film was adapted from a 12 chapter grapic novel that features two 'books within a book' storylines.  There is a lot of material, this is a long movie.  Its almost 3 hours long.  I had NO problem with this but the average moviegoer might.  After the film some people complained of it being too long, well all those people didnt KNOW BEFORE HAND that it was that long so if you plan on watching it, plan on sitting for a long time.

The film's focus shifts from its overall conspiracy story and adds much more action and character development, which at first can be frustrating since at times the plot is absent completely to make way for character flashbacks, but its all warranted.  To have these characters in the movie and not explain them would be wasteful, it would be like building a castle out of toothpicks and not showing how you made it.  That being said the characters are GREAT, each actor really got to know what makes their character stand out and became them, especially RORSCHACH.  My favorite scene is when [SPOILER HIGHLIGHT TO READ]Rorschach is captured by the police and they bring him to the ground and rip away his mask and he screams 'GIVE ME BACK MY FACE!' I nearly cried.[END SPOILER], and also when [SPOILER]when Rorschach 'becomes' Rorschach and kills a child murderer, with just using body language and heavy breathing you manage to know exactly what he's feeling as he is all at once angry, sad, and terrified at what he has done and what he has become.[END] or mostly any scene with Rorschach for that matter.

This is an enormous film, and the upcoming directors cut version aside, this is the best WATCHMEN film I could have ever hoped for.  Sure it has its flaws.  It moves very fast, leaving almost no time for the audience to catch up in case they miss something.  The ending credits song is terrible. And sure some elements were changed and some were removed entirely, but the main points are there, it is still WATCHMEN in all sound, vision, and heart, and as you sit trying to dissect and understand it, it is doing the same to you.  I know this film isnt getting the best reviews right now, and they range from outstanding to terrible, part of that could because it requires a bit more focus from the viewer than the average audience.  But all reviews are relative.  It all boils down to expectation.  Expect to be entertained.  Expect this movie to be better than EVERYTHING else currently playing in theaters.  Expect to challenge the characters' decisions.  Expect to sit for almost 3 hours.  This film is not for everybody, but if you find its for YOU, then expect to be amazed at this great piece of cinema.  I can go on and on about how it could have been better, how it could have been worse (a previous draft of the script had the film set in current times instead of the alternate 1985 from the graphic novel), but I would be wasting time because we've got something that deserves its accolades for what it is.  It's not perfect, but its very effective, and if you can just expect that, you will greatly enjoy WATCHMEN.  I cant wait until I get the chance to see it again.