Watchmen - 1 smile

“Watchmen” appears to have been made with the Watchmen fan in mind. That is, if you’re familiar with the graphic novel, you’ll have an understanding of the plot and a familiarity with the characters so you’ll get more out of the movie. For those coming to “Watchmen” without knowledge of the source material, like me, will find themselves uninvolved and baffled for most of the 2-hour-and-40-minute running time. Although there are superheroes, they are not the conventional sort and the story has so many flashbacks full of setup and exposition that you wonder if the narrative is ever going to move forward. And the novice viewer will certainly get lost in the numerous time shifts. Set in an alternate 1985 America, costumed superheroes are common and the Doomsday Clock, which measures the tension between the USA and the Soviet Union, moves closer to midnight. When a former colleague is murdered, the masked vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) sets out to find the persons responsible and uncovers a plot to kill and discredit all superheroes. With two exceptions, they are ex-superheroes, having been forced by legislative mandate to remove their costumes and forget their secret identities. This law, however, does not apply to Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), the blue-skinned superman who is the US’s ultimate weapon and most compelling nuclear deterrent. Laurie Jupiter (Malin Akerman), once called Silk Spectre, is Dr. Manhattan’s girlfriend and works as his assistant. Adrien Veidt (Matthew Goode) formerly Ozymandias, a billionaire businessman, works with Dr. Manhattan on a plan to save humanity. Dan Dreiberg (Patrick Wilson), or Night Owl, is trying to adjust to being a plan citizen.

Despite the detailed background information that is provided via flashbacks, the protagonists fail to engage. Those who come to the film with affection for the characters may enjoy the story and the way it unfolds, but those who are new to these gloomy superheroes will wonder if there’s a reason to bother caring. And a needless distraction is the presentation of Richard Nixon, who, in this alternate world, has been elected to his fifth term. The physical resemblance is a caricature of the man, with a cheap-looking prosthetic nose and layers of makeup. Unfortunately, “Watchmen” is an exercise in frustration and disappointment and you’d be better off waiting for the DVD, assuming, of course, that you even want to see it. 3/14/09