British writer Alan Moore (From Hell, V for Vendetta), British cartoonist Dave Gibbons, and British writer and artist John Higgins combined talents in the mid 1980s to create a series of twelve DC Comics depicting the adventures of a group of irreverent superheroes known collectively as the Watchmen. The threesome turned the comics into a very popular twelve chapter graphic novel. In an attempt to garner excitement for the feature film, Warner Brothers released a collection of twelve webisodes (corresponding with the twelve chapters in the graphic novel). Originally offered for free through iTunes (and still available for $1.99 per episode), Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic has now been brought to Blu-ray; lasting almost five-and-a-half hours (325 minutes). The result is different, yet fascinating.
The setting is around 1985; the place is a fearful, crime-ridden New York City, infused with ubiquitous Smiley Faces. Though it’s 1985, this is some kind of alternative universe, where a paranoid Richard M. Nixon is President, his finger ready to push the button. Anger and frustration are the emotions of the day; the civility and democracy of our own universe are foreign concepts. The world faces moral decay from within, while facing the imminent threat of war from without. Superheroes used to do their best to provide justice but they have become pariahs thanks to public distrust and the Keene Act, a legislative order which outlawed them in 1977.
At the center of things, is Rorschach (named after the famous inkblot test), a masked avenger whom some people admire and others think is completely nuts. He has a crew of buddies: Daniel Dreiberg, “Nite Owl,” an empty shell of his former self; Laurie Juspeczyk, “Silk Spectre,” a disillusioned woman who never wanted to be a superhero in the first place; and Adrian Veidt, “Ozymandias,” a guy so smart he figured it was better business selling action figures of himself than continuing to put himself in danger. Though Rorschach’s friends have retired, he has stubbornly refused, taking it upon himself to investigate when a masked crusader known as “the comedian” is found dead of a fall from his high-rise apartment, either a suicide or a murder.
Rorschach believes The Comedian’s death is murder and fears someone is trying to kill off all the old masked avengers one by one. The twelve episodes chronicle Rorschach’s investigation into the matter.
The authors provide their twelve chapters with titles from literature and popular culture:
1. “At Midnight, All the Agents…”
2. “Absent Friends”
3. “The Judge of All the Earth”
4. “Watchmaker”
5. “Fearful Symmetry”
6. “The Abyss Gazes Also”
7. “A Brother to Dragons”
8. “Old Ghosts”
9. “The Darkness of Mere Being”
10. “Two Riders Were Approaching…”
11. “Look on My Works, Ye Mighty…”
12. “A Stronger Loving World”
Unfortunately for Rorschach, no one believes his theory about former superheroes being murdered. Even his friends fear he might have finally gone crazy. As it turns out, almost everyone has a reason for wanting The Comedian dead, so there aren’t too many tears being shed.
Watchmen: The Motion Comic has engaging characters, both good and evil; a dark, atmospheric tone; plenty of social, philosophical, scientific, and theological discussion; a perverse, upside-down look at superheroes; a tangled romance; and an solid replication of the original graphic novel. In style and substance the movie is unique and inventive enough, to keep most viewers at least mildly interested, while major Watchmen fans should get all the more excited about the upcoming film.
One interesting thing is that actor Tom Stechschulte provides all of the narration and dialogue (even the women, which is strange at first) for this production. His deep-throated performance really draws you into the story, and after a while it’s easy to forget that the character’s voices are all done by one person. It’s an unusual choice but it works well here.
A note for parents: Though the MPAA never rated the film, it contains blood, rape, violence, nudity, profanity, and sexual situations. This is not a children’s comic, and Warner Brothers put a warning on the cover that reads “For Mature Audiences.”
Warner’s 1080p/VC-1 transfer is fantastic. Not only has the series’ original lineart been lovingly reproduced from each issue, color fills are bold and stable, edges are impeccably crisp, and inky blacks add tremendous depth to the panels. Detail is incredibly revealing as well. Despite a five-plus hour runtime, the presentation doesn’t have any noticeable digital artifacts, unintentional bursts of source noise, or any debilitating banding. All things considered, Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic is a sight to behold.
The nature of Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic limits the impact of Warner’s otherwise proficient Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track. Tom Stechschulte’s narration and voice work is evenly distributed across the front soundstage, the production’s sound effects are well represented in the mix, and the LFE channel adds a naturalistic, natural weight to the motion comic’s omnipresent score and rousing action sequences. Admittedly, aside from some light acoustic support and fleeting ambience, the rear speakers are largely silent and lend very little to the presentation.
The Blu-ray edition of Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic only offers two brief extras: a 3-minute featurette about the upcoming Zach Snyder adaptation and a 10-minute extended preview of Bruce Timm’s Wonder Woman.
Things wrap up with an episodes-selection menu; English as the only spoken language; English captions for the hearing impaired; a bonus digital copy of the movie, Windows Media-compatible only, not compatible with Apple Macintosh or iPod devices. In addition, the case contains an admission coupon worth up to $7.50 to see the live-action Watchmen theatrical release.
