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I went into this with next to no knowledge on Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore's graphic novel
this film is based on, other than some magazine articles and second hand information.
However being a comic fan and having always wanted to read the graphic novel I went and
checked it out on the big-screen and all I can say is I was blown away by this thrilling, one-of-
a-kind, jaded look at superheroes that turns conventional comic-book wisdom on its head.
We in a alternate 1985 at the height of the cold war, Richard Nixon (Robert Wisden) is still
in power thanks to U.S. Government commissioned superhero The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean
Morgan) who does Tricky Dicks dirty work, we learn through flash backs that during the 40's
and 50's costume crime fighters were all the rage but later the public and police (who do like
being showed) grow tired of them so all masked vigilantes are outlawed, most of them fade
back into regular life Doctor Manhattan (Billy Crudup) the only hero with genuine powers (the
rest are trained and skilled aka Batman) is used by the U.S. Government to keep the balance
of power tipped to the US, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) a brutal masked vigilante who
continues his vigilante activities after they are outlawed discovers that one of his former
colleagues has been murdered. As he investigates the murder he uncovers a plot that is
intent on killing and discrediting all past and present vigilantes.
As I have said in a review before I could go into more details but I would not want to give to
much away, as this is the type of movie that is so complex and multileveled that you have to
see for the first time without much information, I want to see again A.S.A.P because I
believe you will pick up more and more every time you watch it.
One of things I liked about it was the way different hero’s lives are changed by their life
style choice, some settle back into normal life with ease, others can’t go back to a regular
life. During the opening credits we learn the fate of a few of the masked crime fighters,
Mothman (Niall Matter) reduced in his later years to fragile sanity another very hot dark
haired beauty is murdered with her nurse girlfriend.
Director Zack Snyder (300, Dawn of the Dead remake) does an outstanding job, I thought
Dawn of the Dead was a fun remake (an ice age away from the 78 classic) but I did not
much care for 300 (I think I may be the only one who did not like this) I be interested to see
what he does with an original idea but he will be up to huge task to compare to Watchmen.
The cast are all uniformly excellent, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jackie Earle Haley
delivering brilliant turns, Patrick Wilson and Malin Akerman also score high marks but you
would be hard pressed to find fault in this cast.
Zack Snyder regular score composer Tyler Bates give us a underwhelming score, not that is
bad is does its job but does not stick in your mind once the credits have rolled but we do get
some very interesting use of some classic songs.
It is also a very grim dark and violent film some of the stuff on display include: dogs fighting
over the remains of a 6 year old girl, arms cut off with an angle grinder, boiling oil tipped
over a man and a meat cleaver sunk into a skull, Doctor Manhattan can make a person
explode into a cloud of gore with the wave of his hand plus much more.
I cannot say enough good things about this movie, if you are a comic book or superhero fan
check it out A.S.A.P, even if you are not into the genre I implore you to give this film at
least one viewing you will not be disappointed as it is not your usual superhero film, for me it
was a one of a kind film that I will be seeing a good many time in the years to come.
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