Watchmen

Comic book fans, open your ears. Fans of the classic super heroes, do not judge. Soccer players, football kickers, and screaming cheerleaders, please leave the room. My fellow friends, I am about to unleash what is.... Watchmen.

Now, I'm an oober nerd when it comes to comic books, especially DC comics or its "arch nemesis" Marvel, so it was no shock to my friends when I was the first to tell them all about the graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins, and the upcoming movie based off said novel.

I took my friend with me and prepared to watch the three hour movie, but here's the thing.... The day we chose to see it was a very windy day, and sadly we missed the opening credits. So that will not be apart of this rating, I'll simply start where we came in, which is when Rorchach [Jackie Earle Haley] was telling Dan Dreiberg (Night Owl II) [Patrick Wilson] about the death of Edward Morgan Blake (The Comedian) [Jeffrey Dean Morgan]. I will admit, at first I was confused but the events that followed kept my busy.

The story line - from what I remember from the comic books - is quite similar to that of Disney and Pixar's The Incredibles (2004). Super heroes that "watch" - hence the name Watchmen - over the earth protecting us from the bad guys, until at some point the people they're saving revolt against them and force them out of their masks (a line said by The Comedian stating a bill was being passed by Congress to eliminate masks forever.) The only difference is that where in The Incredibles Mr. Incredible and friends were outed after a series of unfortunate events, the Watchmen were outed because of their actions - especially The Comedian's and Rorchach's.

We then are taken into Rorchach's journal and we meet Laurie Jupiter (Silk Spectre II) [Malin Akerman] and John Osterman (Dr. Hanhattan) [Billy Crudup] who are working for the military/an old friend named Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias) [Matthew Goode]. We find that Rarchach is a wanted man, even though we might have gotten that from the opening credits - don't know, and that he's not really the most favorite of super heroes.

The movie falls out from there with the funeral of The Comedian, where the people attending has their not so nice memory of their dead friend, and we learn of what happened to the Watchmen. The movie goes to document the life of the superheroes - mainly the life of Laurie Jupiture - and the need they feel to want to be super heroes again.

The plot thickens when John is told that he has given everyone he was ever close to cancer, when Laurie leaves John for Dan, and when they find out that there will be a nuclear explosion that will destroy their beloved city of New York. The rest of the movie is spent with them fighting with each other, reliving the past, and Laurie and John trying to make up.

The movie is just as good as the novel, and is great for every movie fan, man or woman, looking for an action packed, slightly gory, hot, movie. Just to be warned, the movie is bad. Bad in the way that it is rated R for a reason (Hint: Laurie and Dan get it on in Archie) so if you're wondering if this is a good kids to bring Junior to, I'd leave him at home.

Even though the movie is bad, it is also sick! The special effects in this movie are literally mind blowing! The director of this movie did 300 (2006) so naturally this movie is quite similar - amazing. There are parts when the motion slows and then speeds up, adding the effect of suspense - obviously. Then there is the blood spatter, which every time it is used is incredible. Rorchach's mask - or his face as he calls it - is a representative of the classic ink blots used by psychiatrists, only his is forever moving, forming the shapes that remind him of his past, that remind him of everything that made him Rorchach. The movement of the images is simply captivating.

The movie is fantastic, and I would go see it again if I had enough money. The movie gets a positive 4/4, and I would suggest it to anyone who enjoys action packed movies as much as I do.

GO SEE IT!