Whither Watchmen? Is This Big, Dark, Geeky, Lefty Movie The Next Comic Book Blockbuster?

Watchmen opened big over the weekend, well-positioned as an event movie by this stunning trailer. But how does it play as people learn what it's about?

Watchmen is finally here. The legendary cult graphic novel about a group of mostly retired or discredited superheroes in an alternate 1985 America burst onto the screen over the weekend, grossing more than $55 million in domestic box office despite its R-rating and near three hour length. But will it be the next comic book movie blockbuster?

It has a big act to follow in The Dark Knight, the most successful movie of the decade. The latest Batman picture captured the zeitgeist perfectly. Despite an unintentionally amusing effort by a far right writer in the Wall Street Journal to claim that Bruce Wayne/Batman is a stand-in for George W. Bush, it's actually one of Barack Obama's favorite movies. He watched it on his Hawaiian vacation in the midst of last year's campaign.

The second Watchmen trailer began to show the darkness and complexity of the tale.

Watchmen is bigger, darker, and much more brutal and overtly political than Dark Knight. It's a mostly very faithful adaptation of Alan Moore's legendary '80s graphic novel. Directed, ironically, by the man who did the neocon fave 300, Zack Snyder, it presents an alternate history America in which costumed vigilantes are real, Richard Nixon is in his fifth term as president, and a very dark and foreboding America is sliding towards a first strike nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

Watchmen lays out this alternate America in a stunning opening sequence of flashbacks that presents the mid to late 20th century as a relentless slog of war and murder. Its universe is one of chaos and corruption. If hope is on the menu, it's in short supply.

Watchmen is genre fiction, something not infrequently used to promote a political agenda. In Hollywood, naturally, it's usually on the left. Though not always. The now classic Dirty Harry attacked what many saw as an overly permissive counter-culture. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, perhaps as much by circumstance as anything else, came to be a post-9/11 cultural rally point. 300 was an overt rendering of the neoconservative belief in a clash of civilizations. Watchmen is clearly on the left.

Creator Alan Moore discusses Watchmen.

Unlike other superhero movies, which construct a narrative around a familiar archetype, usually a familiar character in the culture, Watchmen presents a group of unfamiliar characters, none of whom are particularly heroic.

And the story's narrative is lengthy and multiplex, probably better suited to a miniseries than a feature film. (Snyder has a director's cut, an hour longer, that should prove very interesting.)

While they are all familiar archetypes, they are all deconstructed archetypes, defined by their troubles nearly as much as by their deeds. Actually, a burning-building rescue is the only act of genuine heroism performed by any of the superheroes, and that was undertaken as part of a midnight whim, in turn part of a courtship ritual between two characters. Most of the time, these heroes are a bunch of, to be blunt, weirdos acting out in spectacularly destructive or self-aggrandizing fashion between bouts of depression and sex.

Only one has superpowers, the now familiar figure of the scientist transformed in a lab accident -- re-monikered here as Doctor Manhattan to remind America's rivals of the Manhattan Project -- and he has become so detached from humanity that he barely relates to the fate of a world in extremis.

The narrator, a vigilante detective calling himself Rorschach, is a brutal, misanthropic reactionary idealist wearing an ever-changing patterned mask.

So who's the hero? If there is one, it's not very clear. Which is part of the point, though not something that makes it easy for the audience to gobble the movie up.

Creator Alan Moore, whose works have been turned into the movies From Hell, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Constantine, and V for Vendetta says Watchmen was meant as "a meditation upon power."

While the question of who-is-the-hero, if anyone at all, is not so easy to discern, the question of what's-the-agenda is easier.

Not all politically-inflected genre fiction is on the left, as this scene from Dirty Harry reminds.

While Doctor Manhattan is actually a rather passive figure for all his abilities to bend time and matter, another character, the so-called "world's smartest man," has a clearcut agenda. That's the Alexander the Great worshiper who calls himself Ozymandias, a super-rich, sexually ambiguous figure who, notwithstanding the blonde supermodel type assistant, may be the first gay superhero.

He disdains corporate capitalism fueled by oil and nuclear power and wants to end the politics of scarcity and stop the US/USSR rivalry by creating endless renewable energy.

His fellow Watchmen aren't exactly all on board. Two attended to the ascension of Richard Nixon. One, a sardonic murderer and rapist dubbed the Comedian, who delights in wearing a smiley face button, is an all-out Nixon henchman. He assassinated JFK and took care of the Woodward and Bernstein problem. The other, Doctor Manhattan, used his superpowers to win the Vietnam War.

With those historical obstacles out of the way, Nixon was able to remove term limits and win five terms in the White House, keeping a grim America in an ongoing stand-off with the Soviet Union.

So, underneath all the pyrotechnics, this is an anti-fascist, anti-corporate movie. Which is no surprise, as it's rather faithfully adapted -- but for an altered ending which has many fanboys up in arms -- from Moore's original. And Moore is a self-described anarchist.

Moore, incidentally, is a Brit who says he hates Hollywood and disavows the various movie adaptations of his graphic novels. Watchmen is the first of his adapted for the movies stories originally set in America. All the others are British stories.

From Hell is a reworking of the Jack the Ripper story. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen a tale of some of the greatest Victorian adventure heroes banded together. V for Vendetta about an uprising against a fascist British government triggered by a man in a Guy Fawkes mask. Even Constantine -- played in the movie version by Keanu Reeves and moved to an LA setting -- is a British story, with a protagonist supernatural detective meant to look like Sting.

Given all these yeasty elements -- complicated story, controversial politics, no stars, familiar archetypes but unfamiliar characters, R-rating, dour atmosphere, gory violence, Dr. Manhattan's full-frontal male nudity through most of the movie -- how will it go down with the mass movie-going audience?

Not all fanboys believe that the film version of Watchmen is quite as faithful as it should be to the graphic novel. Hitler is incensed to learn that the faux alien giant squid from the ending of the original is absent from the film adaptation.

Watchmen is both like and not like The Golden Compass, another adaptation of a cult classic by a British author, Philip Pullman. The characters were unfamiliar, the story mostly dark until the end. Which comes in the third book of a trilogy.

The Golden Compass adaptation was overwhelmed by the story's complexity, choosing to dash through its elements so quickly that the audience was never able to dwell in its fascinating alternate reality.

Watchmen doesn't have that problem. It lingers enough to allow its world to breath, and actually works even if you are not terribly familiar with the original. (I read it once, and skimmed it again last year while the movie was in production.)

But it does have those other hurdles for an audience to overcome. And this dark and rather demanding movie comes out at the height of a recession. It will be easier for most to find something more consumable for their dwindling dollars.

It will be fascinating to see how it does after its big opening. Though I have no doubt that the DVD, with the longer director's cut we may yet see later this year on the big screen, will be a spectacular success. Unfortunately, this is a movie that begs to be seen, at least the first time, on the big screen, preferably in IMAX.

For decades, Watchmen was said to be unfilmable. Several directors took a crack at it, but couldn't make it work. Several big stars were attached, too, starting with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was to have played Doctor Manhattan back when producer Joel Silver had the property.

But this version shows it wasn't unfilmable. Watchmen illustrator and co-creator Dave Gibbons essentially storyboarded the movie within the panels of the comic book.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle for this film becoming not just a hit, which it is, but a sensation at least approach Ironman levels is its grounding as an alternate history story.

Alternate history is about what ifs. What if the Confederacy won the Civil War? What if Japan invaded Hawaii instead of merely bombing Pearl Harbor? What if liberals surrendered to Islamists and America was governed under sharia law? What if America disappeared? It's very popular on the right, as those examples suggest. Which I should probably write about.

Watchmen is alternate history of the left.

An alternate history in this moment-by-moment 24/7 culture that requires people to think all the way back to 1985. To remember the Soviet Union. To recall the very real threat of all-out nuclear war. To get the joke of what a joke the McLaughlin Group TV show was.

That's a tall order these days.

You can check things during the day on my site, New West Notes ... www.newwestnotes.com.

Comments

[BottomLine2008]

I guess the answer is ... NO.

LOL

[brueso]

Your article says the only heroic thing The Watchmen do in the film is saving people in the fire. And that's somewhat true- but remember that in the story, Congress had passed a bill outlawing costumed heroes (though the government was making use of Dr. Manhattan's powers). So some of them were sticking to that, though you get the idea Rorschach probably never stopped his work, and he was actually trying to find out who killed The Comedian. Certainly some self-interest involved, but he is also trying to solve a crime.

I read the comics when they originally came out. I was VERY impressed with how much Snyder managed to pack into the film while being faithful to the story, and at the same time make a film that would've hooked me in even had I not read it. I love that this in this piece moreso than others, you get former costumed heroes saying "Why did we dress up and do that?" and I loved the accusations thrown out by the Comedian about some doing it because they were sadists. And introducing the idea of 'villains' that would have followed them just cause they masochistically wanted to be punished by the heroes was a good laugh, too. The film deconstructs, flips open and dissects this genre in the same unique way that Altman's "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" was regarded as an anti-Western, and his M.A.S.H. as one of the first anti-war films.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

There's no question that it's a very interesting movie.

As much as I enjoyed, say, Iron Man, it's hard to imagine writing a piece like this about it.

[fightorleave2]

The movie looks terrible and boring.

[GhostofBillHicks]

Great Movie! loved It

[AN2009]

Great article. I am now a fan.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks.

[Kevin Rennie]

Who’s watching the Watchmen is one of its themes. Apparently lots of people are, if early box office is any indication.

Others can buy into the disputes between the filmmakers and purists of DC Comics about this story of comic book heroes. The graphic novel hasn’t been my preferred genre since the 1950s but I have enjoyed some of the film adaptations of the less well known super heroes and villains such as Sin City, V for Vendatta and Iron Man. Perhaps the best of the recent ones was Hell Boy.
If you’re tired of Batman and Spiderman retreads, then this could be the movie for you. If you’re a fan of the comics, then you might want to wait for an extended director’s cut due later in the year. Too much is obviously not enough for some people!

The rest of my review from downunder, 'Watchmen: Not Everybody Wants To Rule The World' at http://cinematakes.blogspot.com/

[icastico]

I read these as they came out.
Never thought the movie of them would be bigger than, say "Repo Man."

I do think it is interesting how hollywood is mining the comic world for ideas...

If it weren't for Phillip K. Dick and comic books, where would they look for the next blockbuster?

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Well, there's always the movie versions of The A-Team and Magnum, P.I. ...

[superlive]

I got fed up with Alan Moore years ago. He's merely the British Roy Thomas in that he has no ideas for new characters, he just screws up the continuity of established characters by turning them into Gays, criminals, crazies, or gods. This sort of hackneyed re-hashing of American comic characters by British writers has been epidemic for over a decade now, and, frankly, it needs to be stopped.

[getoffthecross]

I guess I can't blame anyone for having their fill of Moore, but to say the creator of V for Vendetta and Lost Girls does nothing but screw up the continuity of established characters is a bit disingenuous. When he has taken on established characters (like, for instance, in The Killing Joke or any of the horrid Image titles), it's been at the invitation of the publishers in an effort to work with the man.

Roy Thomas was in the enviable position of being able to play with all the cool-kids' toys back in the day, and that kind of power can become heady. Say what you will, but the guy cranked them out. No different than Giffen in the mid eighties or even Grant Morrison a few years ago. A writer becomes a favorite of the establishment (Marv Wolfman, Peter David, and so on), and then they get wrung out for every ounce of creativity they may have. But what are they supposed to do? Say no?

Don't hate the players...hate the game.

[superlive]

The publishers are attempting to boost sales and having a "name" writer attached to a project will raise sales by several percentage points -- short term. Back in the day it was all about the hot penciller and that was the way it should have stayed.

LOST GIRLS is Kiddie Porn. There's no other word that applies not even erotica (despite lifting the writing styles of legit erotic authors for this project). Furthermore, as I stated previously, all he did was make the adult versions of these fairytale chicks -- CRAZY SEXUALLY DEVIANT SLUT-CHILDREN!

Moore should be ashamed of himself.

[richchaplin]

It seems strange that while the heroes don't have a problem dishing out vigilante justice, they let Ozzy off with a bloody lip. While they may have bought into his need to keep his role a secret, they still let a mass murderer walk.

If "the ends justify the means" is a theme of the film and novel, that doesn't seem too left wing.

And lefting the murderer walk doesn't seem too right wing.

I think Moore's "meditation upon power" is the correct analysis-- whether it comes from the left or the right.

[BottomLine2008]

Are you serious?

Never heard of Castro?

>>>>If "the ends justify the means" is a theme of the film and novel, that doesn't seem too left wing.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Who?

[superlive]

Ozymandias was a Lefty in his public hero heyday, but by the time of the main narrative he has become a megalomaniacal quasi-monarch -- an enlightened despot, an embodiment of a phalangist strongman. In other words, he is exactly what he hated about his Hitler-worshipping parents. He's not a Left-Winger by that point because he has abandoned his belief in collective action (like a hero team) and strikes out entirely on his own initiative, Ayn Rand style.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

So you're trying to re-position Ozymandias as a Randian?

It's a nice try, but ...

History is filled with left-wing dictators who act, so they say, on behalf of the people.

[BottomLine2008]

The whole idea of a Superhero is to take powerful individual action. It's not about democracy.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Political figures of all ideological stripes frequently believe that the ends justify the means.

THAT is a meditation upon power ...

[galaxian]

"But this version shows it wasn't unfilmable. Watchmen illustrator and co-creator Dave Gibbons essentially storyboarded the movie within the panels of the comic book."

I don't think the physical aspects of the book have much to do with the claim that Watchmen was unfilmable. It's more the lack of plot in favor of back-story, the allegiance to the pasts of at least 5 characters. Makes for a great comic book but not so much a good film.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Well, it clearly wasn't unfilmable. Whether it makes for a great movie is a separate question.

I find it more an interesting movie than a great movie ...

[getoffthecross]

I can't imagine it will maintain the momentum. As a fan, I spent quite a bit of time wondering if anyone who didn't read the book actually understood what was going on. Props to Snyder for the attempt, but I was more disappointed in the end result than I anticipated. I mean, I knew they couldn't fit everything, but the emphasis on the "action porn" left me cold.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

They fit in quite a lot. Some think too much.

[Scott Mendelson - Huffpost Blogger]

Interesting piece, but I never took the Dirty Harry movies to be hardcore right-wing fantasies. I wrote a paper on this topic awhile back, and I think it pertains to the subject at hand.

http://scottalanmendelson.blogspot.com/2008/11/since-i-am-currently-out-of-town-until.html

I always felt that the films were relatively apolitical, and if anything the sequels overcompensated to 'apologize' for the various sins that the first film was accused of.

[BottomLine2008]

"Dirty Harry" is VERY TOUGH on the liberal judges and liberal courts and liberal politicians in San Francisco.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

When Dirty Harry came out, and for a few years after, it was the subject of teach-ins on liberal college campuses as an example of conservative agitprop.

Now, as it happens, Dirty Harry is probably one of my favorite movies ...

[Clavis]

Who Milks the Milkmen?

[jeejee0]

You mention Constantine as though it's another Alan Moore adaptation. Although the character was introduced by Moore, the movie is based on the comic series Hellblazer which Moore had nothing to do with, and more specifically a storyline written by Garth Ennis.

[getoffthecross]

And, surprisingly, I thought it wasn't bad. I was peeved no end when I heard Reeves was playing John (not even with an English accent, let alone not blonde?), but had an opportunity to see it for free and was pleasantly surprised. Maybe a Preacher adaptation wouldn't suck?

[BottomLine2008]

I wish Keanu had used that English accent he had in "Dracula." lol

[whillice]

A Preacher adapatation? Now THAT is unfilmable. Any story which starts off with an angel and a devil boning is not going to be faithfully adapted. Add in arseface or jesus desade..... good luck.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

That's right, Alan Moore created the Constantine character but didn't do the comic book. I mentioned it primarily as part of the background of Moore doing mostly UK-based stuff.

[mredder4]

Saw it, on IMAX, and loved it. Can't wait for that extended DVD. The major difference between Watchmen and Iron Man or The Dark Knight is that it challenges you to THINK, so much more than Iron Man and a little bit more than The Dark Knight.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

I got a big kick out of Iron Man. Downey is terrific in it. It's a smart, fun, big movie. But not exactly a movie of ideas.

[brueso]

I never understood why "Ironman" hit so big with the public. Downey Jr. basically played himself- and that's enjoyable to watch- but obviously the guy is capable of so much more with the right material. I found the Jeff Bridges villain boring.

I don't begrudge them their success, but it's not much different than a Pirates of the Caribbean movie in my opinion. A fun ride but not much else.