Watchmen - [3/5 stars]
State of Being : Unconventional Heroes
Directed by Zack Snyder, Watchmen is a 2009 film adaptation based on the 1986-1987 twelve-issue comic book limited series of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Reminiscence of his earlier 2007 film adaption of the graphic novel "300", the fighting scenes here are heavily stylized, using slow motion camera work.
While most conventional superheroes have alter ego hidden identities and perform vigilante activities on their own, the heroes here are mostly salaried government employees whose duties are to rid the cities of crime and to defend the country in times of war. Leave your perceptions of the superheroes fantasy behind before you watch this movie. Expect the unexpected from the "good" guys here as several of the heroes in Watchmen are extremely violent and often resort to using brute force to intimidate the criminals into submission. I was especially taken aback by this one scene whereby The Comedian hammered the skull of an enemy's head repeatedly with a large chopper, with extensive blood splashing all over the crime scene - definitely not for the faint-hearted!
***
