Blu-Review of the Week - 7/31/09 - Watchmen

Blu-Review of the Week – 7/31/09

Watchmen (2009)

There’s no doubt that Watchmen is one of the biggest releases of 2009.  The film was an epic undertaking of one of the most popular and celebrated graphic novels of all time.  I had never read the novel before the film came out, but the premise definitely sparked my interest.  I purposely didn’t see this in the theaters only because I wanted to read the source material.  I finally finished it two days after I had the Blu-ray in my hands (yeah, it took awhile.  Not a big reader.) All I kept thinking was, “How in the hell is Zach Snyder going to pull this off??”  Very well was my ultimate answer.  Very damned well.  Would the Blu-ray release be just as impressive?  Let’s take a look. 

MOVIE – 9/10

Back in 1986, the first issue of the Watchmen hit the shelves and almost instantly became a phenomenon in the comic industry.  Known for its’ brand new take on the superhero genre and a bold writing and artistic style, Watchmen truly changed the way that comics were looked at and the way they were written.  Fans had wanted a film version for years, and many attempts failed to produce results.  In June of 2006, Warner Brothers hired Zach Snyder, the celebrated director of 300 and finally there was hope.  Filming started in September of 2007 with a budget of what ended up being $120 million.  Many folks were skeptical as to what the results would be.  It came out to mostly positive critical review, with many of the hardcore comic fan’s absolutely loving it.  As I said before, I just recently (last week in fact) finished the graphic novel, loved it, and was very excited to finally see the film.  I can easily say that I wasn’t let down in the least.  This is an incredible achievement by Snyder.  It’s an amazing piece of filmmaking, not unlike any of the great superhero films like the Dark Knight or Iron Man.  The body of work that Snyder had to shape into a film was immense, with numerous complicated characters and themes.  I was amazed at how faithful Snyder stayed to the comic, sometimes almost frame by frame.  The movie is long (the director’s cut runs 186 minutes) but I never once felt like it carried on too long.  The pacing is almost perfect, with just enough character development, giant action scenes, and everything in between.  Make no mistake…this is a film for adults, and it earns its’ R rating in spades.  With strong language, nudity (including multiple shots of a blue penis – Dr. Manhattan has no shame), adult themes, and some serious horror inspired gore, this one ain’t for the kiddies.  I appreciated that.  So many times films are watered down to get a PG-13 rating for increased box office sales, and they truly suffer because of it.  Not the case with Watchmen. 

If you aren’t that familiar with the story by now, at the core its’ really a whodunit murder mystery featuring a group of vigilante “superheroes” know as the Watchmen.  One of them has turned up dead, and the hunt is on to find out who did it and why.  The film features an incredible cast of characters like The Comedian, Nite Owl (I and II), the sexy Silk Spectre, Dr. Manhattan, and my personal favorite…Rorschach.  Each character is complex and very interesting.  I found myself drawn to everyone of them in one way or another, and their storylines and acting kept me entranced throughout the entire film.  I honestly don’t see how Zach Snyder could have done a better job in creating what is truly a modern day masterpiece.  Love it, like it, or for some ungodly reason hate it, but you have to admit that this is incredible filmmaking.  I’d have to say that this is my favorite film of the year so far.

VIDEO – 9/10

Watchmen really shines on Blu-ray.  The film looks fantastic, with loads of impressive CGI work and brilliant cinematography that is razor sharp, besting most of this year’s releases.  The black levels are solid and there isn’t even a hint of compression artifacting.  The depth of field is top notch even for Blu-ray and the level of detail is impressive.  It might not quite match up to some of the best CGI films like Cars and Dragon Hunters, but it deserves a solid nine and is easily one of the best film transfers of the year.

AUDIO – 9.5/10

With a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio soundtrack, this is a film that’s really going to give your system a five star workout.  Something I haven’t mentioned yet is the soundtrack to the film, which is as stunning as it is eclectic.  With classic track from Jimi Hendrix, Nat King Cole, Janis Joplin, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, My Chemical Romance, Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel to name a few, you can tell that it’s all over the place, but it plays together perfectly for the mood and feel of the film and explodes on Blu-ray.  The sound effects will make you jump at times.  They are so crystal clear and use the right amount of every speaker you own.  The dynamic range is wide as hell, and the separation in the surrounds will impress you, no doubt.  I may sound like a broken record, but this is one of the best audio tracks I have heard this year.  Warner Brothers should be praised! 

EXTRAS 8/10

First off, I want to say that I think Warner Brothers really stepped up by telling the masses that there would be a five disc collector’s edition of Watchmen coming out late this year.  I respect that, as consumers had the choice to hold off until then to wait for the ultimate edition.  I also think it’s great that included in this Blu-ray is a $10 off coupon towards the purchase of that edition.  Add to that the fact that the bonuses on this release will be exclusive to this release only and I feel that Warner Bros. has done this the right way unlike many others.  That being said, most of the supplements on this release aren’t great, and didn’t add to my enjoyment of the film.  However, there is one special feature that is almost worth the price of admission alone, and is easily one of the best extras ever.  This alone made me bump the score to an eight.

Disc One

• Maximum Movie Mode

Let’s just get right to it.  Maximum Movie Mode is not only the best extra I have seen thus far on Blu-ray, it’s quite possibly the best I have ever seen on DVD.  This is an entirely new and separate encode of the movie that takes you beyond the filming experience unlike ever before.  As you watch the movie, you get the standard picture-in-picture making of’s and comparisons with the graphic novel, storyboards and more.  Also, you see short clips from longer segments (Focus Points) that you can click on to see in their entirety, or watch all of these separate in the Maximum Movie Mode menu.  Then you get groups of stills from each major set in the film, which take you away from the story so you can flip through them at your own pace.  Most pictures are behind the scenes at that location in the film.  You even get music from the score while doing this.  But the best, and most inventive facet of this feature is when director Zach Snyder comes out and steals the show.  This is truly awesome.  As you can see from the picture below, Zach walks out onto the screen in a sweet transition and shows you all kinds of things to look for in the film, including some of his cameos.  He’ll even pause the film so that he can do a sport’s telestrator move on a specific area of the screen that he wants you to see before he casually tells the movie to continue and walks back off-screen.  I have to admit that the first time I saw this I was in awe.  Very, very cool, and it really shows the love that he had for the film to take the time to go the extra mile for this feature.  It’s very insightful, extremely entertaining, and something I can only pray to the Blu-ray gods continues with future releases.  This is an absolute MUST SEE!  

• BD-Live

I’ve said it before, but Warner Brothers are the only company that’s really thought outside the box on how to present extras via BD-Live.  If you listen to our show, you probably know that I am a huge proponent of the BD-Live platform.  There is so much untapped potential just waiting to get out.  Again, I give a standing ovation to Warner for being at the forefront of this possibly amazing technology.  On Saturday, July 25^th at 9:30pm Pacific, Warner launched a Live Community Screening of the disc with director Zach Snyder live from ComicCon where they also held a screening for the Director’s cut.  Basically, you sign up for the Screening via BD-Live and then when it nears time for the event you put your disc in and launch BD-Live, go to your Community Screeing appointment, and join the lobby until it starts.  The film begins and instantly you are watching the movie alongside around 100,000 people as well as all of the viewers at ComicCon and you get to chat with Zach throughout the entire film, which was displayed at the top of the screen.  You can fire up your computer and launch a page to ask questions throughout your experience and if you are lucky enough, he will answer one.  I got lucky with the first two (Hellboy 2 w/ Guillermo Del Toro and The Dark Knight w/ Christopher Nolan) and got a question answered.  Well, I got lucky again as Zach answered my question about which cameras were used in the filming of Watchmen.  This kind of interactive method of watching the film with the director is awesome, and you end up learning a ton about the film, which you don’t see in the other supplements.  My brother Don has always been skeptical of BD-Live, usually ripping on it, but he came over and thoroughly enjoyed the experience with me.  He too was very impressed, and I really dug the fact that he could finally see the light.  Also included in the BD-Live extras are downloadable Watchmen Video Journals, the ability to create your own video commentary (on scenes you select) for the world to see and downloadable trailers.  Another interesting feature is connectivity with facebook where you can post certain activities to your wall and make announcements for online screenings with friends.  It’s an interesting add-on, and it would be nice to see this implemented even more in the future.  With the immense popularity of social networks like facebook and twitter, this could be just the integration companies need to get more consumers on board with the BD-Live platform.  Finally, there are also a couple of features (WB Shop and My Library) that are coming soon. 

Disc Two

• The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics (HD 28:46)

The bulk of this featurette centers around the origins of the graphic novel which was pretty interesting.  There are interviews with some of the creators talking about themes and moral issues in the story.  You also get to see a good amount of the animated graphic novel, which has a separate Blu-ray release (but will be included in the upcoming 5 disc set in November).  You really learn how groundbreaking Watchmen was from a story standpoint, and how comics changed because of it.  All in all it’s a solid watch, but there’s nothing groundbreaking here.

• Real Super Heroes: Real Vigilantes (HD 26:17)

This is another interesting piece, if not a bit bizarre.  It basically discusses real world vigilantes both past and present, and their place in the world.  Featured in this extra are members, as well as the founder of the Alliance of Guardian Angels, a vigilante security patrol which got their start in New York in the late 70’s and now has chapters all over the country as well as the world.  They talk about operating outside of law enforcement and trying to keep their streets as safe as possible.  Also covered are vigilantes from the past…way back in the western days.  Then, you even get to meet some modern day “super heroes” like Ecliptico with costumes and all.  Kind of scary really. 

• Mechanics: Technologies of a Futuristic World (HD 16:49)

This extra features physics professor James Kakalios who helped the Watchmen crew keep the technologies and physics principles in the film from becoming too unbelievable.  There’s lots of talk about quantum physics, atom breakdowns and other topics that made my head hurt.  I kept thinking to myself, why do I care if the owl ship could fly in real life, or if a man could really catch a bullet with his hand.  Wasn’t a big fan of this one.

• Desolation Row Music Video by My Chemical Romance (HD 3:15)

Nuff said. 

FINAL VERDICT

Watchmen is an amazing achievement in filmmaking.  It’s one of those movies I watch and wonder, “How in the hell did they pull this off?”  At this point I’m not afraid to say that Zach Snyder is truly a genius (I’ll give him a pass on Dawn of the Dead), and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us next.  If you are a fan of the graphic novel, this is what you have been waiting for.  If you know nothing of the book form, this is still a superhero film that beats most, including some of the best.  I give a standing ovation for Warner Brothers on the quality of the video and audio on this release, and though the extras may have left a bit to be desired, the Maximum Movie Mode and Live Director Chat provided some of the best moments I’ve had watching Blu-ray this year.  I would say that this would easily make my year end top five discs of the year, but with the pending release of the five disc version, I have a feeling that may take its’ place.  However, don’t overlook this one.  It’s one of the best releases of the year so far, hands down!  This, my friends, is a NO-BRAINER!

FINAL SCORE – 9/10 – BUY!

 
http://www.amazon.com/Watchmen-Directors-Digital-BD-Live-Blu-ray/dp/B001FB55H6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1248926310&sr=1-1