I can’t overstate the impact of Watchmen, the 12 issue comic book series from 1986 written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons. It’s not just a beloved deconstruction of superhero comic books, it’s also highly respected. Comic book fans, literary critics, and educators all admire the depth and maturity of Watchmen that became a huge influence on so many other works in the decades since. It’s no wonder why this single story (which would remain one story in one format if Moore had his say) has been revisited time and again. From the 2008 motion comic to the 2009 live action movie to the 2019 sequel TV series to characters showing up in DC Comics, Watchmen keeps coming back. With Watchmen Chapter I (and it’s upcoming second part), DC has finally decided to go back to basics and do as faithful an adaptation of the original story as possible. But if it’s so faithful to the story, does it add enough to be worth watching?
At a very basic level, Watchmen examines how the presence of costumed adventurers (and one super powered one) changed the course of history throughout the 20th century and what happens after superheroes fall out of fashion and are outlawed. It tells a dense story about broken people consumed by fear and regret who have to deal with the death of one of their own. Recurring images, overlapping lines of dialogue, supplemental material, and a pirate comic book all come together to weave a gripping story. And right off the bat, Watchmen Chapter I recognizes all these elements and respects them.
Despite being called “Chapter I”, this movie adapts issues #1-5 over the course of 84 minutes. It pretty much goes scene by scene, line by line, without changing or dropping much. I can’t criticize that in and of itself because it’s just telling the story of the graphic novel. It’s the translation from comic book to animated form itself that brings in differences of visuals, pacing, and the addition of sound.
Character designs are, again, faithful. I wish Dan Dreiberg had a bit more pounds on him, but that’ll be the job of the next movie when he’s in costume. Doctor Manhattan very famously appears fully nude in many scenes in the comic, and while the movie does make use of discretionary shots, it earns it’s R-rating a bit after the one hour mark. 1980’s comic book coloring being what it was, the graphic novel had bright colors. Yellows, greens, and lavenders filled the backgrounds, and some of it is a bit jarring to read through a modern lens. The movie corrects this by maintaining a darker pallet. Most of the movie takes place at night, and it feels like night. Light sources are fixed, shadows move, and it all works. Even some of the more impressive colors of the original story, like in the scenes where Comedian works with Nite Owl or Doctor Manhattan in Vietnam, work just as well here. Doctor Manhattan having to shift to a duller shade of blue for TV was a nice touch in the comic but looks better animated.
While being a soundless medium, some comic books have a history of overcompensating by using on panel written sound effects. Watchmen avoided that. As it stands, the movie’s sound was fine, and the music was moody but not overly memorable. The comic made reference to and used some specific songs, and even the 2009 movie opened with Bob Dylan, but that’s all absent here. Here’s hoping the next part incorporates some Billie Holiday.
The voice actors are all strong across the board, and all the characters sound like they should. Troy Baker makes Ozymandias arrogant but pensive, and Rick D. Wasserman’s Comedian has the right amount of intensity. Titus Welliver has to do the heaviest lifting as Rorschach because of all the narration. Rorschach is a tough character to pin down because he should be gruff like a Batman or a Wolverine, but he also needs to be a bit off-kilter. Welliver nails it, for the most part, but there are a few scenes where it feels like he’s running through his lines too quickly. Which brings me to my next point.
The reader sets the pace of a comic book while a movie has its own speed. Watchmen Chapter I is constantly moving. There are switches in POV, flashbacks, and the interspersing of the Black Freighter comic book. The story is never dull, but it doesn’t breathe either. The reader needs to sit back and take the page layout in, with all its 3×3 paneled glory. There are details that are easy to miss, which is why Watchmen is such a “you’ll catch this on your second or third read” book. That element is missing from the movie. Although I will say the movie’s wide shots and action scenes look great.
Rather than be enhanced by dual dialogue, all the talking can become a distraction. The symbols and recurring images are all in the movie. The clock visuals, radiation symbols, and bloody smiley face are there, but when the camera lingers on them, it feels like it’s talking down to the audience. Details that the reader has to search for become obvious in the movie. Rorschach’s alter ego is one of those things that works better when it sneaks up on the reader. He’s constantly milling about in the background of the comic, but the movie often begins or ends scenes with him as if to point a big, flashing arrow towards him.
Another hit to Rorschach in this adaptation is his mask. Comic books are still images, and while the blots Rorschach’s mask do, indeed change, you don’t see it constantly moving in the book. Much like a real rorschach, the reader can stop and interpret his expression while it changes between the panels. The movie, on the other hand, has the ink in his mask constantly flowing like he’s wearing some kind of black and white lava lamp over his face. It’s distracting, and it’s possibly confusing to newcomers who may think that Rorschach’s mask is made from some special material. We don’t get its dark and disturbing origin until later in the story, and it’s certainly not magic in any way.
Watchmen Chapter I nearly splits the story in half (ending with issue #5 of the 12 issue series) and picked a smart place to end the movie. The Comedian is the focal character, and his death kicks off the plot and his flashbacks give insight into the lives of Silk Spectre, Nite Owl, Doctor Manhattan, and Ozymandias. The movie ends on the beat of Rorschach being apprehended and unmasked and then concludes with a Black Freighter passage read over various final looks at our heroes. The end credits manage to sneak in the original Nite Owl Hollis Mason reading an excerpt from his book, Under the Hood, and an interview from Doctor Manhattan’s ex, Janey Slater. So while some of the supplemental material is absent, this is probably the best we can get without them disrupting the movie’s narrative or being separate bonus features. Issue #6 slows the story down a bit when the mystery is placed on hold, minor characters get introduced, and some other characters are slowly drawn back into their old life. The next movie will have a solid place to start. While this movie was nothing revolutionary, it understood its source material and presented it in a way that works for its medium.
Watchmen Chapter I was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC Studios, and Paramount Pictures. Released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, it is available on Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD, and digital.
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I can’t overstate the impact of Watchmen, the 12 issue comic book series from 1986 written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons. It’s not just a beloved deconstruction of superhero comic books, it’s also highly respected. Comic book fans, literary critics, and educators all admire the depth and m Read More