This will be a fairly short and succinct review. A longer and more detailed review will be up later today or tomorrow courtesy of Lindsey.
I have been a fan of Watchmen since the late 80s/early 90s (it came out in 1986/1987, but I didn’t catch it until a few years later). It was a brilliant graphic novel that was extremely well written (Alan Moore is widely recognized as fantastic). When Lindsey and I heard that a movie adaptation was to be released, I was very worried. After all, I had good reason to be, given the sheer volume of amazing comics with unbearable adaptations. Why should this be any different? Perhaps it would be another Daredevil? Maybe another Spider-Man 3? How about another X-Men series? Or another Fantastic Four (a stab to my heart, more than any other)? How can I trust an industry who doesn’t care, and has shown their lack of comic compassion?
Even after seeing the trailers, I went in with low to average expectations. After the many times that my hopes and dreams had been dashed against the rocks of mediocrity, I have given myself the gift of low expectations. After all, if you have low expectations, you’re either proven right, or you’re pleasantly surprised. It’s win-win (even though it’s not).
To say I was pleasantly surprised would be a gross understatement. As Wil Wheaton said to Zack Snyder:
“I just wanted to tell you that I’ve wanted to see this movie for twenty years. I just wanted to say thank you for making it worth the wait.”
I can’t put it any better than that. It is the perfect sentiment and perfect review for this movie, in two simple sentences. That’s how good it was.
The cinematography was amazing. The special effects were brilliant. They weren’t overdone or badly done. They were exactly what was needed for the movie. The sound was wonderful. The colors, the lighting, the scene setup, the few moments of 300-esque slow motion shots (not overdone as they were in 300)…it was exquisite. The casting was spot on. They could not have done a better job casting this movie. The Comedian was perfect. Rorschach was perfect. Dr. Manhattan was perfect (and didn’t look like a special effects nightmare, he was completely believable as a real entity). Nite Owl was perfect. Silk Spectre was perfect. Ozymandias was perfect. I was completely content with all of the choices that Zack Snyder and Co. made.
Brilliant.
Utterly fucking brilliant.
-Because I said so
