Watching
Yesterday Monica and I went to see “Watchmen”, the movie based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore. I was only mildly surprised to see that Moore has “V for Vendetta” as one of his writing credits, as that is also essentially a comic book with high aspirations. Clearly, “Watchmen” was in the hands of better artists; the resulting movie is far superior to “V” . Not having previously read “Watchmen”, I went into the movie not knowing what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to see a movie offers a much greater range than a simple superhero action movie. Simultaneously grounded and fantastic, containing moments representing both the banal and symbolic, the “Watchmen” is a complicated movie and, in all likelihood, does justice to the original novel.
“Watchmen” is what I will describe as “not shy”. It is graphic in every sense of the word, portraying violence and sex without flinching. It is also graphic in it’s visual richness, influenced by the artistry of not only the graphic novel but also the current genre of fantasy movies like “Vendetta”, “The Matrix”, “The Fifth Element”, and “Sin City”. Though the setting of the movie is an alternate-reality 80′s era America, there’s something futuristic about it. The movie is an exercise in contrasts: the retro vs. high tech; good mixed with evil; realistic vs. fantastic. And in the manner of Clint Eastwood’s masterpiece “Unforgiven”, the most of the movie’s characters, both good and bad, are ultimately ambiguous, falling either on both sides of the coin our outside of easy moral classifications. At the heart of the movie is a the profound question of how anyone can save the world from itself, and the ultimate answer is neither expected nor neat. Along the way, the movie explores the unseen consequences of trying to fight evil from the perspective of a group of superheroes who have long-passed the zenith of their crime-fighting careers – like middle-aged batmen and women trying to recapture the old glory.
Ultimately, the movie is not for the faint of heart. It is violent in a way that few ambitious movies dare to be. But to those people whose understanding of the movie will not be distracted by sex and blood, I recommend it.