Watchmen was a 2009 action/drama directed by Zack Snyder (Man of Steel, 300). Based on what was often referred to as the unfilmable story, Alan Moore’s 1987 graphic novel of the same name.
The film is set in an alternate reality during the 1980’s in which America won the Vietnam war, President Nixon was elected for three terms in office. During 
the 1930s, the Minutemen were formed who were the first team of super heroes. Following in their footsteps, the Watchmen were formed years later but have since retired after New York City passed a law banning masked vigilantes. After the murder of Eddie Blake (Jeffrey Dean Morgan – The Losers, The Possession), known as the Comedian, a conspiracy emerges. With all the Watchmen retired aside from Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley – Shutter Island, Lincoln) warns his old partner Dan Dreiberg (Patrick Wilson – Hard Candy, Insidious) known as Nite Owl II of his mask killer theory. This takes place at the same time as Russia stockpiling nuclear warheads and bringing the world dangerously close to World War III. In an effort to prevent this, two past members of the Watchmen, Ozymandias; a multimillionaire philanthropist (Matthew Goode – A Single Man, Stoker) and Dr. Manhattan; a man who through an unfortunate accident was gifted with extraordinary abilities (Billy Crudup – Almost Famous, Bog Fish) work together to stop the energy crisis.
The visual effects in the film are astounding, with all scenes being shot in either night time or during rainy weather, the colours used closely mirror those used in the graphic novel. It has a very high amount of visual effects but despite it being referred to as unfilmable, it isn’t done in such a way that feels overwhelming or over the top. The soundtrack features music from around the period in which it is set such as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Simon and Garfunkel which really anchors down the difference in time between then and now.
With fantastic performances from the entire cast, the most impressive two are Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach) and Billy Crudup (Dr. Manhattan). Rorschach is the one member of the Watchmen whose identity is entirely secret, even to the other heroes. He is a sociopathic anti-hero with no regard for human life and believes the world is populated with nothing but scum destined for hell. He is also the main narrator of the film through his various journal entries. On the other side of the spectrum of someone seemingly so in touch with how people are is Dr. Manhattan, who after his accident has been growing ever increasingly distant from the human
population. With the ability to bend matter to his will and perceive time in a non-linear way allowing him to see past and future. It is a rare occurrence to see an actor required to play a character so removed from humanity, which makes his performance even more impressive.
Definitely a watch for any comic book fan as it is one of the best straight book-to-film adaptations around, next to V for Vendetta. With one of the most beautifully crafted opening credits scenes which shows you the changes in this alternate universe. It shows the rise and fall of the Minutemen and the rise of the Watchmen. The final scene too so well shot that leaves you knowing that isn’t the end of the story. Who watches the Watchmen?… You should watch the Watchmen.
This is an Adventure 