7.3
Summary
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 they uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger.
Cast
Malin Åkerman
Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II
Patrick Wilson
Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II
Billy Crudup
Jon Osterman / Dr. Manhattan
Matthew Goode
Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias
Jackie Earle Haley
Walter Kovacs / Rorschach
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Edward Blake / The Comedian
Carla Gugino
Sally Jupiter / Silk Spectre
Laura Mennell
Janey Slater
Matt Frewer
Edgar Jacobi / Moloch the Mystic
Stephen McHattie
Hollis Mason / Nite Owl
Rob LaBelle
Wally Weaver
Gary Houston
John McLaughlin
James M. Connor
Pat Buchanan
Mary Ann Burger
Eleanor Clift
John Shaw
Doug Roth
Robert Wisden
Richard Nixon
Jerry Wasserman
Detective Fine
Don Thompson
Detective Gallagher
Frank Novak
Henry Kissinger
Sean Allan
Norad General #1
Garry Chalk
NORAD General
Stephanie Belding
Janet Black
Michael Kopsa
Paul Klein
William S. Taylor
Prison Psychiatrist
Chris Burns
Dumb Thug
Malcolm Scott
Fat Thug
Danny Wattley
Huge Prisoner
Nhi Do
Vietnamese Girl
Walter Addison
Lee Iacocca
David MacKay
Child Murderer
Keith Martin Gordey
Auto CEO
Fulvio Cecere
Agent Forbes
Ted Cole
Dick Cavett
Mark Acheson
Large Man At Happy Harry's
John Destry
Happy Harry's Bartender
Chris Gauthier
Seynour
L. Harvey Gold
New Frontiersman Editor
Jay Brazeau
News Vendor
Jesse Reid
Teenager at Newsstand
Manoj Sood
Karnak Scientist
Dan Payne
Dollar Bill
Niall Matter
Mothman
Apollonia Vanova
Silhouette
Glenn Ennis
Hooded Justice
Darryl Scheelar
Captain Metropolis
Clint Carleton
Young Hollis Mason
Brett Stimely
John F. Kennedy
Carrie Genzel
Jackie Kennedy
Greg Travis
Andy Warhol
Greg Armstrong-Morris
Truman Capote
Andrew Colthart
Naked Man At Warhol Party
Bruce Crawford
Bank Robber
Sal Sortino
1940 Watchmen Photographer
Eli Snyder
Young Rorschach
Lori Watt
Rorschach's Mother
Tony Bardach
John With Rorschach's Mother
John Kobylka
Fidel Castro
Carmen Lavigne
Anti War Protester
J.R. Killigrew
David Bowie
Steven Stojkovic
Mick Jagger
Martin Reiss
Brezhnev
Frank Cassini
Sally's Husband
John R. Taylor
Priest
Tara Frederick
Aggressive Hooker
Daryl Shuttleworth
Jon's Father
Jaryd Heydrick
Young Jon
Ron Chartier
Carnival Photographer
Carly Bentall
Wally's Girlfriend
Matt Drake
Older Boy Bully
Haley Guiel
Laurie - 13 Years
Sonya Salomaa
Adrian Veidt's Assistant
Tyler McClendon
Veidt Enterprises Security Guard
Salli Saffioti
Annie Leibovitz
Neil Schell
Man In Riot Crowd
Michael Eklund
Man In Riot Crowd
Deborah Finkel
Woman In Riot Crowd
Louis Chirillo
Face To Face TV Producer
Marsha Regis
Face To Face TV Receptionist
Patrick Sabongui
Knot Top Gang Leader
John Tench
Knot Top Gang Member
Santo Lombardo
Knot Top Gang Member
Jason Schombing
NY SWAT
Darren Shahlavi
NY SWAT
Marshall Virtue
NY SWAT
Colin Lawrence
Officer Kirkpatrick
Chris Weber
Officer O'Brien
Alessandro Juliani
Rockefeller Military Base Technician
Alison Araya
Foreign Newscaster
Sahar Biniaz
Foreign Newscaster
Matthew Harrison
Foreign Newscaster
Bernadeta Wrobel
Foreign Newscaster
Youri Obryvtchenko
Foreign Newcaster
Heidi Iro
Foreign Newcaster
Kit Noon
Foreign Newcaster
Parm Soor
Foreign Newcaster
Cristina Menz
Foreign Newcaster
Lynn Colliar
Foreign Newcaster
Tony Ali
Foreign Newcaster
Katie Bennison
Foreign Newcaster
Ian Farthing
Foreign Newcaster
Calvin Lee
Foreign Newcaster
Alexander Mandra
Foreign Newcaster
Isabelle Champeau
Foreign Newcaster
Ashley O'Connell
Foreign Newcaster
Mark Gash
On Location Reporter
Suzanne E. Smith
On Location Reporter
Agam Darshi
On Location Reporter
Tom McBeath
News Analyst
Kevin McNulty
News Anchor
Mark Docherty
Newscaster
Clay St. Thomas
Newscaster
Dale Wolfe
Keene Act Anchor
Ken Tremblett
Keene Act Anchor
Dawn Chubai
Keene Act Anchor
Manuelita Kinsey
Keene Act Anchor
Tamara Stanners
Vietnam 51st State Anchor
Sahara Davis
Young Tenement Fire Child
Dave Hospes
Tenement Fire Child
Greig Hospes
Tenement Fire Child
Ali Dunn
Tenement Fire Child
Jeffrey Frieler
Tenement Fire Policeman
Kurt Evans
Tenement Fire News Reporter
Sylvesta Stuart
Destruction Firefighter
Terence Kelly
Destruction Firefighter
Mi-Jung Lee
A Bomb Test Anchorwoman
Ted Friend
Larry Culpeper
Tiffany Burns
News Reporter
Michael Adamthwaite
Bar Knot Top
Danny Woodburn
Big Figure Prisoner (uncredited)
Zack Snyder
Commando in Vietnam (uncredited)
Clay Enos
Commando in Vietnam (uncredited)
Crew
Director
Zack Snyder
Graphic Novel
Dave Gibbons
Graphic Novel, Original Story
Alan Moore
Screenplay
David Hayter
Screenplay
Alex Tse
Reviews
John Chard
June 23, 2019
8
The comic book geek blockbuster for adults only.
Watchmen is directed by Zack Snyder and adapted to screenplay by David Hayter and Alex Tse from the Alan Moore/David Gibbons graphic novel. It stars Patrick Wilson, Malin Ackerman, Billy Crudup, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Carla Gugino and Matt Frewer. Music is by Tyler Bates and cinematography by Larry Fong.
1985 and someone is killing all our superheroes. Time for the remaining super heroes to band together - but what they find as they fight the good fight is potential annihilation for everyone.
It was quite a battle getting Watchmen onto the screen, over twenty years of legal wrangling and controversies, it got to the point where fans of the source material doubted it would ever happen - and even if it did it was sure to be a monstrous failure. How pleasing to find that not only did it make it to the screen, but it is also a genre bending winner - well to some of us of course...
One has to take into context just how potent and original the graphic novel was back in 1986/7, we are dealing with very mature themes, superheroes with serious psychological baggage. Alan Moore lit the touch paper in the comic book kingdom that the rest have since followed to keep the torch burning well into the new millennium. Snyder has achieved top line results in getting both the feel and look of the source, even if some of Moore's cunning cynicism has been lost in translation.
Story is set right in the middle of nuclear paranoia and the fear of the Soviets in 85, the America we view is dank and depressing, noirish in vibe (aided by Rorschach's clobber and detective inclinations), it's a world on the road to nowhere. We are also at a time in the alternate world where superheroes are banned from operating, forcing The Watchmen to become vigilantes - that is if they can get along and shunt their psycho discord to one side. The back stories of the main protagonists are fully formed, and these are not jolly characters, so much so you worry the fate of mankind is doomed if these are who we rely on to save us.
There was in no way that Snyder would be able to produce a comic book filmic adaptation that would be as worshipped in that sphere, to rival that of the worship the novel has in its own. However, coming at it as someone who only sought out the source material after seeing the film, it shines bright for newcomers who are ironically seeking darker tints in superhero tales. Oh it has the requisite nifty twists (a clinical mystery to be unearthed), booming visuals, excellent effects work and smartly constructed action set-pieces, but narratively it's moody and calls for the utmost attention on dialogue passages (I have found it gets better on repeat viewings).
Snyder clearly cared about the project and that love is evident in the movie. It was never going to appease all and sundry, but at worst to hardcore Moore fans it's at least an honourable failure, to many others it's a smart and stylishly refreshing genre booster. 8/10
Media
Recommendations
Cloverfield
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Fighter
Madagascar
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Sucker Punch
Tropic Thunder
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Waterworld
Tales of the Black Freighter
Wild Wild West
Gran Torino
300
Race to Witch Mountain
Hellboy
Sin City
The Waterboy
Quantum of Solace
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
