I Watched the Watchmen

*Picture Courtesy piH9 of flickr.com under creative commons.

I have been keeping a secret for the last week. It has been burning me up inside, and kept me from my beloved blog-o-sphere. I saw Watchmen last week. Even more shameful, I saw it on Imax at a midnight showing thanks to Wondercon. I cannot hold this post in any longer, the film premiers in just a few short hours. Before then here are ten reasons you should be watching The Watchmen this weekend.

10.You're eighteen or older- Okay, not really a reason more of a bottleneck before raising your hopes about this film. It is rated R and let me tell you it deserves every ounce of that rating. There is tasteful nudity and not so tasteful nudity. There is also graphic violence the likes of which I'm not quite sure an Imax theater had experienced before this film. If you're old enough or have an adult that wants to see the film with you AND these reasons are not enough to deter you away, read on.

9.Comic book movies are hip- We can blame whoever we want for this phenomenon, but, facts are facts, superhero movies are doing great in the box-office. Franchises like X-men are on their fourth film while re-vamps like Batman break box office records. It stands to reason that even if this film is not amazing in itself if will provide a great conversation at the water cooler. Why? Well lets look at number eight shall we?

8. Watchmen has a following- First off lets look at some solid facts. Time magazine, a respectable company, called Watchmen one of the top 100 novels of all time. That is pretty damn impressive for a comic book, wouldn't you say? Wizard magazine named Watchmen the number one comic book of all time. This combination is nothing to scoff at. Together they make for a moment in history. What is the result of one of the greatest works of our time being made into a motion picture?

7.Product Placement- There is no real product placement within this film. It is downright amazing the level of detail they went into over the course of the picture. Every can of beans or seedy bar has a name or trademark entirely foreign to our world.

6. The best bang for your buck- Watchmen is two hours and thirty-four minutes long. Usually for the price of a movie ticket, you get an hour and thirty minutes of movie. Not here, you get an amazing, if not a bit long, film. The best part is that this film does not come off like The Dark Knight where you feel as if you just sat through two, hour long, films. It's one continuous story magnificently told.

5. The capes- alright my fancy attempt to say superheroes may have failed epically, but, I still feel they are a great reason to see this film. You get a varied cast of characters ranging from the gadget toting Nite Owl to The Atomic, and very blue, Dr. Manhattan. Interestingly in the original storyline only Dr. Manhattan possessed superhuman abilities of any sort. In the film all of the heroes seem to have forms of superhuman strength and stamina. It may shy away from the source material, but it sure does make the fight scenes play out in a more exciting manner.

4. Richard Nixon- The portrayal of this man is amazing in the movie. You will feel as if the real Richard Nixon is talking right to you throughout the film. It's quite interesting to see how Nixon would have potentially interacted with an atomic man.

3. The soundtrack- I'm going to try my best not to spoil this for anyone. But, let me tell you the soundtrack to this film had me constantly whispering to myself, “Damn, I want this soundtrack.” Eighties hits surround this film in a delicious layer of awesomeness. Trust me you're going to want the soundtrack too.

2. The adaptation- Alright, a few things were changed from book to movie. I think part of this must have been due to time constraints. It must be really hard to pack the greatest anything into an acceptable running time. Still, despite the changes this film is true as sunshine to the original and I'm sure even Alan Moore would say it wasn't a disgrace. That is if he weren't still bitter over his previous book adaptations. Though honestly, that bitterness is totally warranted.

1. Rorschach- Not every hero needs to be lovable, this guy is no exception. You ever wonder what would happen if your favorite hero was driven too far? If the vigilante went from being a caped crusader to becoming a heartless killer, working to save mankind from itself? Well, look no further. Rorschach is the man for you; cold, bitter and ruthless in his pursuit of justice. If the dark anti-hero type isn't for you, then there is still hope. His mask is awesome and a great distraction. Constantly moving and shifting shapes it's sure to keep you entertained.