Day At The Movies With The Beast-Watchmen

I saw the film Watchmen today. I'm a big fan of the graphic novel it's based on, and I initially wondered if a film of it would be any good. Well, I did like it, quite a bit, actually.

The film tells the story of heroes and former heroes in an alternate 1985. The government has outlawed masked vigilantes, and most are either retired (like NiteOwl and Silk Spectre), or working for the government (like Dr. Manhattan and The Comedian). One hero, Rorscharch, still operates on the streets, and he gets involved when The Comedian is killed. A mystery is there to be solved, and a conspiracy to be discovered, all with the shadow of nuclear war hanging overhead.

I liked Watchmen...the costumes and effects were great, and the acting was well done, especially Rorscharch, played by Jackie Earl Haley. Rorscharch was one of my favorite characters from the book, and Haley brings him to scary, uncompromising life. The film stays very close to the original book...this is a very adult look at superheroes, and there is violence, sex, and other adult situations, so this is definately not a kid-friendly flick. The one major difference from the film and the book is the ending...purists may not like it, and I have mixed feelings abut it myself, but all in all it's pretty faithful to the source material.

If you're in the mood for a dark tale of very human superheroes, check out Watchmen. I give it four out of five clawmarks.