510: Watchmen: Chapter I

[00:00:01] Let's get to a new film, which is Watchmen Chapter 1. It's directed by Brandon Bietti. It stars the voices of Troy Baker, Adrian Barbo, Corey Burton, Kelly Hu, Matthew Rhys, Katie Sackhoff.

[00:00:23] And the synopsis is, in 1985, the murder of a government-sponsored superhero draws his outlawed colleagues out of retirement and into a mystery that threatens to upend their personal lives and the world itself.

[00:00:39] So, Watchmen should probably be no surprise. It's one of the most acclaimed comic books of all time. There's been a variety of adaptations.

[00:00:54] The Zack Snyder film, the very underrated HBO limited series. There's a motion picture comic version of it as well. This is the latest one, with it being at least two chapters, if not more.

[00:01:14] I have been a fan of Watchmen for a long time. I saw the Zack Snyder Ultimate Cut first, which I think remains his best movie and one of my favorite comic book films of all time.

[00:01:32] The original comic book is a masterpiece as well. I would highly recommend it. And then the HBO limited series, it's very different from the source material, but it's still amazing. One of the best things that HBO has ever done, in my opinion.

[00:01:57] I didn't really know what to expect with this one going in. I know that it was animated, and that's really about it.

[00:02:11] For anyone who knows the Watchmen story, or who has seen the Zack Snyder film especially, because that's a very, for the most part, a very faithful adaptation,

[00:02:25] this first part, and I'm guessing the second part is basically that movie, but animated.

[00:02:33] Which, let me say, I thought it was still solid, for sure. I actually liked it more than I thought I would.

[00:02:43] It's very well animated. I think it looks amazing. The lighting, the use of shadows, the look of the city.

[00:02:49] Like, I will never tire of these characters, and that's why I think they continue to adapt it, because there's just something so timeless and classic and dark and edgy,

[00:03:02] but also very reflective and complex about its ideas that they could do it as many times, and I don't think I would ever not go and see it.

[00:03:14] Do we really need this? No. We definitely don't, but with the quality in which it was done, I'm not upset at all that it does exist.

[00:03:26] The voice performances are unusually good. The score is excellent.

[00:03:35] The death and rebirth of Dr. Manhattan is amazing in this.

[00:03:41] Visually, it's great. It's very emotionally touching.

[00:03:47] The montage of the different timelines and dates that he throws out.

[00:03:53] Pinpointing different moments in the 20th century and relating that back to his life, and then everything with him going to Mars.

[00:04:03] Rorschach, who is my favorite character by far.

[00:04:07] That original character design, still so good.

[00:04:10] He looks great in this as well.

[00:04:14] And his run-ins with the other watchmen, him sneaking into the government facility,

[00:04:26] and of course everything with the comedian being thrown out the window at the beginning,

[00:04:31] and then there's that flashback to him in Vietnam.

[00:04:38] The violence is effective.

[00:04:40] It's not super graphic, but it's definitely adult and R in a good way.

[00:04:48] The little cutouts of the actual comic book or comic book-esque cutouts on the screen.

[00:04:56] That was a different choice that I hadn't really seen before, at least not in the Snyder one.

[00:05:05] So I think in the end, I definitely would recommend it,

[00:05:09] especially if you have any interest in Watchmen or if you just like dark comic book films like this.

[00:05:18] It won't ever be a favorite of mine, but was still very entertained and pleasantly surprised.

[00:05:28] So that one is a 4 out of 5.

[00:05:32] You can do that in the near future.

[00:05:32] We'll will become a 3 out of 5.

[00:05:32] We'll be in the middle.