Watchmen

I loved this movie. But you probably won't.

One great thing about this movie is that it makes no attempt to compromising. It makes no effort to be more entertaining or more mainstream. If superheroes are a commentary on humanity, and Watchmen is a commentary on superheroes, what does the movie attempt to say about humanity? Well, first of all, it attempts nothing. It succeeds in delivering it's dark and harsh criticism of the human condition.

The movie requires an intelligent audience. It has a lot of flashbacks and doesn't offer any real background for the characters (this is no origin story). Watchmen will be appreciated by those who don't need to be pampered by a movie. Look at it this way: most movies are like a pop album. They're fun and entertaining and you can sing along. This movie is more like a progressive rock album. It's something you have to sit down for, something that takes effort to follow and understand. You may not understand it all, you may not remember it all, but you are definitely affected by it. It's not something you play on the car ride to work. This isn't a movie you can run as background noise while you work on something else. You'll miss stuff, you won't get it. This is a movie that needs you to watch it.

On some technical aspects, the visuals are amazing. True Dr. Manhattan spends much of the movie naked (and oh so blue). And as much as you don't really pay attention to it in the comic, in such a highly visible setting, you will notice. But it's not really that important, so try not to dwell.

The effects are fantastic, the casting is superb!

If you've ever heard a zombie movie, or copious amounts of gratuitous violence and blood, described as "visceral," you've been mislead. This movie is visceral. You feel the violence. The sound and sight of it combine in a perfect harmony of visual impact. It's not nauseating, but it's not nervous laughter either. It's just realistic.

Speaking of sounds: the sound track, the one area not dictated by the comic, was nothing sort of excellent. That perfect choice of sounds and songs that doesn't undercut the action but is that perfect counterpoint. It stands out enough to hear it, stands out enough to enhance what you're seeing, but doesn't tell you what you're supposed to be feeling. It doesn't encourage your suspense. Even the choice of a bad song (a terrible cover of Hallelujah) was the perfect choice.

Basically, if you understand that movies don't have to appeal to everyone, that movies can be vastly disliked and still be good, then this is possibly the movie for you.

5/5