Rent Watchmen (2009)

How super do you like your supermen? - Watchmen review by Schrödinger's Cake

Whether you love this film or not, pretty much comes down to how you feel about comic book adaptations.

For some, this is only ever going to be a slow, tedious film. For others, there awaits a faithful portrayal of the rich depths that can be found in the original graphic novel. Beautifully-flawed characters, struggling with the same daily life we all do, whilst harbouring secret identities and almost limitless super-powers. It's not a film for everyone. But that frankly isn't a bad thing...

Colourful waste of time - Watchmen review by MD

I watched this movie in cinema and found it unbearable at the time but saw positive reviews so I tried watching once again if I wasn’t in the mood at the time! Even looking at it from window of comics book, I couldn’t convince myself that I was wrong. The dialogs and narrators are so empty and ..... watch it for 3:35 hour!

At Last - A Subversive Superhero Film - Watchmen review by GI

The Superhero film genre has become arguably one of the most popular cinematic film genres in the last fifty years and it continues to grow. So it was inevitable that films that seek to subvert the genre and the narrative tropes would come along eventually. Most that have looked into the genre as a social phenomena have often opted for comedy as a way of understanding the appeal but Watchmen, based on a popular graphic novel, attempts to look at superheroes as flawed, as essentially people with power and how it corrupts or emotionally damages them. Set in an alternate 1980s where superheroes emerged in the 1940s and who then spawned a new generation that take on the American Dream and open it up for scrutiny. Here the heroes, known as The Watchmen, have inevitably become political and corrupted. Assisting Richard Nixon to stay in power, ensuring that America wins the Vietnam war (indeed making Vietnam a new state of the USA) until eventually the public begin to turn against them so some opt for obscurity and retire to private life, and some publicly become good Samaritans, the most powerful, Dr Manhattan (Billy Crudup), helping the USA to build a new energy system. With a nuclear war brewing between the US and USSR, one of the most violent of the Watchmen is murdered which brings others out of retirement to find out who's behind it. The superheroes here are all unique creations although they are based around the DC comic book heroes, Dr Manhattan is the Superman of this world for instance, but they are viewed here as violent, morally flawed, emotionally as conflicted as normal people and shown enjoying fighting and killing and having sex. There's a convoluted plot on offer here that is quite involved and there's plenty of very gutsy violence on offer which does make the film very exciting. Overall this is a very clever look at the genre and cult of superheroes and although the film is epic in length and quite complex at times, it is a bold, entertaining and stimulating film. Repeated viewings reveal lots of details that are not immediately obvious the first time of watching

Little bit dated but ultimately awesome - Watchmen review by RD

I'd seen bits and pieces of this before, but never really sat down to watch it end to end. At about 3 1/2 hours long, it's a serious commitment.

It's very dark but I love that.

If you can slightly put aside the cold war paranoia (though it is a running theme), it is an awesome film.

The 4k presentation for a film this old is the only way to watch

Don't waste your time - Watchmen review by CP Customer

I don't normally write reviews, because most films these days are average or good.

This film is very long and ultimately tedious. Not at all in the same league as Marvel, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, or just about anything else Sci Fi or fantasy I have watched in the last 5 years.

Avoid, and spend your life elsewhere. 

Graphic Novels - Watchmen review by CP Customer

Saw the trailers and read the reviews and thought this would be a great film. However I bitterly disappointed with the pace and constant flashbacks.

This is a great attempt to adapt a graphic novel, but areas of the novel should have stayed in the novel, thus making the film about 45 minutes too long.

Maybe shorter and in a more graphic novel style (such as the Frank Miller adaptations) would have made this film more watchable.

Special effects don't make a film - Watchmen review by JD

Some good special effects. I wasn't keen on the swarm of ants on the face look. Quite distracting initially and then after 10 minutes quite annoying. Lots of superhero effects, but these are so frequently seen that there should be a good plot, suspense, action and drama beyond that. There isn't.