Thanks to last year’s Iron Man and Dark Knight, the age of the superhero as a legitimate and viable tale in the realm of cinema is now in full effect. The epic story of Watchmen continues the trend of anchoring such heroes in an entirely believable world.
This world isn’t exactly ours, however. Based on the 1986 best-selling graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (both this book and Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns” helped raise storytelling for comics to the adult level and set in motion changes within the industry that are still felt today), the tale is set in an alternate 1985, where superheroes were once a part of everyday life–helping to win the Vietnam War and get Nixon elected to three terms in office–but have since been outlawed by the government. Most have retired, but a few, such as the enigmatic Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) continue to operate, while others such as the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup)–the only living being with actual superpowers–live and work at the behest of the U.S. government.
It is the Comedian’s murder, in fact, which opens the film…allowing for Rorschach–a brutal conspiracy freak with a penchant for killing criminals, in his view bringing them to justice–to begin doggedly investigating the case, which ultimately leads to a type of reunion for the Watchmen, some of whom, like Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman) and Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson) have been itching to find a reason to don their costumes once more. (more…)
VO: Yes, they’re all here, all in one place, assembled just for you. You’ll get favorites like these:
VO: How much do you expect to pay for a package like this?