Watchmen

Never let it be said that I don't give things a chance. I thought almost unequivocally that I would hate "Watchmen". I mean truly, I thought it would be laughably bad. There was also a part of me (the dorky/geeky part I think - well, and some nerd - I'm mostly nerd when you get right down to it) that thought, given my affinity for superheros, sci-fi, and men in costume I just might like this movie. Only one way to find out. Cue opening night and a theater jammed to the max with total comic book junkies. I've never heard so many geeks in one room. The summer tech-laden movie trailers received hoots and hollers all the way 'till the lights went dim. With that setup Ladies and Gentlemen...I give you "Watchmen".

Without giving too much away (because I think it actually is better if you know very little about the story) "Watchmen" takes us through some of America's darkest hours from the 40s all the way through the 80s through the eyes of some of the heroes that once monitored its streets. It's an anti-superhero movie and in the best possible way. Confused? I won't say much more about the plot because it's far more fun walking through it with the characters.

Criticisms (come on, you knew there would be some):
1) Cheesiest sex scene I think I have quite possibly seen in a movie...cheesier than "take my breath away" with Tom Cruise? Oh yes, Velveeta slabbed onto watery stadium nacho cheese cheesier.
2) Could have shaved about 20 minutes off the run time (mostly toward the end, my coffee was wearing off)

Major Props:
1) yU+co's opening title sequence. STELLAR! (fun fact - the author of this blog used to treasure a piece of yU+co swag...a trinket she received from her first post-production job back in good old Cali - a navy t-shirt with a pictogram on it that no one understood - classically & artfully obscure in the way all good designs should be - aww) Check out the titles:
http://motionographer.com/theater/yuco-the-watchmen-titles/
2) Nerd/geek/dorks out there - you all have a chance with the hot girl. Note to selves - it helps if you have a flying machine and terribly over-sized glasses that you like to push up when they slide off your nose.

So...super violent comic book digested and delivered straight from the director who gave us "300" (can't say I saw more than 10 minutes of that one)...here I thought it would be a bloody manly gawk fest like "Sin City". Well there are some gawky moments but quite surprisingly very few of them, and when they do arrive - they make sense for the story (take note Halle Berry's breasts in "Swordfish" or any other movie she shows them in). And really in all fairness, a radioactive blue man's penis is on the screen for about 20% of the movie so a couple breasts don't really seem out of the ordinary. And bloody? It borders on the gross-out factor of "American Psycho" for me in a couple of instances. Be prepared for anything. Again though, it isn't Tarantino. It isn't style for style's sake or gore for gore's sake. It just works and doesn't seem forced.

Anyway, I am shocked at how much I enjoyed this film. It is dark, funny, witty, and positively beautiful to look at. I never really knew where it was going and I was engaged all the way through. It feels like "The Incredibles" for adults. From the opening scene until the final closing minutes the mystery unfolds with delicate precision worth enjoying in the theater.