Watchmen (R, 2009)

common sense media says

Not a superhero movie; a dark, gory, complex morality tale.


parents & educators say
  • 55% say sexual content is an issue
  • 53% say violence is an issue

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this non-animated adaptation of the beloved cult graphic novel isn't just another superhero story and is absolutely not for kids. Even the director has said that he purposely made the movie intensely gory to make a point about the consequences of violent behavior. Sex is paired with graphic violence in a near-rape scene, and characters act in ways that seem highly amoral. They also swear constantly (including "f--k" and "s--t"), smoke, and drink. There's plenty of nudity, with some very graphic sex scenes and a computer-enhanced character who walks around nude (sure, he's blue, but he still has a normal male anatomy). Both the novel and the movie examine complex issues of morality, humankind's basic nature, and the specter of nuclear holocaust. Not light stuff, and certainly not for anyone who expects a simple good vs. evil story. If your teens can tackle heavy philosophical questions, they might be mature enough to make sense of the film's complicated plot. Finally, the movie clocks in at 2 hours 41 minutes most of which are chock full of in-your-face violence, darkness, and peril.

Positive messages: Dark, complex messages about issues like morality, humankind's basic nature, and the specter of mass global destruction. There's not much here that falls into clearly "right" or "wrong" categories; it's all muddled and ambiguous.
Positive role models: Unlike traditional superhero films, which draw clear lines between the
evil villains and the valiant heroes, the characters here are all very
complex antisuperheroes, with complicated motivations and
sometimes questionable ends. They all believe they're doing the right
thing, though to accomplish their goals they may have to break the law,
beat up a few people, or worse; the climax presents a huge moral
dilemma, as one character concocts a heinous plot aimed at achieving a
noble aim -- but at an enormous cost.
Violence: Several intense martial arts fight scenes with close-up, slo-mo shots of limbs breaking, faces being smashed into walls and furniture, and people being stabbed, punched, and kicked across the room. The film opens with a man being beaten severely and then thrown from a high rise window to his death. A woman is savagely beaten and almost raped. One character seems to relish carnage, whether it's on the battlefield or during an urban riot, while another shows no emotions as he methodically attacks people in inventive and painful ways, including pouring boiling oil on one attacker, sawing off someone's hands and electrocuting him, and taking a meat cleaver to a child rapist. A young child's corpse is eaten by dogs, and the ashes of the rest of her remains are shown in a furnace.
Sex: A few long, intimate close-up sex scenes include partial male and female nudity. The only character who's computer enhanced wears no clothing at all and walks around with his penis visible (it's blue, but it's definitely a penis). A prostitute propositions customers on the sidewalk, graphically flashing her breasts. Porn magazine Hustler is visible on a coffee table.
Language: Plenty of swearing, including "goddamn," "f--k," "s--t," "prick," "bastard," and other choice words.
Consumerism: Almost nothing except for a fleeting glance of Fuji Film (remember the non-digital camera days?).
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Some characters smoke; one has a fondness for cigars. Several scenes feature bars and drinking. One woman seems to have a drinking problem and is rarely seen without a drink in her hand.

More on Watchmen

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about the movie's portrayal of human nature. Are people good? Bad? All of the above?
  • If your teens have read the book, ask them how the movie is different -- and what impact having real people in the roles has on the story. 
  • According to director Zack Snyder in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, "I wanted to make sure everyone understood: This is not a kid movie. Violence has consequences. And doing that with a PG-13 just dilutes that message." Do you agree? Does the violence in this movie have more impact because it's not illustrated?

What's the story?

What's the story?
In an alternate version of 1985 -- Richard Nixon is still president, and Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union have never been hotter -- a surprisingly fit senior citizen is thrown from a high rise to his death. The victim turns out to be the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a gun-toting retired crime fighter known for his keen bloodlust. His former colleagues come out of hiding to find his killer, led by Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), a cloaked avenger with a blotchy, shifty mask. Rorschach thinks the murderer is working down a list of crusaders, and he and the rest of the crew -- including Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), and Silk Sceptre II (Malin Akerman) -- are on the hook. Even Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), the only one among them who's truly gifted with superpowers, may be in danger. Who's watching the Watchmen?

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Purists, take heart: This big-screen adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' revered graphic novel hews fairly closely to the written page, right down to the darkly beautiful world it renders. But that may be its biggest downfall. For no matter how respectful it is to the novel (save for a tweak here and there, including a simplification of the ending), WATCHMEN is curiously unenergetic. Much of it is told in flashback, and the plot moves from one back story to the next. Plus, the dialogue falls flat -- lines like "Here I am, spilling my guts to my archenemy" are best left on the page -- and scenes meant to be climactic are decidedly not. That's not to say that director Zack Snyder didn't try. In fact, he amps up the fight sequences so much that they're martial arts-movie-worthy and even gratuitously violent. That's actually a departure: Watchmen is famously cerebral -- the action isn't the point, and by focusing on the superheroes' battle prowess, the film undercuts the novel's attempt to humanize them.

The cast is uneven. As Sceptre II, Akerman is wanting. She struggles to plumb depths and pales in scenes that pair her with the deeply serious (and, not surprisingly, first-rate) Crudup. But even he is outshined by Haley, whose continued success is heartening (it's good to see him cement the comeback he achieved with Little Children). Haley's Little Children co-star, Wilson, is also fantastic, perhaps because he, too, has opted for a palpably realistic performance, instead of the stylized one that Goode unfortunately adopts. All of that said, Watchmen deserves to be watched. The special effects are impressive, the cinematography admirable. Just don't expect the same thrill that fans of the novel must have experienced when they first cracked open the book.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Billy Crudup, Malin Akerman, Patrick Wilson
Genre: Action/Adventure
Run time: 163 minutes
Theatrical release: March 6, 2009
DVD release: July 21, 2009
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language
Watch our review

This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo
 
 

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What parents & educators say

15
Based on 76 parent & educator reviews:
  • 55% say sexual content is an issue
  • 53% say violence is an issue
  • 34% say language is an issue

Most useful reviews by all members

betsfio
adult
 
Over the top violence
I found this movie so over the top violent, that I left halfway through the movie. I would never want my kids to see this movie, at any age!

 
Easter Eggs you don't need...
This movie was tougher to rate overall than most, while specific characters were never good role models, the overall message of the movie was positive (the lessons good, the way they were learned, not so good). I loved this movie, especially considering I saw it in theaters, and am somewhat familiar with the novel (I have a copy I need to finish 100%!)... I would say this movie could have earned a NC-17, but because of the overall message, I would allow an average 16 year-old to watch it. The more inappropriate content is actually harder to find, I recently bought the "Director's Cut" Blu-Ray with digital copy; strangely the digital copy is the theatrical version, however, this time while watching, I noticed things I hadn't in theaters; The Comedian begins watching a movie, that looked as though it was setting up for pornographic content, and has a dirty magazine on his coffee table. During the scene where Adrian Veidt catches Rorschach and Night Owl treading in the snow, the movie the comedian was watching re-appears on the top monitor to the right of Veidt's head, and there are explicitly pornographic films playing on two other monitors, one visible fairly long. Another potentially offensive monitor showed a crucifix with Jesus' head replaced by that of a goat (this could be considered Satanic.) Veidt's monitors are shown often, but are only that clearly visible, at least with highly offensive content for that sequence. Other than these scenes the offensive content was fairly blatant. Good movie, fun to watch, and if your 13-15 year old kids aren't observant, you could let them watch, as long you will be there, and you may make it a one time deal, so that they don't find the offensive material!

BroDude
adult
 
Faithful to Source
I read the Graphic Novel, which I enjoyed, and the movie was faithful, in spirit and message, to the novel. The Cinematography was beautiful, the acting and actor selection was nearly perfect, character development was good too. This movie, like the novel, begs the watcher to ask themselves about human nature and good versus evil. Like the book it made me feel uneasy and it affected me on a gut level in a strange way. This movie is as good as your going to get in an adaption of a comic book. Yes, there were moments of brilliance but something was lacking. Maybe to slow at times, cheesy at others, and it felt inconsistent with itself (if that makes sense). I was rated R, so I expected violence, language, and some nudity (This was the director of 300). I did have a problem with one sex scene that was attune to a skin-a-max late night movie; it was over the top and not necessary. Definately not for kids under 16. Not a popcorn movie or date movie, but is a make you think movie. Ps. I am thirty, the review options would not allow me to go past 17.

Shinigami1994
teen, 17 years old
 
Dark, complex, and f*****g wonderful.
This is an in-freaking-credible movie based off of an in-freaking-credible book. There are copious amounts of sex and violence, but still a good movie. And as a response to EmmaGirly89's review, let me make this perfectly clear. YOU ARE A TEN-YEAR-OLD. You shouldn't even be watching R-rated movies, let alone morality tales. The story made perfect sense to me, it's just too complex for young kids. Let me give you the rundown. This takes place in an alternate 1985, where vigilantes walk among regular people. Russia is fighting with the US during the Cold War at the time, and they have acquired nuclear weapons. Ozymandias prevents world war 3 by blowing up New York by forcing Dr. Manhattan to do so. Rorschach and Nite Owl attempt to stop him, but are too late. Now, the US and Russia are forced to team up to stop Dr. Manhattan. Rorschach is killed because he would have told everyone what had really happened, thus ruining the peace between US and Russia. Still don't follow? That's because this is not a good versus evil superhero movie. This is a dark, complex morality tale that should not be viewed by anyone under the age of fifteen. In other words, if you are under the age of fifteen, you will not understand this movie. It is simply too adult. Read into these things next time before you make a faulty movie review. ;D

 
Dark, violent, apocalyptic, and... thought-provoking.
First of all, while this film is great, it's not a normal superhero film or even a normal action film. The "heroes" in it are usually just as bad as the villains. There's not a whole lot of action in it; its appeal relies mostly on the philosophy and politics of the storyline. There is a message about good and evil, but whether its positive or not depends on how you interpret it (the movie gives no clear answers). There's a lot of thought-provoking scenes and heavy subjects, including items about nuclear war, human extinction, the morality of killing people who have done wrong, revenge, the existence of God, and the necessity of violence in certain situations. Not stuff that you want your two year-old hearing about, or at least not on this level. And despite the fact that it's a great discussion piece for older teens who can understand the meanings of the complex situations within the film, it's really not for youngsters. Violence is frequent and extremely explicit, showing a man's face get dissolved with hot french fry oil, people's limbs being broken into pieces with an audible crack, a pedophile's head being sliced and struck over and over again with a meat cleaver, a man's arms getting sawed off, and two dogs fighting over the last bone of a murdered young girl. Your typical R-rated language is used occasionally, and there are several sex scenes, a couple of which are quite steamy, plus some nudity (mostly a humanoid but godlike character who is colored blue). As you can see, everything in this movie is heavy to the extreme. There is no reason in the world that a child should see this movie, but every reason in the world that older teens should see it.

 
A diffrent kind of superhero movie, but a great one!
I have to say that for 2009 Watchmen is deffintly one of my favorite films that has been released this year! It had everything that i was expecting! A dark story line, good action sequances etc etc. However im pretty sure most people know it's a superhero movie and a lot of kids like those kind of movies. Parents! TAKE THE R RATING SERIOUSLY ON THIS MOVIE!!! THIS IS NOT FOR ANY KIDS UNDER 16! There is lots of graphic violence throught the movie and some of it is rather disturbing, one character who isnt human is naked throught most of the film and his cgi penis is visable quite often, there is also a bit of swearing and a somewhat explicit sex scene. I read the graphic novel before seeing the movie and it followed the book which was also great very well. It's one of the ebst movie's ive seen this year but it's deffintly not for kids!

demontre
teen, 16 years old
 
MY AWSOME REVIEW
IT WAS A REAL GOOD MOVIE & I WANT TO WATCH IT AGAIN!!!!

IronZombie75
teen, 16 years old
 
Amazing super-hero/morality tale for Mature older teens: 14-15+
This is an amazing movie! Warning parnets, this movie is VERY dark, violent, and adult. Contains Graphic Bloody Violence, including, a guy getting both his arms sawed off with a circular saw, brutal hand-to-hand violence, with graphically breaking bones and blood squirting, and people exploding from the inside out with gory details. Also contains some full male nudty, female nudity, graphic sex, and some language, as well as adult themes. But its an amazing movie i would recomend it! :P

Robag
teen, 15 years old
 
Great movie
Honstly anyone who can understand that behind the gore and blood is a eep and intertwing story line..but most people, Espically mothers cant se past it wirch amazes me all in all a good movie.

Entropy
teen, 15 years old
 
Great movie, but pretty graphic!
This is one of my favorite movies! Great plot, and awesome action sequences! However there is some pretty bad nudity, Dr.Manhatten walks around totally naked for a good portion of the movie... And there is some female frontal nudity as well. And one of the main female characters is almost raped. Other than that its a great movie!

stew
adult
 
perfect for mature kids and audiences
I loved this movie i mean after i read the book or graphic novel if you will i dressed up as the comedian when we went to see it in theaters.

mikeabc123
parent of 19 year old
 
am 14 and i love it its a great movie

 
Horrible movie, way too long.
Saw this movie at the midnight release and wasted my time with it. I also have read the book, and hated it as well. It's just a boring and really roundabout was of telling a simple story. Very violent slow motion fight scenes and pointless sex scenes make this inappropriate for 15/16 and under.

 
don't recommend it at all actually
boring, but yet very violent in parts, sex scenes really unnecessary, seemed like they didn't have anything better to do so they dragged it out with that garbage... big disappointment overall, wish I had read this first, wouldn't have bothered.

Mr. Boxbox
parent of 16 year old
 
not nearly as extreme as people say it is. contains suprisingly very few violent or sexual scenes. its a bit too long and gets kinda boring, but its stylish with great effects. the opening sequence with the comedian was excellent. ON for teens and even tweens.

Joker15
teen, 18 years old
 
Great plot, but very dark and vulgar
Watchmen is one of the most violent superhero films made so far along with Marvel's Punisher movies. the plot involves Ozymandias, the former founder of a group of superheros called Watchmen which includes Nite Owl II, Dr. Manhattan, Silk Spectre II and Rorscach, carrying out a devious plan to involves killing the Comedian (another Watchmen hero), framing Rorscach and destroying cities worldwide to end the Cold War which President Richard Nixon is failing to do. The plot was intresting and rewarding enough, but the film was bogged down, mostly in the second half, but un-needed, gory violence, racous sex and strong profanity. To start off with the violence, it was very strong and very bloody. Examples include a scene where a man has his arm fractured (the bone sticks out and blood spurts), gangsters are blown up (their blood and bones fly everywhere) and a man has his arms cut off by a buzzsaw (his bones are sticking out and blood pours from his former arms). Kids aged 15 and over could handle the graphic violence but may be disturbed by it. The sex and nudity is un called for as well. Dr. Manhattan is almost always nude, and we see his big blue penis. Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II have sex in two scenes, where see his butt and (briefly) penis, and we see her nipples. Also, the Comedian almost rapes Silk Spectre I, but the only sexual thing we see is when he begins to unfasten his pants, and he is stopped. We also see a stripper's nipples, however, they are darkened. It is also implied that two couples are gay lovers. Kids under 16 or 17 should not watch the sex scenes. The language is very strong. F*** is said nearly 20 times, and BS, AH and SoB are also said. The role models are definitely not inspiring. These superheros are not heroic, they are vulgar, brutal and curse. The worst example is the Comedian, who uses guns as his weapons of choice, drinks and smokes frequently, almost always says the f-word, attempts to rape Silk Spectre I and shoots and kills a woman whom he had sex with. Basically, a strong theme of the film is that humans are vicious. Overall, kids under 15 should never see this film. It is even iffy with ages 15-16 and is age appropriate for 17 and up. The plot and acting were very well done, but if you haven't read the comic book, you'll be almost completely lost. As I said before, the gratuitous violence, sex and profanity bogg the film done. the storyling is also very dark and complex, and may disturb some. Overall, I give it three out of five.

ram2989
parent of 5 , and 7 , 9 , 14 year old
 
Be very aware!!!
My husband and I saw this movie because we had arrived too late to see the movie we originally had planned for. This movie is just shocking and horrible. I'm not even very picky and was just mortified at this show. I felt terrible for the parents in the movie who had kids with them (they appeared to be about 12-14 yrs old). They had to walk out. My husband and I did after about and hour. We had just had too much. I would not recommend this movie for anyone under 18. It is shocking that it was even rated R. It seems like rated X would be more appropriate. Please do not let your children see this!! You will regret it!!

bobdylan
parent of 14 year old
 
Great adaptation of comic book but VERY violent
Many people are killed in violent and gruesome ways. The "heroes" do many unheroic acts, such as breaking the bones of robbers, attempting to rape a fellow heroin, gorily murdering a pedophile and killing/disabling dozens of inmates in a prison. There is also one extremely overdone sex scene which proves that Zach Snyder has issues. Also many bad words (one person says the F-word almost every other second). Good story but too much violence.

 
Appropriate for a 13 y/o for a 15/16yo who can analytically look at the story.
This movie, along with the comic, is one of the best stories of my generation. It is very gritty and graphic story line, but that is not always a bad thing. The movie highlights many of the less favorable traits of humanity, and it shows throughout the story how some characters become "horrid" and how others view the negative human traits. This film, for me is a philosophical adventure and i think if you want to watch it with your younger children, you should discuss what the point of the film was on a philosophical level. Talk about what the author and director wanted the audience to get out of the movie. P.S.: Some people really hate this movie, which i can understand, it was written by a semi insane(in my opinion) genius author. The story is very deep and everything from why Dr. Manhattan is naked to the horrible things the comedian commits has a reason. Go into this movie with an open mind.

 
Now I Know why it's R instead of PG-13
Thought it was one of those movies with nothing but gory violence. It's a lot more than that.

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