Who's Watching The Watchmen? (Me, for one)

It's a very rare movie that gets me to see it on the day it opens. And, honestly, I'm not really sure what it was about Watchmen that got me to go. Well... Actually... I know why I went -- Christopher and two of our friends wanted to see it, as well. Since Christopher was off on Friday, we all met up for the final matinee (also the cheapest screening) of the day to see the movie.

If you haven't seen any of the hype (although you've probably at least seen the blood-stained smiley-face button somewhere), here's the basic story: Ragtag bunch of former superheroes band together to figure out who killed off a member of their group. Of course, it wouldn't be a 2h45m movie without a lot of other stuff going on, but that's all you really need to know walking in to it.

But, just in case you want more, here are a few more details: 

More detail #1: Watchmen (the movie) is based on Watchmen (the graphic novel), so there's all sorts of stuff which readers would know about going into it. This is both good and bad. Good because they know backstories and know what to be looking for. Bad because they might be looking for things that don't show up. Having never read it, I found a few things confusing, but mostly just let those things slide. On the other hand, Christopher -- having read it -- found a few things missing, while a few other things he felt could easily have been trimmed to shave some of the time.

More detail #2: Watchmen takes place in an alternate universe in the year 1985. There's a strange blending of pop culture (music and TV) from that era, along with things which are just a tad different (like Nixon being in office for a third term). Unfortunately for our heroes, this means they're trapped in 1985 haircuts and glasses. I lived through all of that once, I so wouldn't want to do it again -- even with super powers.

More detail #3: Don't take small (or even medium-sized) kids to this movie. It may be based on what many people would call a "comic book" -- and one of the superheeroes is named The Comedian -- but this is NOT a comic movie. In more correct lingo, Watchmen is a graphic novel. And, with that in mind... It's graphic. There's fairly-realistic violence. There's really disturbing blood. There's also something I like to call "full frontal male bluedity" -- which shouldn't really bug people more than the blood and gore, but probably will. 

More detail #4: The visuals are really stunning. There's a bit at the beginning where the action is framed by the metal around window panes, giving the scene the look of a paneled comic book. There's a sequence on Mars which is gorgeous. And the superheroes look pretty darned good in their supersuits. 

So... I went to it on opening day, and I seemed to like it. Let's see about ratings... Good for the folks who are tired of squeaky-clean heroes and are looking for a little more grit? Yes. A great way to get away from your own life for a while (assuming, of course, that you're not a gritty superhero)? Yes. A movie which -- at close to 3 hours -- actually gives you your money's worth? I think so. Best superhero movie I've ever seen? Sorry, no. Overall, though, for giving me exactly what I was expecting: A.