There is a fine line between satire and parody and various reviews of The Watchmen that I have read disagree on where to place the movie. I thought that scenes from a war room that mimicked Dr. Strangelove and a helicopter sequence from Vietnam set to the Ride of the Valkyries enhanced the movie. One theme of the Watchmen is how pop culture and sensationalism have replaced meaningful discourse and although the film is set in an alternate universe, it seemed appropriate to include elements from the pop culture in this timeline.
The film is visually spectacular and most of the soundtrack is appropriate. Some of the sequences set to a seminal song like Unforgettable and The Times They Are A-Changin’ are very memorable but other scenes are horrendous. The screenplay includes some good lines but many of the lines which worked well in a limited space like a comic book bubble do not succeed in live action.
The protagonist, Rosarch symbolizes the entire plot. Citizens tolerate his sociopathic behaviour because all things considered, he does more good than harm. For a moral absolutist, the superhero is blind to his own faults as his own conduct – and the actions of the other Watchmen – fall into a grey area. In the end, Rosarch’s determination to stick to his principles leads to his demise as a perverse and pragmatic genre of moral relativism triumphs.
The film highlights how relativism rules the world. Nobody is truly good or bad but people are willing to compromise anyways. The citizens, fearing their own demise from Soviet missiles or gang violence, are directionless and willing to lash out at any convenient target. It’s only at the end when they believe that armageddon is upon them that everyone comes together.
The film is entertaining enough but not excellent. The political themes make The Watchmen a more intelligent picture than The Dark Knight but the latter is probably a better overall picture because it is a total package. Some storylines are unnecessary and not given any meaning by the director. If we don’t care about the Comedian, what is the significance of his death (or any of his actions)? The Watchmen is not boring but the storyline becomes convoluted midway through, choosing action and special effects over substance, and the conclusion, like this blog entry, is less than satisfying. **