The Calvin Hicks Show

After a long wait, Alan Moore’s, “The Watchmen”, has finally arrived to the big screen. So, does it live up to all the hype? Unfortunately, from my point of view, it falls a little short.

The movie is based on the D.C comics 12 issue miniseries that was published in 1986. It takes place in an alternate reality during the 1980s and Richard Nixon is still President of the United States. Masked vigilantism is illegal. The story begins with the mysterious death of the Comedian, one of the former members of the organized masked crime fighting group known as the Watchmen. Upon hearing of the death of a former associate, Rorschach, the Watchman with a psychopathic personality, begins his own investigation to solve the murder and bring whoever is responsible to justice. Although the movie starts off as a crime drama, the plot quickly evolves into a much darker conspiracy placing the entire world in jeopardy.

The visual effects of “The Watchmen” movie were visually stunning. Many of the scenes were shot to resemble the comic book panel for panel. Not only was the character development of the storyline based on the comic, but much of the dialogue was directly excerpted from the classic graphic novel. I honestly believe that if you’ve read the comic, you will be thoroughly impressed by how closely the movie follows the original story. However, even though the film is slightly less than three hours, there is still quite a bit of the original story untold…including an important sub plot about the black freighter. Plus many of the characters are not fully developed. And not to spoil it, but the ending has been slightly altered.

If you have not read the graphic novel, there is a possibility that you will probably leave the theater with a feeling of confusion because the plot line doesn’t develop in a stable manner. The movie jumps back and forth between present and past, and after a few flashbacks the storyline becomes confusing for those who are unfamiliar with the graphic novel.

All in all, “The Watchmen” is an entertaining film that is filled with impressive visual effects and very well-choreographed action sequences. However, if you wish to get the full effect of the movie, and feel less disappointed, do your homework first and read the graphic novel.