Watchmen is set in an alternative 1985 where Richard Nixon
is serving his fourth term and the Armageddon of Nuclear war is just around the
corner. Masked vigilantes had been a common sight on the streets – although banned
since 1977. The Vietnam war was won (in a few days) by the God-like Dr
Manhattan (Billy Crudup), a scientist granted superhuman powers in 1959 after
an accident with a field generator. Most other vigilantes are retired, other
than right-wing bully the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). When the Comedian is
murdered by a masked intruder, his fellow members of superhero group the
Watchmen, worry someone eliminating them for reasons unknown.
Snyder’s Watchmen is a visual feast. Snyder – a huge
fan of the graphic novel – used it as a visual bible, quoting it in several
frames. The film is a beautiful mix of dark, filmic visuals and striking comic
book primary colours, while frequently embracing the inky black murkiness of the
violent world its depicting. Shot with the same high energy and dynamism as 300,
Snyder’s ability to turn pulpy Warhol inspired visuals into fast-paced, filmic
action is second-to-none.
What however is more of a shame is the feeling that the main
things in Watchmen that interest Snyder might be the visuals. Where the
film sometimes fails to come to life is where it deals with the complex morality
of its heroes. The original deconstructed the morality of heroes. How a man
with the powers of a God could come to look on humanity with an (albeit
affectionate) distance. How a masked PI would be so convinced that right and
wrong were certain that he would be willing to carry out acts of bone-crunching
violence. That a hero could calculate sacrificing millions of lives for the
greater good isn’t just acceptable, its recommended. That for others the
exhilaration of spending their nights beating up criminals is an escape from
the mundane realities of life.
The problem is that Watchmen never quite gets to the
heart of these moral questions, of really tackling the rights, wrongs and
shades of grey of those ethical quandaries. Rather than delving into them, ideas
are too often stated. While its daring for a film to include heroes who are as deeply
flawed, violent and, at times, even as unpleasant as this – it still doesn’t
quite flesh out the complexities of this.
Too often the film takes a naughty pleasure in its violence
and brutality, seeing that as a short-hand for presenting a morally unclear
world. And at times wants us to go “how cool is that!” rather than asking “should
I be enjoying watching indiscriminate slaughter from a vigilante”. Its telling
that the recent HBO series of Watchmen – a sequel to the Graphic Novel set
in the modern world – feels more like a true adaptation of the source material
than this. That dealt with fascinating ideas about race in America, morality
and acceptable sacrifices for the greater good (and still managed to work in
plenty of action). By comparison, this film of the source material itself feels
less deep. Now of course run time is part of that, but it should have been
possible to make a film this long that more successfully combined ideas and
visuals.
Snyder’s passion of the material is clear – but the film is
often a little too obvious. From cuts to musical cues, it’s a film that pushes
the envelope only in terms of its look and feel. It tries its best, but its vision
of transmitting the depths of the original sometimes seem to stop at a faithful
visual rendition of its style.
But it’s made with a lot of love and passion, not least in
the acting. The decision to go largely with unknown actors pays off very well. Earle
Haley brilliantly channels his character from the graphic book, a prickly
obsessive with an unshakeable moral certainty. Crudup perfectly conveys the vast
parental distance a real Superman would probably feel towards normal people. Goode’s
chilling coldness and arrogance is perfect. Wilson gives the film heart as the
closest genuinely decent guy. Åkerman does her best with a part that feels
slightly underwritten and at times a plot requirement, largely defined by the
emotions she provokes in the male character.
There are plenty of excellent moments in Watchmen but
I’m not sure it ever really, truly becomes its own thing (in the way the HBO
series did manage to do). In trying to so completely ape the visuals, and fit
in all the plot, it becomes a companion piece rather than a stand-alone
production. If Snyder had perhaps had a bit more courage to track away from the
strict structures of the original source material it could perhaps have helped
make a stronger film. However, saying that I can imagine the fans hitting the
roof if he had… And Snyder’s ability to persuade the studio to make a film with
such a nihilist feel and ending is to be commended. Watchmen is a mixed
bag, but when it works it does work well.
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