THEY WATCH OVER US… BUT WHO WATCHES THEM?

New York, 1985; after the murder of a retired superhero, the conservative and uncompromising Rorschach (Jackie Earl Haley) tries to find the killer. On the whole, the filmmakers made the right decisions in adapting the classic graphic novel, even though some interesting original touches are missing for obvious reasons. No one in the cast delivers an outstanding performance, but they embody these characters in a way that is respectful of the novel. Impressive visual effects, but the lack of originality bothers me. Also, Zack Snyder gets a kick out of shoving slickly produced brutality down our throats and there’s too much of that.

2009-U.S. 161 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Zack Snyder. Graphic Novel: Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons. Cast: Billy Crudup (Jon Osterman/Dr. Manhattan), Malin Åkerman (Laurie Jupiter/Silk Spectre II), Patrick Wilson (Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl II), Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode… Carla Gugino.

Trivia: At various points, Paul Greengrass, Darren Aronofsky and Terry Gilliam allegedly considered making the film. Also available in a 186 min. version. Followed by a TV series, Watchmen (2019).

IMDb