Watchmen

It’s 1985. In the United States, Richard Nixon has settled into his fifth term as President. Globally, the Cold War is about to reach its climax as the US and the USSR are at a standoff, their nuclear weapons ready and aimed to annihilate each other. The US, of course, has a secret weapon – Dr Manhattan, a superhero who can control matter and may possibly be able to stop the USSR’s nuclear missile attack and save the US from destruction.

Other superheroes have retired – some too old or dead; some living ordinary lives; some living their last days in asylums. Crime fills the streets and homes of ordinary people – especially one that has ex-superhero Rorschach’s hackles up. For, this crime is the murder of Edward Blake – the erstwhile superhero known as the Comedian, a member of a group of six superheroes who used to be called the Watchmen.

But very few people know that. So, Rorschach smells a rat and starts his own investigation of the Comedian’s murder, dropping in on his old cronies (both ex-superheroes and villains), and recording his progress in a journal. Watchmen – British writer Alan Moore’s 1986 graphic novel turned into film by American director Zack Snyder in 2009 – tells the story of Rorschach’s investigation of the Comedian’s murder from this journal, travelling across the globe, across timelines and even to outer space.

Unlike most Superman, Spider Man or X-Men films, Watchmen is not a film for adolescent/teenage boys and girls. The film’s content is definitely for adult viewership, with scenes of strong graphic violence and, in instances, sex (parts of it censored for Indian audiences). However, the film is impressive, with great cinematography and special effects; and some great 1970’s music (Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Jimmy Hendrix, etc).

And, of course, the tension of the investigation continues till the very end: Who killed the Comedian? Why was he killed? What happens now? What happens after?

But most importantly, Watchmen shows us the dark side of superheroes; their pasts and their penchant for vigilantism. Watchmen portrays our superheroes as far from being the perfect human beings we hero-worship. Rather, they are troubled characters, full of flaws, trying to redeem themselves and improve the world they (and we all) live in. In Watchmen, Rorschach is a wonderful embodiment of this dark superhero… and my favourite.

A few things did bother me about the film. First, at two and a half hours (in Indian cinemas), Watchmen tended to be long. Second, the plot, and its switching back and forth through flashbacks, was a little confusing at times. And third, the characterisation of the superheroes – the Comedian, Rorschach, Dr Manhattan, Nite Owl II, Silk Spectre II and Ozymandias – was somewhat weak. Still, in my mind, these failings weren’t enough to stop Watchmen from achieving epic status.

Watchmen is directed by Zack Snyder and stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (the Comedian), Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach), Billy Crudup (Dr Manhattan), Patrick Wilson (Nite Owl II), Malin Akerman (Silk Spectre II) and Matthew Goode (Ozymandias).