Saturday Night At The Movies
Rorschach/Nixon?
By Dennis Hartley
Love is blue: Akerman and Crudup in Watchmen
I was a weird kid. I never really went for the superhero comic books in a big way. I do vaguely recall going through a Classics Illustrated period (Journey to the Center of the Earth kicked MAJOR ass, and I think I wore out my copy of Treasure Island). Then, when I was around 10 or 11, I discovered MAD magazine…and all bets were off. I made an exception when I was turned on to the Adventures of Tin Tin books, but generally stayed clear of caped crusaders, endowed with Special Powers and clad in skin tight suits.
So, I knew going in that I was likely not a member of the target audience for Watchmen, the latest graphic novel-to-film adaptation from the DC Comics stable. For those unacquainted with the concept of the modern graphic novel, just think Classics Illustrated with hot sex, ultra-violence and just enough substantive exposition to help you convince yourself that you’re reading something more akin to, um, literature (sounds like a great pitch for an HBO series). Despite my misgivings about the genre, I was unexpectedly dazzled by Sin City 
Director Zack Snyder (300) had a formidable task on his hands here; not only did he have to condense a 12 volume series of graphic novels into feature film length, but he had to deliver a product that would both placate the detail-obsessed fan boys and entertain the rest of us without leaving us confounded (or dozing) when the auditorium lights come up.
I can’t speak for the fan boys, but I found the establishing premise of the film intriguing. The story is set in a sort of parallel universe version of mid-1980s America, where an altered course of history has radically changed the socio-political fabric of the country from WW 2 onward. The ‘x’ factor lays in an assortment of free-agent superheroes (and heroines) who have lent their talents to the U.S. armed forces since the 1940s. Actually, super-‘spooks’ might be a more accurate descriptive, as an Oliver Stone style back-story montage under the opening credits seems to indicate (sure to give JFK conspiracy theorists some uneasy chuckles). In this version of history, thanks to the assistance of these caped crusaders, America handily “wins” the Vietnam War (now that definitely establishes this story as pure fantasy). And in the most disturbing turn of all, President Richard M. Nixon has been elected for a fifth term (in this reality, Woodward and Bernstein have been “neutralized”). The Cold War is still in full swing, with a possible nuke-out with the Soviets looming on the horizon. In our post 9-11 world, with the economy on the brink of collapse, this actually plays like a quaint scenario, n’est-ce pas?
With one exception, these superheroes are not necessarily blessed with invulnerability; they are just as fragile and flawed as any schmuck on the street (the moral compass doesn’t always exactly point to Truth, Justice and the American Way, either). By 1985, the vigilantes have fallen out of favor with the fickle public; masked avenging has been subsequently outlawed and most have been driven into retirement, or gone underground. When one of the retirees is brutally murdered, it’s time to get the band back together, spearheaded by one Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley). The mystery, as they say, is afoot.
After this promising start, the story bogs down a bit. The screenplay (adapted by David Hayter and Alex Tse) is admirably complex and cerebral for what is essentially an action film, but (I never thought I’d hear myself saying this) perhaps a bit too much for its own good. Pains are taken to flesh out the back stories of each principal protagonist; this is a good thing, but it can be a double edged sword. On the one hand, it raises the bar on the comparative cardboard characterizations you usually get in a superhero movie. Unfortunately, it also accounts for most of the hefty 162 minute running time. By the time the denouement rolled around, I’d almost forgotten that there WAS a mystery afoot.
Still, there was a lot I liked about the film. It has a great “dark city” noir atmosphere that I’m a real sucker for, as well as great costume and set design. The performances are a bit uneven, but that could be attributed to the sometimes overreaching script. Jackie Earle Haley is a standout as Rorschach; I enjoyed his Chandleresque voiceover performance, which vacillates somewhere between Clint Eastwood’s menacing whisper and Lawrence Tierney’s caustic growl. Billy Crudup, Malin Akerman, Patrick Wilson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and, uh, Carla Gugino are all quite good. I didn’t recognize Matt “Max Headroom” Frewer as “Moloch the Mystic” until the credits rolled! The film has an interesting soundtrack; although I had mixed feelings about hearing a lengthy lift from Philip Glass’ symphonic score for Koyaanisqatsi
I believe I have already established that I’m not a huge devotee of films based on comic books, but still, the sci-fi geek/film noir enthusiast inside of me was hooked by the Blade Runner
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