Watchmen as Movie

Watchmen

Directed by Jack Snyder

Directed by Zack Snyder

Produced by Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Deborah Snyder

Screenplay by David Hayter and Alex Tse

Based on Watchmen by Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore

Starring

The Comedian - Edward Blake played by Jeffery Dean Morgan

• protrayed much like the same character as in book
• muderous and callous
• appears to have no soul until scene where he lands in Mollock's bedroom drunk and crying, talking about the bad things he has done (about halfway through the movie)

Doctor Manhattan - Jonathan "Jon" Osterman played by Billy Crudup

• plays a very believable Doctor Manhattan
• the few times he appears naked, there is no uncomfortableness about it

Nite Owl - Daniel Dreiberg played by Patrick Wilson

• this Dan Dreiberg appears a lot younger than the man in the book. His age isn't given so it is difficult to gage but he should be older.

Ozymandias - Adrian Viedt played by Matthew Goode

• this character also seems very young - at atleast twenty years too young
• a more mature actor would have made his character more believable

Rorschach - Walter Joseph Kovacs played by Jackie Earle Haley

• character true to book
• suits the role well
• great voice for the journal readings

Silk Spectre II - Laurie Juspeczyk played by Malin Åkerman

the character in the movie is much more robotic than how she appears in the book. In the book she is not quite so perfect.

Summary

• story takes place in an "alternate timeline in which masked, costume heros fight crime in America" (Wikipedia, Watchmen[film], 2010)

• during the 30s and 40s, these masked costume heroes formed a group called the Minutemen to help aid the law in cleaning up crime
• Watchmen are the next group of "superheroes" to aid society
• certain historical events are noticeably different such as the US has won the Vietnam War thanks to Doctor Manhattan and Nixon getting elected for a third term
• when this movie opens, it is 1985 and The Comedian has been murdered
• masked crime fighters have been outlawed due to the Keene Act signed in 1977
• tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States are mounting and there is imminent fear that a nuclear war will break out
• both The Comedian and Doctor Manhattan are working for the government
• Rorschach works on his own as an outlaw
• after Blake's murder, Rorschach believes that someone is trying to kill the Watchmen and warns Dan Dreiberg (Nite Owl II), Doctor Manhattan and his lover, Laurie Juspeczyk
• Dan talks to Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias)
• while everyone is at Blake's funeral, Laurie is teleported to her mother's, Sally Jupiter, a member of the Minutemen. Here she reminisces about Eddie and her daughter gets angry with her as Eddie tried to rape her long ago.
• Doctor Manhattan exiles himself to Mars after being accused of causing cancer to those people around him and after Laurie leaves him
• an assassination attempt is made on Adrian Veidt, confirming Roschach's theory that someone is out to get the superheroes
• Rorschach gets framed for murder and sent to prison
• Laurie, aka Spectre II and Dan Dreiberg (Nite Owl II) become close and decide to break Rorschach out of prison
• after rescuing Rorschach, Doctor Manhattan returns for Laurie and she returns to Mars with him. She asks him to save the world. He at first says no. But after Laurie discovers that her real father is Edward Blake, Doctor Manhattan realizes that out of chaos humanity is born and worth saving.
• the journal Roschach keeps is dropped in the mail slot at the newspaper office in case anything happens to him
• Meanwhile, Rorschach and Nite Owl discover that Veidt is behind the plot to kill off the masked avengers. He wanted them distracted while he played out his real plan - to make it look like the world was under alien attack in an attempt to bring the United States and the Soviet Union together to save the world from nuclear destruction.
• by the time Nite Owl and Rorschach arrive, it is too late
• Doctor Manhattan and Laurie arrive but there is nothing to be done as Veidt's plan is working - the countries are striving for world peace
• they agree that the real cause of the attack cannot be told
• when Rorschach disagrees and says that he will tell the truth, Doctor Manhattan kills him
• Laurie and Dan return home
• doctor Manhattan returns to Mars
• a young man at the newpaper office reaches for Roschach's journal as filler for the days news

Watchmen Soundtrack Track List
1."Desolation Row" My Chemical Romance
2."Unforgettable" Nat King Cole
3."The Times They Are A-Changin'" Bob Dylan
4."The Sound Of Silence" Simon & Garfunkel
5."Me & Bobby McGee" Janis Joplin
6."I'm Your Boogie Man" KC & The Sunshine Band
7."You're My Thrill" Billie Holiday
8."Pruit Igoe & Prophecies" Philip Glass
9."Hallelujah" Leonard Cohen
10."All Along The Watchtower" Jimi Hendrix
11."Ride of the Valkyries" Budapest Symphony Orchestra
12."Pirate Jenny" Nina Simone

References

Mahalo. (2010). Watchmen soundtrack. Retrieved from http://www.mahalo.com/watchmen-soundtrack

Snyder, J. (2009). Watchmen. Burbank, CA :Warner Brothers Pictures.

Youtube. (2008). Watchmen trailer. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3orQKBxiEg&feature=PlayList&p=0BB4CEE96B0385E1&index=0&playnext=1

Wikipedia. (2010). Watchmen (film). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen_(film)

Other References

Copy of movie poster retrieved from http://scooterchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/watchmen-movie-poster.jpg