The past few posts have been pretty comic-centric, but with Comic-Con come and gone, it’s hard to not get sucked in by the whirlwind. So we’re going to hit the newly released Watchmen Blu-Ray Disc.

I can understand how the movie alienates most of the general populace. It’s definitely one of those movies you have to absorb. To be honest, it flows like you’ve been sitting down reading 12 comic books in a 3-hour sitting. Which I’ve done before, but this can probably make the average moviegoer pretty restless. I was however surprised by how many of my non-comic book friends enjoyed it though.

The Movie Itself

Watchmen is based off of the critically acclaimed graphic novel of the 80’s. It creates a what-if scenario that asks ‘what if superheroes existed?’ and drops them in the middle of the Cold War. It also creates characters that are a pastiche of major heroes. You can pretty much see parallels of Superman, Batman, The Question, The Punisher, Joker and Lex Luthor rolled up in an amalgam of characters.

Thematically the film presents itself confidently and competently. Repercussions of a Superman existing and the intrinsic fears the world would harbor due to that were thought provoking. This paralleled the time’s fear of nuclear war. This nearly single-handedly elevated the comic book medium into a more sophisticated art form.

But the story is still a superhero one, so it needs to have action. Zack Snyder knows how to deliver it and it’s a shame that it can’t be even more prevalent in the film. Visually, it feels like how a comic book movie should be. There are at most a handful of directors on the planet that can make silly Silver Age costumes look like they properly exist in a living, breathing world.

Personally, I thought the music soundtrack was a bit too needle-drop. 90 percent of it was music pulled from the 1980’s. While I actually enjoy the nostalgia of the era, and appreciate the intent, a bit more original scoring would have been better. Used in moderation, the 80’s music could have served as accent pieces rather than constant distractions in this reviewer’s opinion.

Director’s Cut

The new release version is mostly minor tweaks here and there. As the original movie was already gratuitous, there isn’t much more save 1 scene in regards to violence. There are subtle changes that worked in the movie’s favor that tend to be more respectful to the original comic book. The running time is just barely pushed from 2.5 to 3 hours. All said and done I would say this is the version to watch. There is only 1 scene that should have been left out and it involves some thugs talking for a brief two minutes that feels like an eternity because the actors are painfully inept at well, acting. A small blight, but when you’re stretching an already long movie to 3 hours, make sure the extra stuff is all quality.

The Disc

Since this is the blu-ray review, it would be poor form to not mention the technical achievements of the disc. It always seems redundant to praise the picture of a BD because they all look great in hi def. But Watchmen is such an art piece that it’s a shame to not see all the details. Like taking the time to study comic panelwork, appreciating the glory of Watchmen’s visual mastery is worth taking in at full force. Speaking of force, this brings us to the audio. Despite my personal soundtrack preferences, the audio experience is truly impressive. The fight scenes are fast and visceral largely due to each bone-cracking, face-smashing crunch that can be heard throughout the Dolby HD 5.1 mix.

The extras are largely your standard faire with the making-ofs and behind-the-scenes and what not. But the exceptional case is the Maximum Movie Mode, where if you are an extras junkie, you’re to be treated to the holy grail of director’s commentary. Snyder stands with dual screens and expounds upon every facet of production with seamless cutting to full film and Snyder’s exposition.

Closing

The mediocre box office figures obviously do not dictate the quality of film. It does however mean that it’s meant for a select audience. If you liked the movie, the blu-ray director’s cut is the ultimate experience. Some purists have issues with what few liberties Snyder and co. took in the adaptation of the story. As a fan of the material, I believe that if there was a Watchmen movie to be made, I’m glad we have this as an end result. Some may wish to wait for the version this Christmas where they splice in the Black Freighter. While I appreciate the pains to make a an even more faithful edition, I feel it may make watching the Watchmen a cumbersome experience. Personally, I feel that this current version will be the most streamlined in the end. With most BD’s still pushing the $30 line, it was nice to see this one at $20-23 at some popular outlets. This release can proudly stand as a top-tier feature in your blu-ray collection.

Recommendation 8.5/10

Here I sit eating crow and loving it. I’ve made it into a delicacy really. I admit to eating crow because I for the longest time fought the blu-ray revolution. So stubbornly to the fact that I did not redeem my free blu-ray offer that was given when I purchased my PS3. I could have had 3 free movies too. The thought of repurchasing movies that I had already repurchased from VHS was just too heinous a thought. It wasn’t until I upgraded my stereo and experienced true HD lossless sound in my living room did I start drinking the kool-aid. People keep talking about the hi-def picture, and while gorgeous, rarely talk about the sound quality. My best experience came from a viewing of Rambo, that takes full advantage of 7.1 surround, it felt like a war zone. And you can really crank the volume without the peaks getting too hot.

I bring this up because blu-ray sales are up 91 percent (!) this year. This is quite a feat when you consider economic spending has been at a low. Guess you’ve just gotta get Iron Man in HD now matter how high that energy bill is!

I guess when you have billions of Dark Knight money you can go around saving floundering video game companies and still comfortably run a major comics publishing house. But hey if you have Superman and Bugs Bunny under your belt, you’re probably good enough to weather any storm.

It would seem that the DC Universe/Mortal Kombat venture were larger signs of the future than anyone would have ever imagined. This year Midway, a games company founded in the 50’s, went under and had their properties, including the Mortal Kombat franchise, put up for bid and were finally picked up by Warner Bros. Interactive.

So this may not be the last time we see the likes of Scorpion and Sub Zero squaring off against Batman and Superman. Sonya Blade in a Green Lantern book? Extrapolate that and think Mortal Kombat rebooted on the silver screen with a shiny new WB logo. I had been concerned with whose hands they would fall in to, but am comforted with the outcome. Having a happy home at Warner could lead to interesting possibilities for the MK license.

It’s no secret that the print industry is hurting in a bad way. What people don’t often realize is that this includes the comic book industry. It’s hard enough having always been a niche market. Compound that with the current economy and the dire straits print advertising is, you have a formula for disaster. It took the Spider-Man movie to save Marvel from bankruptcy.
And this was pre-economic crisis.

But they’re adapting and even have digital comics subscriptions available. In the East comics aren’t a guilty pleasure or strictly nerd culture like they are in the US. Manga is on every street corner and read on subways like we do the Wall Street Journal. In Japan, the PSP store is beginning to offer digital comics. This is the perfect medium to reach some new readership. And I implore the US comic industry to follow suit. What a perfect model to distribute the comic book medium while lowering piracy than offering digital downloads on the PSP or PS3. Hell, open the model to the iPhones and 360’s.

In my opinion, comics in the past 10 years are better now than they’ve ever been. Digital coloring, sophisticated writing and high-standard artwork is more prevalent than ever. The point is to keep them going. And besides, if it weren’t for these monthly published works of art, what would movie studios try their best to ruin? I guess we still have a couple dozen 80’s properties to pillage. But C’mon Marvel and DC. Let’s start hitting some Playstation stores!

As a big fan of Dante’s Inferno, I honestly can’t think of how to make a game out of the source material. While doing the source justice anyway, yet the game looks to be shaping up nicely. The trailer seems to be paying homage to how the original story is based on imagery.

I just wish they could call it something else. Hellbender or something. Hellquest perhaps?