Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Movie Musings: Watchmen

I saw Watchmen last night. Initially, I didn't want to see it because I didn't understand the story from seeing the trailers, but plenty of people seemed to like it and it was getting good reviews.

I really liked it a lot. Even more so now that I've had a day to let it sink in. And it's worth seeing on the big screen.

It started out well for me. The opening title sequence was spectacular. I thought that was just my opinion because they set it to Bob singing "The Times They Are A-Changing" but apparently I'm not the only one who feels that way.

The story is unusual. It's not the typical superhero story so it will take some getting used to. Most of the characters are very well done. Both Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the Comedian and Jackie Earl Haley as Rorschach turned in great performances. I loved Jackie Earl Haley's vigilante borderline sociopath.

The real star of the movie is the story world itself in all its beauty and gritty awfulness. The sets, the costumes, the story world's technologies, how they used the music, the story world's history, the characters' back stories, and the cinematography all come together beautifully to immerse the audience in the Watchmen universe.

The movie has great action sequences and special effects. It's also really violent and gory even by my standards. A couple of scenes made me squirm in my chair. There's a very explicit sex scene filmed in slow motion. Still, I thought these scenes made sense in the Watchmen story world and made sense for the characters. Nothing was out of place.

I'm probably going to see it again tomorrow on the IMAX. I recommend it highly but you have been warned. The movie seriously earns its R rating.

P.S. Oh, and three of Bob's songs are in it. "The Times They Are A-Changing" as I mentioned, Jimi's version of "All Along The Watchtower," and an abbreviated punk cover of "Desolation Row" by My Chemical Romance.

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