I sat myself down to enjoy this gem the other day. I had heard a lot of mixed reviews while this movie was out in theaters, some people said you had to read the graphic novel to understand it, some really enjoyed it and some thought it was just plain boring and way too long. I really enjoyed it and I have not read the graphic novel (although it is on my list now).
Watchmen is a story about the status of super heroes (in a fictional America) throughout the 1900's. It begins with a nice montage of credits and old timey super hero pictures/events. These are not your marvel or DC comic super heroes, they are something different (which the movie didn't dive deep enough in to for me), the "powers" are not clearly defined either but you kind of get the gist throughout the movie. It appears that the fictional time perioid the movie takes place in is cold warish with Richard Nixon on his 3rd or 4th term as president (again it is fictional). The super hereo's have since "retired" sort of like in The Incredibles, where it seems they were cast out in favor of more traditional methods of law enforcement.
As the movie unfolds it appears that someone is trying to kill these last remaining super heroes and the cold war is escalating "5 minutes til midnight" on the doomsday clock and not to my surprise the killing of the heroes and the escalation are intertwined. The killings re-unite some of the old gang and it is neat to see them take back to their hero days through out the movie.
The main story is told through the voice of one of the heroes, Rorschach, and the reading of a journal he has written. I don't want to spoil anymore of the story for you though. The plot unfolds in a nice way and it doesn't do it quickly (which I enjoyed). There is a surprising amount of sex and nudity (mostly of Dr. Manhattan and his glowing blue penis), which I found more funny than gross and the sex was well done. There also is a FANTASTIC sound track that really sets the mood throughout the movie, and it is nice that it is mostly older songs and not just cheesy movie music.
I really recommend seeing this movie, especially if you Redbox it for a $1. But I would say that I am way more into this type of story than a normal person, so if sci-fi/action/super hero isn't your cup of tea, you might not be able to get into it. I think I had an easier time understanding it because I am of that "type" but I will be trying to get my hands on the graphic novel to learn more. Hope you enjoy!
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you should def read the book. it's a pretty easy read and just as if not more entertaining than the movie. plus the ending is slightly different from the movie and i like the book ending a bit better. the book ending also makes it make sense why the bad guy has that funky looking cat
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