Watchmen a twisted treat

After finally seeing Watchmen in theaters, I have to say that I was a little surprised in general, though pleasantly. I was expecting X-Men, but got a cross between Sin City and Mystery Men. While many moments contained the raw, edgy action of City, there were other moments of unintentional comedy.

While the film is crazy long, the pace is such that it feels like it's right, or else something would have been left out. It progresses much like a comic book or graphic novel, with disjointed sections and sometimes rough transitions, but nothing that you can't put together as time progresses, despite the Nancy Drews thinking that talking in the theater is alright so long as they're revealing some wholly obvious plot twist in case the brain-dead among us missed it.

The look and feel of the film is top shelf: great use of color, effects, and sound. The inevitable CGI doesn't ruin your immersion like in many lower-budget flicks. The role of Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach is amazing, and worth the price of admission alone.

That said, Watchmen is not for everyone. If you're expecting Sin City or Batman then you may leave disappointed, as there is as much time spent on story and character development as there is on setting up the next action sequence.

But if you're patient and can suspend your disbelief a little at some less-than-likely loose ends, Watchmen is sure to entertain and warrants a couple of views to fully soak in its message and the depth of its story and characters, assuming you can check your impatience and your political leanings at the door.