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Okay, I've already reviewed Watchmen on its original March 6th review date and gave it a 9.0 rating (My brother and wife gave it a 9.5) so I'm going to keep this review short. It's going to be an analysis of the additional content and the overall DVD quality. I'll leave the special features disc alone, I haven't watched it and probably won't unless I'm bored (I'm one of the few people who only watches the DVDs for only the movie and nothing else it seems. Occasionally commentary, I only watch the special features if I'm bored) I'm also breaking in a new thingy I'm going to do for future reviews, adding some basic info (Director/Cast/Content rating, etc.)
Watchmen came as a pleasant surprise to me. While like any adaptation of a novel (Or in these case, graphic novel.) it wasn't nearly as good as the source material, it stuck closer than I expected to. It was also a visual feast, heavily stylized and gorgeous. The only part of the directing I didn't like was Zack Snyders overblown "Style" of slowing down time and speeding it up obnoxiously. It's what made me think low of 300 (Its okay occasionally, but he OVERDID it) though thankfully its not as overplayed as it was in 300. I was surprised that my wife liked it as well, not having read the graphic novel and not generally liking super hero type movies/stories. The main beef I had with the way the movie played out was the ending, which pissed me off to no end. Otherwise, everything fell into place for me, a fan of the graphic novel.
So now we have the Directors cut on DVD (And Blu-Ray, but I don't have a BR player so its good ol' DVD for now.) and once again I was pleasantly surprised. The Directors cut is a dying breed, taking back seat to lame "Unrated" editions, adding nothing more than a few more bare breasts or cuss words. This version actually adds new footage and scenes that add to the original film in a substantial and acceptable way. It fleshes out the characters more and my wife felt that she understood it better with some of the additions. Most of the additions are scenes from the graphic novel that were edited, but they all blend in perfectly and add a bit more exposition and richness. There's some subtle additions as well. The only addition I didn't care for was some needless extra gore, there was more blood when Veidt's assassin showed up and a needless slow motion shot of the woman getting her fingers blown off. I seem to recall another scene being needlessly more violent, but this was rare so I forgave it.
The DVD quality is superb, while it won't look as good as it did on Imax, the picture was retained and all the details of this already gorgeous film were intact. The sound was flawless too, except for some occasionally muffled comments from Rorschach. It includes subtitles of course, like most good DVDs (I'm partially deaf plus I can't handle extremely loud noises.) and the directors cut contains a second disc full of special features for those who care.
If you liked Watchmen, either the graphic novel, the movie, or both, get this disc. It is the definitive version of the Watchmen movie and while its not perfect, its content is substantial enough and it feels like a real directors cut, so there's no reason you shouldn't get it.
9.3/10
- Title: Watchmen Director's Cut (DVD Release)
- Release Date: March 06 2009 (Theatrical)/July 21st 2009 (DVD)
- Directed by Zack Snyder
- Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffery Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson.
- Based upon the Graphic Novel by Alan Moore
- Rated R for Frontal male and female nudity, heavy sexual themes including rape and prostitution, graphic violence and language. (Unless you feel your kid is mature and ready for some adult content, I advise parents to be a tad weary of this one.)
- Running Time: 2 hours and 46 minutes (Theatrical)/3 hours and 2 minutes (Directors Cut)
Watchmen came as a pleasant surprise to me. While like any adaptation of a novel (Or in these case, graphic novel.) it wasn't nearly as good as the source material, it stuck closer than I expected to. It was also a visual feast, heavily stylized and gorgeous. The only part of the directing I didn't like was Zack Snyders overblown "Style" of slowing down time and speeding it up obnoxiously. It's what made me think low of 300 (Its okay occasionally, but he OVERDID it) though thankfully its not as overplayed as it was in 300. I was surprised that my wife liked it as well, not having read the graphic novel and not generally liking super hero type movies/stories. The main beef I had with the way the movie played out was the ending, which pissed me off to no end. Otherwise, everything fell into place for me, a fan of the graphic novel.
So now we have the Directors cut on DVD (And Blu-Ray, but I don't have a BR player so its good ol' DVD for now.) and once again I was pleasantly surprised. The Directors cut is a dying breed, taking back seat to lame "Unrated" editions, adding nothing more than a few more bare breasts or cuss words. This version actually adds new footage and scenes that add to the original film in a substantial and acceptable way. It fleshes out the characters more and my wife felt that she understood it better with some of the additions. Most of the additions are scenes from the graphic novel that were edited, but they all blend in perfectly and add a bit more exposition and richness. There's some subtle additions as well. The only addition I didn't care for was some needless extra gore, there was more blood when Veidt's assassin showed up and a needless slow motion shot of the woman getting her fingers blown off. I seem to recall another scene being needlessly more violent, but this was rare so I forgave it.
The DVD quality is superb, while it won't look as good as it did on Imax, the picture was retained and all the details of this already gorgeous film were intact. The sound was flawless too, except for some occasionally muffled comments from Rorschach. It includes subtitles of course, like most good DVDs (I'm partially deaf plus I can't handle extremely loud noises.) and the directors cut contains a second disc full of special features for those who care.
If you liked Watchmen, either the graphic novel, the movie, or both, get this disc. It is the definitive version of the Watchmen movie and while its not perfect, its content is substantial enough and it feels like a real directors cut, so there's no reason you shouldn't get it.
9.3/10
