Watchmen

Let me preview this by saying, I wasn't particularly thrilled about spending 3 hours in a movie theater. I don't make it to movies often. In fact, the last movie I saw was Quantum of Solace. That being said, I went into Watchmen with an open mind. I've liked most of the other "superhero" movies and had hope for this one.

But I was wrong.

The movie starts out with the death of the Comedian. Not too brutal, but they're just warming up. Within a few minutes, it is revealed that the Comedian is a superhero. A good one. Immediately, I was torn from rooting for anyone, knowing that the good guys are probably doomed to die a much more tragic death than the Comedian. The movie continued with all sorts of brutalities: a man's arms are sawed off, dogs fight over the leg of a child after her murderer is done with her, heads are blown off, people are exploded, and those are just the few that I remember. On a basic level, it showed the depravity of the human condition. But, after about an hour, it was gore for gore's sake. And then, there was another hour and 45 minutes of it.

My other complaint was that, unlike Ironman or The Dark Knight, you really have no idea who the good guys and bad guys are. I mean, you think you know who the good guys are, but rooting for them means their ultimate demise. The bad guy remains a mystery until 15 minutes before the end of the movie, when they try to tie all of the confusing plot together to make sense in one fell swoop. It didn't work.

I left the theater wanting the 3 hours of my life back. I didn't learn anything, and I didn't enjoy it. Yes, the special effects were excellent, but they didn't make up for 3 hours of a gruesome and confusing plot.

All that to say, I will not be renting this movie.

Score: D+