WATCHMEN
WATCHMEN
Opening at the Nugget on Friday, March 27
Cast: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenplay: Alex Tse and Alan Moore from Dave Gibbons’ graphic novel
Length: 2:43
Rated: R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language.
Subtitles: None
What’s WATCHMEN about? The graphic novel WATCHMEN has been brilliantly brought to life on the big screen. The story is set in 1985, during Richard Nixon’s fifth term. Yep, that’s right: Nixon’s fifth term, and costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society. The Cold War with the Soviet Union persists, though the U.S. did bring a quick and victorious end to the Vietnam War thanks to a seemingly omnipotent hero named Dr. Manhattan. As the story opens, The Comedian, a former member of a masked injustice-fighting group called the Watchmen gets tossed to his death through a high-rise window. One of his pals, Rorschach, takes on the murder mystery like a film noir detective would. Evoking DARK CITY, SIN CITY, and even THE MATRIX, the story moves along in a world we’ve never been in before. Director Zack Snyder dangles and tangles many story and visual threads together at once; first, DR. STRANGELOVE breaks out and then there’s a burst of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. Violent, crazy and different, WATCHMEN may be too much for those who prefer their comic-book heroes two-dimensional. But for those who want depth, substance and don’t mind having to use their brains, WATCHMEN provides the full menu.
Quotes from WATCHMEN:
Edward Blake: “God damn I love working on American soil, Dan. Ain’t had this much fun since Woodward and Bernstein. Congress is pushing through some new bill that’s gonna outlaw masks. Our days are numbered. ‘Til then it’s like you always say, we’re society’s only protection.” And: Rorschach: “I heard a joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he’s depressed. Says life is harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world. Doctor says, ‘Treatment is simple. The great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go see him. That should pick you up.’ Man bursts into tears. Says, ‘But doctor… I am Pagliacci.’ Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.”
What’s being said about WATCHMEN? “WATCHMEN is an exceptional achievement for Snyder who pushes beyond the boundaries of established comic book action films, surprising us with a film both real and thought-provoking, energetic yet measured, edgy yet profound — the thinking person’s comic action film.” MovieGoddess at thecriticalcritics.com, and “The appeal of WATCHMEN is really about something else - the sight of a blimp passing by the twin towers, as seen from an office window. It’s about the uneasiness we feel when we see those towers resurrected in an alternate universe. Part conscious and part unconscious, WATCHMEN tells us of a world without hope and then makes us wonder if we’re already living in it.” Mick LaSalle at SFGate.com
See the WATCHMEN movie trailer here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/watchmen/