Watchmen
Plot: The watchmen, a group of self appointed superheroes, are in trouble. One of their number, "The Comedian" has been murdered. Could this mean that someone is out to kill the masked superheroes? And is this the end of the world?
My thoughts. This film was not what I expected it to be. it was not a straigh-forward superhero movie. In fact, the masked heroes are human (with the exception of Dr Manhatten- who evolved after an accident in a Nuclear Reactor). These heroes have faults and desires and they are explored, mostly in flashback form, in this dark "Sin City" style film. The main characters, who have all but retired from Superhero-dom, struggle with the thought of coming out of retirement to find out who may be behind the recent murder of "The Comedian". The film is long (A hefty 2 and a half hours) and can drag in places, but there is enough to keep you going. In is interesting to see how the characters became their superhero alter egos (especially in the case of Rorshach- who has the most mesmerising mask which swirls into different ink-blot styles). The film does pick up at the end, and there is plenty of action in the second half, but it does take a while to get there!
On the whole, if you enjoy dark comic style movies with depth then you will enjoy this. If you prefer the light-hearted hero film, then this might be too much. It is an 18 and there is plenty of violence and gore- especially when Rorschach is involved (just wait for the scenes in the prison))
Plus the ending is a surprise- it was just a shame that you had to wait so long for it. But, I suppose to make it shorter they would have had to cut stuff out, and then it wouldn't have worked so well.
Best bit: Rorshach in prison- and the exciting end!
Score: 8/10