Watchmen - Proof Comic Books Still Have A Place

<i>Watchmen</i> is a fantastic continuation to a work of art graphic novel. It builds on Alan Moore's original themes and then brings in new, relevant ideas that feel a part of the world but don't feel too one-sided today. It merely brings up events that are happening today and only asks the audience what <b>they</b> think. It doesn't tell you what you should believe like most movies today do, and it's all the better for it. It moves and an intelligent pace, full of mind-blowing twists and turns. <i>Watchmen's</i> version of action are kinetic confrontations and unsuspecting twists, and that ends up working in its favor. 

Nevertheless, the fights are fantastic. They're raw and powerful; the hard R rating aids the battles in terms of themes. The brutal clashes or even smackdowns are always an explosion of emotion. They look great and feel brutal. The direction all around is marvelous. The classic costume designs for the heroes can be great as nostalgic pieces and can be pretty cool. The show is full of color and comic book gloriousness. It looks better than most <b>movies</b> that come out today, which I found myself constantly saying with HBO shows.

The mini-series is an excellent example of keeping old characters present and bringing in new and well-written characters. Regina King's Sister Night was a character I wasn't sure I would like going in but clicked with instantly in just the first episode. Regina kills it in the role and makes the character even better. She served as an excellent lead for the show. Tim Blake Nelson's Looking Glass was also a great character. He was a mysterious character and then shaped into a well-formed character representing the horror of the post-Alan Moore novel. The returning characters were fantastic as well. Jeremy Irons as Ozymandias was a character I didn't expect to return but ended up giving us a fascinating storyline. Same with Jean Smart's Laurie Blake. She gets some great moments through the show despite not being the main focus.

The thing about the show that hasn't aged well though time is the finale. Through time as I thought about the ending, I felt cold. The first thing is that it's pretty clear the director ran out of money. I was hoping for a visually engaging ending, and that wasn't what I got. There were some pretty sloppy effects. I wasn't looking for an MCU-like battle, but the show had given me engaging visuals before, without needing a big fight. Everything about it came down to a rather clumsy conclusion, even though I loved some of the ambiguous things that were left open. The end stinger was effective for sure, but the villain's end plan wasn't my cup of tea.

Despite the weaker finale, <i>Watchmen</i> has managed to remind me that superheroes may have a few more stories up their sleeves. The Alan Moore comic will always be my favorite, but this was a good continuation. All the characters are interesting, and the themes hit home. It has some messy moments, but it's overall a well-done mini-series.

8/10

Solid Recommend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huN34U2rmvs