Review: WATCHMEN: ULTIMATE CUT

It’s been less than a year since WATCHMEN hit the big screen and already we’re seeing our third cut of the film, and easily the most expansive. I’ll start off by saying this is a review of the film, not of the DVD/Blu-ray and all of it’s bonus features. I’ve seen every cut of the film to date and I felt that at this point, only a few months after the last release it’d be important to know if this is the version of the film to own or not, and whether or not you should buy it if you already own the last version. Take that into mind when reading this and I think you’ll see where I’m coming from.

WATCHMEN is the comic book movie that nobody said could be done. It was too story heavy, too big and ambitious, and too complex for a main stream audience. Some of that is still true. Watchmen exists in a world that asks, “What if superheroes really existed?” And then proceeds to give us an amazing vision into that reality with a band of characters all incredibly unique, memorable and in some cases incredibly naked. President Nixon has been elected into office five times, won Vietnam, and through a law known as “The Keen Act” he’s made being a super hero illegal. And that’s what makes Watchmen so unique. Rather than tell the origin story of this super hero team like most comic book stories, we’re learning about the end of super heroes, about their last stand, and about how they live their lives when they’re no longer the young people they once were.

Instead a film dedicated to their origin, we get one of the best opening credit sequences ever where we see the history of superheroes through the years. Placed into some of the most important moments in history, and putting some twists on very iconic images, the film establishes it’s world with a simple montage instead of a long drawn out narrative. Each of these heroes after all is an approximation of heroes that we already know and love.

hose characters being Night Owl II (Patrick Wilson), who desperately needs to find some meaning to his life. Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman), who took the part of the Spectre after her mother forced her into it. Dr Manhattan (Billy Crudup),  the only character with true super powers. Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), the smartest man in the world. The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a man who is as evil as he is good. And finally we have Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley),  who steals the entire film with a performance that is exactly what fans of the source material would want.

Right away we’re introduced to an old, aging Comedian, retired, in a robe, making some tea and in a flash he’s gone as a stranger breaks into his house and murders him by tossing him out of a high rise window. That leads Rorschach, the only hero to break the law and not pay attention to The Keen Act, believing that some one is out to kill super heroes. This investigation leads him to a plot that could bring the entire world to it’s knees.

One of the biggest treats in the film is Dr Manhattan and his entire story, which could have been a film in and of itself. Manhattan’s story is a dark and somber one about loss of self that comes with understanding the world down to the molecules that make up everything. He’s an infinitely powerful being that’s only attachment to the world is his love, Silk Spectre II. He’s grown detached from humanity, so much so that he doesn’t seem to understand the need for clothing, as he feels no guilt. I wouldn’t either if I were built like him, but still. His story is perfect.

In the Ultimate Cut of WATCHMEN we are treated to glimpses of a comic book that a character is reading by a news stand. The book is TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER. It’s animated story of Survival told by one character played by Gerard Butler. This story is interesting in it’s own right. A man lost at sea desperately trying to get back to his family after his ship is destroyed by a mysterious dark and evil vessel. It’s gruesome, gory and at times incredibly well animated. It has a comic book feel but at times some parts feel out of place. In the comics the narration is side by side with the panels, narrating both events in perfect harmony. Here the parts are used to bookend certain parts of the film like chapters, giving a glimpse of the type of story up ahead.

Even better are the added scenes involving the news stand vendor and the boy reading the comic add a feel that the WATCHMEN world is much bigger. They give a bit of the man on the street feel to all these important events. Their scenes are right out of the comics and are very welcome additions.

With all the new scenes, the animated features, and the extended moments the film can feel a little heavy. It really does push this film into the epic category. The running time is over three and a half hours. That’s a lot for a comic book movie. But it all feels complete. Some of the acting isn’t as good as one might like. Malin Akerman’s Silk Spectre is down right dreadful most of the time, but it’s leveled off with other actors giving brilliant performances, like Jackie Earl Haley and Billy Crudup, who often steal the show. Gerard Butler’s grizzled voice lends a lot of pathos to the animated moments and the pacing is never slow or boring. Any gripes one would have had with the first film should be taken care of (save the switched out ending). But the movie works all around.

Seeing WATCHMEN’s Ultimate Cut is an endeavor you can’t always take on. It’s not a movie you can just pop on at any time. It’s like the LORD OF THE RINGS and their extended editions. You get a fuller more fleshed out movie and world, but at the cost of time. If you own the original cut you may want to hang on to it for casual watching, and still have this on call for when you want to sink into the Watchmen world and be fully taken it’s world.

With the Ultimate Edition get a lot of bonus features as well including a huge audio commentary just for this version, the entire motion comics, several bonus features including the UNDER THE HOOD short film that came with the Black Freighter Blu-ray/DVD, and a digital copy of the original threatrical version of the film. It’s a lot to take in considering the Motion Comics alone could run about half the price of the blu-ray edition. It’s a very definitive edition over four blu-ray discs. And it all looks gorgeous.