Watchmen

I knew this was going to be a long movie when I went in, but sometimes long movies don't feel long. This felt long. In order to appeal to a mass audience, most of whom have no idea who the watchmen are (me included), the first hour was necessary to set the stage for an actual superhero movie. If we had just been instructed to do our homework first, we could have entered with this background already covered and had a normal length movie. As for the superhero part of the movie, there is really only one superhero, Dr. Manhattan. He is not that unique in that he reminded me of a cross between the Silver Surfer and Galactus. It is probably part of the point of the film, that superheros are just regular people with regular problems and we can all identify with them. A couple of things that I do like in films did occur here. First, an alternate reality was created. Just the fact that Richard Nixon was holding his 5th term of office as President opened all kinds of interesting avenues (none of which were explored). Any time a movie can channel Sliders, I am at least marginally happy. Second, the film clearly presents a Just War theology. I like when films put ideas forward that need to be addressed. My disappointment is that the theology presented is just that... presented. If we are really watching a superhero movie that isn't about superheros, but is about relationships and humanity instead, then why can we not also present a Just War theology that explores the extremes of pacifism or brutal aggression as alternatives. By placing the superhero and the human on the same screen, we are able to better understand the difficulties of each. Placing our theologies on the screen side by side would similarly illuminate our understanding and biases, and hopefully lead to dialogue on a subject that is too often left untouched.
3-stars