Who watches Watchmen

In the late hours of March 6, I found myself in line at the local megaplex, waiting to see the major studio backed movie version of Watchmen on IMAX. This was opening night, and I had secured tickets to the midnight show with a friend. While he is a fanatical fan of movies in general, he was unaware of the backstory, had never read the comic book. While I am no comic book aficionado, and with two small kids rarely watch movies that are not on DVD, I still remember where I bought my graphic novel version of Watchmen, and I have read this book multiple times. After watching the movie, I read numerous reviews, especially those by libertarians or having libertarian leanings, but also reviews by noted movie critics, as well as opinionated fans.

While I consider myself not part of any of those categories, I had long wondered how such an important comic book would transition to the big screen. The comic debuted in 1986-1987, and lingered in movie-development hell for most of the next two decades. When someone as creative as Terry Gilliam gives up on the book as unfilmable, perhaps this is a sign that Hollywood cannot reach into everything and emerge with a viable product. The fact that the movie arrived without a major star and an R-rating spelled hope for die-hard fans, but anguish for studio heads, especially those who bank their future on sequels, prequels, trilogies and multi-media franchises.

Many of the critics fell into one of two camps: director Zack Snyder copied panels into live action and thus lacked vision, or the movie failed to hew to every scene and detail and thus ended up faithless to the source. Separate the movie from the comic book, and you end up with a raw and visually stunning canvas. There are some violent scenes, minor nudity, and few one-liners. I sat immersed in the story, and despite the nearly three-hour running time and the late hour, I almost lost sense of time.

Some libertarian critics latched onto Rorschach as a sort of Objectivist character, encapsulated in his black or white sense of right and wrong. Such a reading is superficial at best. The tone of the movie taps into crucial philosophical questions — the roots of evil, means vs. ends, and absolutism vs. pragmatism. Ultimately certain non-libertarian philosophies win out, compromise and bad philosophies triumph in the name of good; the humanitarian once more wields the guillotine. Still, as Pandora discovered, there is some glimmer of hope at the end, embodied in Dr. Manhattan's statement that "nothing ever ends.” Individualists who strive against messianic end of history themes find some comfort in this view.

As I drove home after 3am Saturday morning, I found myself wondering whether the visual and auditory experience of watching this movie on the big screen outweighed a wallet lighter by $25. Perhaps it was fatigue, or adrenaline, but again and again the answer rolled around in my mind: oh, yes. The elements true to the source worked, as did most of the changes. Thankfully, they left out the Black Freighter sub-plot…

— Anders Monsen