Watchmen (2009)

In an alternate 1985 where former superheroes exist, the murder of a colleague sends active vigilante Rorschach into his own sprawling investigation, uncovering something that could completely change the course of history as we know it.

Director:

Zack Snyder

Writers:

David Hayter (screenplay), Alex Tse (screenplay),

Stars:

Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino

7 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Malin Akerman	...	Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II
Billy Crudup	...	Dr. Manhattan / Jon Osterman
Matthew Goode	...	Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias
Jackie Earle Haley	...	Rorschach
Jeffrey Dean Morgan	...	Edward Blake / Comedian
Patrick Wilson	...	Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl
Carla Gugino	...	Sally Jupiter / Silk Spectre
Matt Frewer	...	Moloch
Stephen McHattie	...	Hollis Mason
Laura Mennell	...	Janey Slater
Rob LaBelle	...	Wally Weaver
Gary Houston	...	John McLaughlin
James M. Connor	...	Pat Buchanan (as James Micheal Connor)
Mary Ann Burger	...	Eleanor Clift
John Shaw	...	Doug Roth

Storyline

In a gritty and alternate 1985 the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown, but after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so discover a deeper and far more diabolical plot.

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Plot Keywords:

vigilante | investigation | murder | conspiracy | watch | 

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Taglines:

We were supposed to make the world a better place.

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Genres:

Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

18A

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 March 2009 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Les gardiens

Filming Locations:

Bloedel Floral Conservatory, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$130,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£3,243,001 (UK) (6 March 2009)

Gross:

$107,503,316 (USA) (22 May 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Legendary Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

162 min 186 min (Director's Cut) 215 min (Ultimate Cut)

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Zack Snyder wanted to cast his 300 (2006) star Gerard Butler in this film and even promised him a role. When all the roles were cast and Butler didn't have one, Snyder cast him in Tales of the Black Freighter (2009), which is based on the comic-within-a-comic from the Watchmen graphic novel and will be released on DVD around the time Watchmen will be released in theaters.

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Goofs

In several fighting scenes, Silk Spectre II's boots switch back and forth from flat boots to high heeled boots.

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Quotes

Adrian Veidt: I'm not a comic book villain. Do you seriously think I would explain my master stroke to you if there were even the slightest possibility you could affect the outcome? I triggered it 35 minutes ago.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits themselves often cast shadows in the frame that correspond with the flashes from photographer's bulbs.

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Connections

Referenced in Bobby the Movie Scalper: Watchmen (2009)

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Soundtracks

Something She Has to Do
From The Hours (2002)
Written by Philip Glass

User Reviews

Watchmen is a fascinating graphic novel adaptation that deserves to be seen by anybody that likes their movies complex, dark, and absorbing.

Watchmen is the long-awaited graphic novel adaptation that has for a long time been deemed un-filmable. There have been many different points over the years where this movie was supposed to be made, which always ended up not happening. But now Watchmen is finally here in all its glory, and it's probably the best adaptation possible of this complex graphic novel. The story takes place in an alternative 1985, with Nixon beginning his third term as president, and the streets of New York are gritty, dark, and violent. Within New York lives a group of costumed heroes that used to be loved by society, but are now hated by practically everybody. One night a depressed retired hero named The Comedian is murdered by a masked person that breaks into his apartment. Another hero named Rorschach, who wears a mask with shifting ink blots, believes that someone is picking off costumed heroes to begin their own agenda of destruction. Rorschach begins investigating and hunting down the person that is responsible for The Comedian's death. Meanwhile we meet another hero who glows blue, and has almost literally become a God. His name is Dr. Manhattan, and although he has the power to save the world he won't do it because he has lost many of his human emotions. The other main costumed heroes are Night Owl and Silk Spectre, who begin to fall in love amid the chaos of their secret lives. Any other attempt to describe the complex plot of this movie would be nearly impossible.

Watchmen was an extremely complex graphic novel filled with a lot of flawed costumed characters, strong plot, powerful sense of style, and also contained a world that seems a little too close to our own. The movie carries every one of these elements in the best way it possibly could. It stays true to the novel, and only changes a few details. The memorable characters are very well portrayed and acted as well. Dr. Manhattan (the giant blue guy) is played very well by Billy Crudup, who manages to keep the character interesting despite his emotionless attitude. Malin Akerman (Silk Spectre II), Patrick Wilson (Night Owl II), and Matthew Goode (Adrian Veidt) are also very good in their roles. However the two actors that truly help add depth and a real sense of anger to the film are Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian, and Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach. Rorschach was probably my favorite character because technically he's not really a hero at all. He's a psychopath with harmful and destructive behavior, even though in a way he's trying to do what he believes is right for the world. He is a fascinating character with his shape-shifting mask full of ink blots that mirror his personality.

The movie takes place in 1985 and mimics what was happening back then. Watchmen's story revolves around the threat of nuclear war and global destruction, and the characters mostly try to do the right thing for the world but have trouble seeing the point in doing so. This is a great film that stays true to the original graphic novel while transitioning its style, characters, chain of events, and storyline from page-to-screen the best it possibly could. However if you're not familiar with the source material you may find yourself confused by this movie. It's not like The Dark Knight where everybody that goes to see it knows who Batman and the Joker are. These characters are not as famous as those types of household name characters, and may be hard for someone's whose never read the novel to understand. Personally I only read a few chapters before I saw the movie, and I thought the movie was incredible. I always give a movie props for not taking the easy way out by spoon-feeding everything to the audience. The book, as well as the movie, was daring by taking of the risk of being complex and making you think for a change. Watchmen is a great movie, and despite its long running time of 163 minutes, I never found it boring at all. Watchmen is a fascinating graphic novel adaptation that deserves to be seen by anybody that likes their movies complex, dark, and absorbing.