There are superhero movies and then they are superhero movies. No previous film of this nature can come close to the realism and brilliance of Watchmen. Of all my previous reviews none have ever had this much content thrown in. I’ve been a big fan of Watchmen ever since I heard of it on television. I had the read the graphic novel once and become fascinated with it, but that wasn’t enough so I read it over and over again. Every time I read the novel, I could only imagine how this would be if it were a movie; who would they get to act? Who would direct?

So it has been two years of waiting that’s right, two years of anticipation. I would look at the doomsday clock as it ticked, every hour that passed as it got closer to release day. So was it worth the two year wait? hell yes! As I read updates, as the movie pre-production went along, I was happy and satisfied with casting and the most importantly the announcement the director, Zack Snyder who I absolutely adore. His work on 300 which was released in 2007 was brilliant and innovative. Snyder is a director with a vision like no other and an intelligent scope to match Kubrick. Watchmen has a lot going for it, the characters have been made multi layered and represent the original masterpiece accurately.

As a comic book fan and fanboy you intricately observe every page of the graphic novel. I had my fingers crossed for the film, hoping it would not destroy the original source work. Many other films have done so in the past. For instance, Alan Moore’s From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and V for Vendetta.

So where do I begin? Ok, the opening sequence is as unforgettable as it is brilliant. An opening sequence to go into the annals of movie history as one of the greatest opening scenes in a film. We see The Comedian also know as Edward Blake brewing over something as he watches television while he listens to Nat King Cole’s Unforgettable. We’re stunned as an intruder breaks in and then perhaps one of the best fist fights I’ve ever seen on screen ensues. The Comedian is eventually thrown out of his apartment window dying on the ground below with the beautiful sound of Bob Dylan’s music commencing as we see the Minutemen all up to the watchmen.

Luckily it did not disappoint, the story remains the same. Watchmen is based in an alternate history, in which costumed heroes are a part of everyday life. Set in 1985, an ex-costumed hero known as The Comedian (Jeffrey dean Morgan) is brutally murdered and the only costumed vigilante still active, Rorschach pronounced Rorshack (Jackie earl Haley) begins to investigate his murder, suspecting someone is out to kill of the masked crime fighters. He regroups the old crew, a group of now retired heroes; Dan Drienberg also known as Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson), Laurie Juspesiec also known as Silk Spectre II (Malin Ackerman), Adrian Veidt also known as Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) and a fully naked blue superhero, the only character with actual superpowers, Dr Manhattan (Billy Crudup) who into a superhero as a result of a nuclear experiment gone horribly wrong. Together they relive The Comedian’s past as they slowly unravel who may be behind the killings. The film features many historical characters which make it more realistic. Richard Nixon, Fidel Castro, Khrushchev, JFK and Henry Kissinger are featured to name but a few. I also credit Zack Snyder’s brilliance for his cinematography which can give only give a fan a tear in the eye.

I say this because I was fortunate enough to experience the premiere in IMAX and to see the brilliant direction of Snyder get finally shown on the world’s biggest screening format. Dr Manhattan describing his life story, going back and forth in time is dramatically brilliant especially on the IMAX screen. It exactly as the graphic novel, adapted page by page, frame by frame. It is beyond any mans helm but Snyder’s.

A beautiful script and dialogue written by Alex Tse and David Hayter matches up to the graphic novel written by Alan Moore.

The movie has the best soundtracks I’ve heard since Forrest Gump, featuring some of the finest artists of all time, including Bob Dylan, Nat King Cole, Simon and Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen and Jimi Hendrix. I respect the music of Tyler Bates who also composed the score for 300.

One of the things I really loved about Watchmen was the fact that it had vulnerable, more human heroes, rather than heroes that were impervious to almost everything. It had realistic dimensions and dialogue was far superior to films such as Spiderman and The Dark Knight. It didn’t have any “go yeah, go, go get em” bull shit which is seen in almost every American superhero film.

And I say this to any critic who dares to imply that Watchmen is trying too hard to be a pop culture Classic. It doesn’t have to try, it has already achieved that goal, and moreover it is a great movie which has taken years to make and has finally been made and well worth your time.

So go get your movie tickets and your popcorn, not that this is your average popcorn ‘flick’, I think this is something more.

I normally don’t sit around for a two and a half hour movie but with watchmen, I didn’t get bored and would have stayed for 5 more hours and watched it over again. If there was a director’s cut I would go and see it again because I’m keen to see what has been edited out. This is how films are supposed to be made and I hope the industry takes a page out of Snyder’s book on this one.

I give it 5 stars.