Watchmen (2009)

This movie is an experience... a nearly three hour experience, but an experience none the less. Normally the time would be an issue, but this movie had so much to tell. I could only think of one scene I'd trim down and zero that I'd cut out.

Watchmen tells of an alternate 1980's United States where Nixon is still president and the Cold War is still looming. The US was once protected by the Minutemen, a group of masked vigilantes with no real super powers but a desire to fight bad guys. The problem was that the line between good and bad was very squiggly. As that group grew older, a new group called the Crimebusters formed and took up the fight. Eventually the public grew wary of these costumed not-so-super-heroes and Congress passed an act that forced them all into retirement. Now one of the former heroes has turned up dead and Rorschach - a vigilante who never really stopped vigilante-ing - is suspicious and calls on the rest of the Crimebusters/Watchmen to figure out what is happening.

Watchmen was passed around for several years. Many directors were once attached to the project with their many cast wish lists, but when it finally came to fruition, it paid off. The film is intense, the story is intriguing and the majority of cast is fantastic. Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson are the casting department's winning entries, giving fully-committed performances - not your standard super hero movie fare. Wilson even commented at a premiere that it's nice they didn't have to cut corners for the sake of the genre.

There's action. There's suspense (especially if you haven't read the graphic novel it's based on). But if you're looking for mindless entertainment, you'll be disappointed. Morality issues and gray areas abound. The characters are flawed and complex with differing approaches to their situation. And there's enough of them you'll be bound to find one you sympathize with more than the others. The major elements of the ending are different than the graphic novel, but they add to the complexity and are more believable. Overall, it's the intellectual's badass thrill ride.

Rating: 4/5
Recommended for: Adults who don't mind a little brain work with their action