who watches?

It isn't often a $55 million opening is considered a box office disappointment, and it's even less often such an opening could come off the adaptation of a cult-centric piece such as Watchmen, the Hugo award-winning graphic novel known for its deconstruction and moral examination of the now more film than comic-based superhero genre.

Whatever the complaints concerning the cinematic interpretation, the impact made by the source material at the time of it's release cannot be understated. Is vigilantism acceptable, at all or under extreme circumstances? How would our society handle the assimilation of true-to-life superheroes? What makes one persons moral foundation worthy of admiration, while another is rejected as being cruel or unjust? These were the questions writer Alan Moore wanted to face when he first wrote the twelve-part series over twenty years ago. What resulted was a complete deconstruction and deep examination of a genre many thought strictly limited in its scope or ability to narrate a meaningful story.

It is not particularly surprising that the cinematic rendition of this genre finds itself very much in the same position that it's hand-drawn counterpart did in 1986. Public interest is certainly as high as ever. The investment by studios to promote even the most obscure of licenses is evidence enough of the public's promise to guarantee a return.

Yet, most films of the genre leave with an enormous sense of deja vu, with little more changing between the stories of Iron Man, Batman, the X-men and Spiderman besides the villains they face. As these films attempt to delve further into the mythology of their characters with spinoff films and a prequel/sequel blitz, they run the risk of leaving an enormous "so what?" in the minds of their audiences.

Watchmen is the answer to that "so what?", but it is ironic that the filmmakers would find themselves struggling with some of the basic mistakes which its source material fights so hard against. That is, a strong narrative will outperform a CGI and explosion sequence every time. In its' three-hour run, Watchmen is in a constant battle with erratic pacing, a crapshoot in the performance of its actors, and a desperate effort at every turn to convey the magnitude of the story, while still including enough over-the-top sex and violence to appease the modern teen-or-twentysomething the comic book genre has taken as its foundation.

Throughout the films struggle to live up to the expectations it created, however, several high points exist that could be taken as gold standards. Visually, Zack Snyder has created a masterpiece to rival or even surpass 300, and has all but ensured for himself rights of first refusal for almost any superhero license he wishes to attempt in the future. Actor Jackie Earle Haley performed what is surely the films most fascinating and complex character, Rorscach, in incredible fashion, providing a lynchpin for the overwhelming narrative. Choices made in the editing room also stand out, most notably the introductory scenes which provide a background and pretext for the rest of the film, as well as choices for the soundtrack, which help reflect the time period of the alternate universe as well as setting very particular moods for each scene. Some of the most choice moments in the film come in letting visual moments and musical accompaniment blend together like chocolate and peanut butter.

In the end, Watchmen faced the enormous task of being a great comic book film, as well as a great drama and moral odyssey, and in the end ended up being very good at both, but not quite enough to set it apart from its peers in either category. Nevertheless, with almost no competition for the remainder of the month, there is little doubt the film will post a significant profit for Warner Bros. (and Fox, however legitimate their claim), and with blessing of being assured to never be a good film plagued by a unnecessary sequel, Watchmen will likely be recorded as one of the original visionaries of the genre, and its themes will likely be revisited by its descendants for as long as the genre remains marketable.