"Watchmen" is an obviously ambitious movie. They are gathering of superheroes in the fictional modern world where Richard Nixon was still US President well into the 1980s. Director Zach Snyder (who burst into the scene in a big way with "300") ups his ante with more violence, gore, bloodshed and considerably more complex inter-weaving multiple story lines.
It is really overwhelming for someone who has not read the so-called "best graphic novel in the world" by Alan Moore, and thus have no idea who these characters are at the start. But you know what, the innovative title credits sets the mood right off. And later on, you do learn about each character very well enough to care about them towards the middle and end.
I am still not really clear on what the superpowers of the mysterious Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) up to now. I don't think he has any, does he? But I would know what kind of person he is by the way this topnotch actor have essayed this complex character. The performance of Haley is very intense, and his character is the most interesting of all.
Mr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) is a buff and unabashedly naked blue CG image almost throughout the whole film, yet it was still very effective in conveying this super-being's thought processes, despite his blank eyes. The raw physicality and conflicted character of The Comedian was very well limned by actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The actor had a magnetic screen presence that shines despite the flaws of his character. Patrick Wilson played the innate good guy Nite Owl II the best way he could given the limited range of his character.
The main antagonist Ozymandias I felt was the weak link in the cast. As played by Matthew Goode, he did not really look like a menacing super-villain nor did he even look like "the smartest man" on earth that he supposedly was. Malin Akerman had a lot riding on her as the main female character Silk Spectre II. She is quite sexy and all, but somehow her performance as a superhero was not too convincing.
Overall, it was a good enough introduction to the ultra-violent world of the Watchmen for the uninitiated, albeit a bit too long if you are not getting the drift. This movie is not really for everybody. The younger male demographic is clearly the target audience, despite the overt frontal exposures of Mr. Manhattan. As far as graphic novels go, I still prefer "Sin City" and "300". I have to confess that the violence content of "Watchmen" went a bit beyond my comfort limit.
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