Watchmen

I had never heard of Watchmen until July 2008 when I attended Comic-Con in San Diego. The movie was heavily promoted and everywhere I went I heard people talking about it. I learned that Watchmen was highly regarded because it brought a certain creditability to the comic-book medium. It was referred to as a graphic novel, and everyone seemed real excited about the movie.

When I attended the film I had no expectations. I did not know the story, I was unfamiliar with the characters, and I did not know what to expect as far as style. That may have been a mistake. The story is so deep, with each character having their own back-story, that I found myself being bogged down by narrative. I was working so hard to keep up with the symbolism, relationships, and the alternative American history, that I wasn’t having any fun. Next, I tried to change my attitude. I tried to just sit there and open my mind to hear what the author was trying to say. And then, I started listening to the audience. They were shifting in their seats, tittering at times, rustling their snacks, and being restless too. They were having just as hard a time as I was, following along.

I’m not saying that this is a bad movie, but it’s complicated and deep. I wish now that I had done my homework. It reminded me of the time when I was first exposed to Shakespeare. The language was so different, and there were so many characters, that I couldn’t appreciate the complexity of the story. Perhaps if I saw it again after reading the novel, I would liked it more. But, for the uninitiated, this film isn’t very entertaining.

Rating: Bargain Matinee Read the Graphic Novel, or at least bone-up on the characters first