Based on Alan Moore’s graphic novel, considered one of the best graphic novel about superheroes, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed heroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the ‘Doomsday Clock’ - which charts the USA's tension with the Soviet Union - is permanently set at five minutes to midnight.
When one of his former colleagues is murdered (The Comedian - hence the smiley-face logo with the blood stain on the poster), the washed up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion - a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers - Rorschach discovers a disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity... but who is watching the Watchmen?
So the wait is over and the hype can subside because the most eagerly anticipated movie of 2009 has arrived. Based on the graphic novel considered the Citizen Kane of its field (the 'best of the best' for those who don’t speak movie geek) its big-screen counterpart might be closer to Ben Hur, in that it’s a kingsized spectacle that fits in jaw-dropping moments wherever it can.
Full reviewFans of Alan Moore’s landmark graphic novel, concerning a ring of Gotham superheroes brought out of retirement by an impending nuclear threat, will thrill to every pulpy line of dialogue and bloody act of retribution retained in director Zack Snyder’s slavishly faithful adaptation. But auds unfamiliar with Moore’s brilliantly bleak, psychologically subversive fiction may get lost amid all the sinewy exposition and multiple flashbacks.
Full reviewTravelling towards us with the agonising speed of an incoming meteor we’ve stared at for fully 23 years, Watchmen finally hits the screen as something fanboys could only have dreamed of: a labour-of-love epic, stylish, violent and very, very faithful.
Full review
I loved this book, and while the movie failed overall to match the enormous impact the original story had on me that was always going to be a big ask.
The world is ready for Watchmen, and I'll certainly be lining up to watch the Watchmen again.
Full review
As stimulating as it was to see the superhero movie enter the realm of crime fiction in "The Dark Knight," "Watchmen" enters into a realm that is both nihilistic and campy. The two make odd companions. The film, directed by Zack Snyder ("300"), will test the limits of superhero movie fans. If you're not already invested in these characters because of the original graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, nothing this movie does is likely to change that predicament.
Full review
Okay, it isn’t the graphic novel, but Zack Snyder clearly gives a toss, creating a smart, stylish, decent adaptation, if low on accessibility for the non-convert.
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