I liked how this comic book movie also changed the course of history and reality in which Nixon is serving his fifth term. It makes me wonder how today's world would be if history had taken the turns it did in the movie. In the movie President Nixon contracts the help of Dr. Manhattan to win the Vietnam War instead of negotiating a ceasefire as he did in real life.
I also loved the visuals and sound in this movie. The film has the same visual director as the movie 300 and I must say the visual effects are even better than 300. Watchmen is definitely superior to any other comic book movie visually and sound wise. I think what I find makes the movie so amazing is the fact that it made me think. It had me question just how much we appreciate life as humans, considering we have weapons of mass destruction that could end the world as we know it at the touch of a button.
If you've read the graphic novel I urge to go watch the film, it will blow your mind. To those who haven't read the graphic novel I would suggest reading it before watching the film, if you can't don't worry about it you wont be lost watching the film. There's a lot of violence and some sex scenes so if you intend on bringing children just be aware of this, but with today's media it's not like it's anything they haven't already seen or heard. Ha!
If you enjoy watching this film I suggest you check out some of Zack Snyder's other films. He's best known for his masterpiece film 300 , but I suggest you also watch his amazing remake of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead .
To wrap it up, Watchmen (rated R) is a really great movie and it is definitely worth the ticket price. I suggest forking out the few extra bucks to watch it in IMAX. Bring whomever you want with you, I'm positive they'll enjoy it. That concludes this review -- and as always please help control the pet population get your pets neutered and don't buy boot leg movies!
-- Jason Lacsamana is a senior at Mount Miguel High School. He says he wants to be a Teen Critic because he loves watching movies and loves to critique them but never really had a way of sharing his critiques. He cites zombie movies as his favorites of all time.
Watchmen begins with The Comedian meeting his end (Warner Brothers)
By Janeane White
Watchmen is one of the new comic books recently adapted into a movie. The basic story is that one of Manhattan's superheroes, The Comedian, has been murdered and now one of the others, Rorschach, believes that a masked killer is going around killing off all the superheroes. The movie then shows the funeral and goes into the minds of the people that attend. Everyone seems to have bad memories of The Comedian. The movie progresses and shows the backgrounds of the heroes and how they came to be. The movie takes place during Nixon's presidency and when the Soviet Union was considering a nuclear attack. Mr. Manhattan is one of the heroes that has been scientifically altered into what some people consider God-like. He is supposed to be the Americans' defense against nuclear attacks and he can save the world except he doesn't feel he should. The movie is about the superheroes that are trying to figure out why they are being killed off and that are dealing with internal struggles against each other.
I was very confused during this movie. From what others were telling me the movie is very close the comic series. The whole movie seems pretty weird to me. What bugs me is that you would hear happy uplifting music when what you're seeing is scene after scene of death and people being murdered. Another thing that totally bugs me was Rorschach's mask. There is nothing wrong with his face and yet the spots on the mask change with his attitude, his tone, and his actions. Another thing that sets this movie apart from most is that there is quite a bit of nudity and it isn't just from the female characters but from the male ones as well. In almost all movies these days the female characters are exploited all over the screen and maybe you see the backside of a male or two. In this movie you get full frontal views of Dr. Manhattan throughout the movie because he for some reason prefers to run around naked. Something else that bothers me is that in all the commercials they show The Comedian as a good guy that unfortunately passes away and he is going to be missed, but actually he isn't the nicest guy in the world and is really just a big bully. He rapes women, kills innocent people, does as he sees fit and doesn't care about the consequences of his actions. The emblem that everyone is wearing is the smiley face with blood on it, which is his emblem and personally I feel that he doesn't deserve that kind of popularity. Another thing I find odd is that these heroes are very human and yet they have this super strength about them. I wanted to know why they get it and how they get it? These guys are punching through people limbs, concrete and marble when a normal person can't do that. So how are they capable of it?
Compared to other comic book movies, this one has pretty much the same feel to it. It was extremely long like most other comic book movies but that is only due to the fact that they want to include as much as possible from the comics and apparently this one did a good job of following the books. It had that sense that these guys are better than us and watch out for us. Not only this but the action within the movie held up the comic book genre expectations and definitely had some awesome fight scenes. But unlike most other comic books stories where there is really only one main character and the rest are secondary characters, this one has all the heroes as main characters and goes in-depth with each one. The audience learns about every character and his or her background. This made this movie different from the rest of the genre.
Even though this is a comic book movie I still was just not that amazed with it. It had a few good scenes and there were a few lines that I loved but the overall movie just didn't mesmerize me. I felt bored halfway through and there were many things that just confused me. I like how they tell everyone's story but I think it would have been better if they just stuck with a few of them. The movie kept jumping back and forth with the past and the present, and I actually got lost with what was happening. There were even parts that just weren't explained at all and left the audience totally clueless. I feel that the creators could have done a better job.
-- Janeane White is a senior at Mount Miguel High School. She enjoys movies and spends all her time at the theater. She is also interested in special effects makeup done in the movies. She is an honors student and is currently working towards early graduation. Some of her favorite movies include Queen of the Damned, Hellboy, The Descent, the Underworld series, and the Saw series.
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