Watchmen: World Premiere :: Wessex Scene Online

Watchmen: World Premiere

12th March 2009
Chris Hooton

About this film

Title	Watchmen
Director	Zack Snyder
Release Date	6 March 2009
Certificate
Genres	Action, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Our Rating	4.0/5.0
Shown at Union Films Sunday 7th June 2009 7:00pm

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Watchman Trailer

Alan Moore’s Watchmen is the latest DC Comic book series to be given the cinema treatment and succeeds where many others have failed in being, well, different.

The spandex-clad, Hollywood film star beating all manner of henchmen to a pulp is a very familiar formula in the 21st century and while some have been very successful (Christian Bale as Batman) others, (Ben Affleck as Daredevil) flopped miserably. The slinky outfits and superhero pseudonyms of Watchmen may seem routine, but the philosophical chats on Mars, spaceship sex scenes and 18-certificate most certainly do not.

I was lucky enough to attend the world premiere of the film in Leicester Square and after wandering down the red carpet (stained yellow in accordance with the yellow smiley face logo of the books) and downing as much free champagne as humanly possible (student first, professional second) we were shown to our seats and prepared for the 2-and-three-quarter hour epic.

Watchmen tells the story of a band of retired superheroes coming to terms with their past actions and how they have shaped the world. Multi-faceted, it is a real niche comic book that geeks will salivate over and as a real newbie to the series the plot was somewhat difficult to follow. The action jumps backwards and forwards in time quite sporadically and unless you are familiar with the big set pieces of the comics finding yourself moving between Mars, the Antarctic and several different decades of time is very confusing and downright bizarre. The original ending was scrapped as it involved a giant squid being dropped on New York City.

The film does however boast some stunning visuals, costing $100 million the special effects are stunning and the fight scenes are up there with any of the top action films you could see (perhaps unsurprising from the director of the quite frankly brutal 300). Some particularly explicit violence at the hands of protagonist Rorschach will satisfy the blood-lust in some fans too and the film more than earns it’s adult-only certificate.

There are actually some interesting philosophical issues tackled too, while many comic book adaptations simply focus on kicking butt and saving damsels in distress, Watchmen thinks more about the strain of policing the world and the political impact this would have. It questions for example a superhero’s role in national security, with the Watchmen even being drafted in to fight the Vietnam war. It just does not quite hit the mark however and what could have been a groundbreaking film, seems a little confused and impotent. It is certainly genre-defying though and a bold departure from conventional films focusing on the supernatural we have become accustomed to of late.

With a few continuity errors Watchmen is a rough-round-the-edges, adrenaline-fuelled film which, if nothing else, should keep you never far from the edge of your seat.

Watchmen is in cinemas March 6th.