Watchmen

“It was dark when the killer got back, as dark as it gets” – Rorschach

Warning: possible spoilers below
So it’s here. Watchmen. Probably the most anticipated film of the year and we get it in March. This film has gone through development hell and is eventually delivered to us by the unlikely hand of Zach Snyder. The guy behind 300, a film I haven’t yet seen, walked the path troden by Paul Greengrass, Darren Aronofsky, Terry Gilliam et al but ended up completing the project. The “unfilmable” graphic novel will be in cinemas from Friday but luckily I’ve seen it twice at this stage. Once last night at the Irish premiere and again tonight courtesy of the good people at movies.ie.

So what is it like? Dark. Really dark. It’s faithful to the graphic novel to a large extent and gets the feel just right. The casting is bang on. Rorschach especially, conveying the complexity of the character and also his propensity for violence. There’s gore, I doubt you’ll manage to miss it. In fact, I’m suprised they managed to get it back to a 16 cert from the previously assigned 18s. The cinematography and set production are really good. Everything looks like it should from Night Owl’s ship, Archimedes, down to Veidt’s base in Antarctica. Snyder may have been an unlikely candidate to deliver such a good end product but you couldn’t come away from this film not admiring what he’s managed to achieve. Recommended.