Watchmen Review

Captain's Log
Stardate 309200916:43

Let me start by saying this: I have been enjoying comics since I can remember. It's a hobby I picked up early in life, one that I maintained with a healthy appetite for many years. As with most things childish, my lust for it waned as I grew older and advanced into cinema. However, there is always that feeling a comic book reader misses when you first open a fresh book and dive into a world at your own pace.

I say all that to say for the first time in my life, that feeling has translated to the silver screen.

Watchmen does an excellent job of recreating the feel of the original, with subtle updates and deviations from the original, to suit our lives. Directed by Zack Snyder (300, Dawn of the Dead), this vivid depiction of an alternate 80's New York tackles the very morality of human kind, and it's refreshing to see such a stance taken in a genre that would seem to like gravitas. As of late, these comics movies are some of the deepest and best pieces of work to hit the screen, period. Without giving too much away, the end statement is damning yet truthful, and as Dr. Manhatten says, you can't "condone or condemn" what takes place. The showstealer here is Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach, who narrates the movie and delivers his lines with such conviction you almost agree with him, even when he engages in questionable acts. Despite a few unnecessary and awkward sex scenes, the rest of the cast do their job, although I never found myself taking Malin Akerman seriously. Even during her one chance to win me over with her plea to Dr. Manhatten, she comes across as whiny and irritating rather than desperate and genuine. Overall, the captain gives this film 4 out of 5 ships; a definite must see for anyone who has a comic book wrapped in a plastic sleeve tucked away somewhere.