Mar 5 2009

Movies for this week

Watchmen
The year is 1985, the cold war is still a pressing threat measured in minutes, and a group of unlikely vigilante super heros have taken to the streets to help uphold the peace. When one of the vigilante figureheads is killed in a suspicious robbery, a chain reaction begins spiraling the world closer and closer to nuclear war. But can it be stopped? Can the corrupt government help in any way? Who is really good, and what if the road to salvation is actually paved with mal-intent? Sounds confusing already, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg in this latest graphic novel/comic book adaptation to make it to the silver screen. Fortunately Director Zack Synder has done a fairly good job boiling down what has been touted as an impossibly complex story into something that fits into 2 hours and 45 minutes. Unfortunately, the film still lumbers along at a lugubrious pace despite the best intentions. Poor-ish acting doesn’t help the film much, and what feels like a fairly anticlimactic ending leaves the viewer a little “ho hum.” On the positive, the action sequences, when they happen are cinematically fantastic and works of art within themselves. And, fans of comic book gore will not be left hungry. Overall, the film is worth seeing on the big screen for it’s spectical nature, but perhaps best as a matinee. Watchmen is rated R.