Do Watchmen Dream of Electric Sheep?

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... No spoilers were harmed in the writing of this review ...

If Stan Lee is the Gandalf of the comics world, Alan Moore is Saruman: equally powerful but with a dark side and a twisted loner streak that makes Stephen King look like a giddy wedding planner. Moore also loathes movies as an art form, which is entirely appropriate for an avid and prolific writer, but somewhat ironic because of how many movies are based on his works. This man is a certified freak, but given his stature in his field, we should probably call him Sir Freak.

Watchmen is the only comic book ever to win a Hugo Award, one of the top 2 literary awards in science fiction. It may also qualify as the first comic book to be upgraded to the intellectual status of a graphic novel. Given that this 3 hour movie dwells on the failures and imperfection of all men -- and especially those who are assigned or volunteer as our protectors -- it is somewhat appropriate that the movie adaptation is getting extremely mixed reviews.

For me, Watchmen rates a 7 out of 10. The visual effects were passable with enough action sequences to keep people from nodding off in between the philosophical voice-overs. The film stayed true to the original graphic novel throughout most of the film, and managed to flesh out each of the six major characters enough to give their actions some depth. Rorschach, the main narrator, completely steals the show, setting a tone of uncompromising bad-ass malevolence that dominates the entire movie. Prepare to squirm in your seat and utter "ewww!" periodically. And above all, keep in mind that this is a work of social commentary that was baked into a framework of alternative history, allowed to cool for 20 minutes, and then frosted as a series of bite-size detective mysteries. So if the story line is unfamiliar, you won't have the convenience of a continuous time line that builds to logical conclusions. Rather, you'll have to be patient as the story jumps back and forth in time through various vignettes.

Watchmen - A film based on a novel written as a comic book by an English writer who sold LSD as a teen and raised two kids while sharing a girlriend with his wife and worshipping snakes. He'll never be knighted by the Queen but you just may enjoy this movie if you don't take it too seriously. The literary and philosophical discussions are probably best reserved for the graphic novel. The movie is for your eyes and ears rather than your gray matter.

 

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