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WATCHMENMovie Reviews
Action sci-fi adventure based on the DC comic book and set in an alternate universe about a superhero who comes out of retirement after the death of one of his beloved superhero colleagues. Cast:Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, more castDirector:Zack SnyderRelease Date:March 6, 2009DVD Release:July 21, 2009From:Warner Bros.Rating:RLength:2 hr 42 min
Watchmen played to mixed reviews. • Clint O'Connor wrote in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, "At times it's quite brilliant, visually stunning, multilayered and complex. Yet it can also leave you feeling flat and fidgety." • And Richard Corliss wrote in the Time, "...has splashes of greatness. It proves again that the action movie is where the best young Hollywood brains have gone to bring flesh to their fantasies." More Reviews Below...
Leah Rozen, People: WEAK(cg) "...slavishly faithful and often tedious... will please fervent fanboys but leave the rest of us wondering what the fuss is all about."(See all of Leah Rozen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 158 words, 03/05/09
Richard Corliss, Time: VERY GOOD "...has splashes of greatness. It proves again that the action movie is where the best young Hollywood brains have gone to bring flesh to their fantasies."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,034 words, 03/06/09
Devin Gordon, Newsweek: WEAK "...meticulous, even slavish, in its re-creation of Gibbons's imagery, from colors to costumes to composition... takes loyalty to new limits. And that's exactly what's wrong with it."(See all of Devin Gordon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,267 words, 03/02/09
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "...so faithful to its comic-book source, it can't breathe.... Snyder crams the film with bits and pieces, trapping his actors like bugs wriggling in the frame."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 750 words, 03/06/09
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: WEAK(cg) "...hugely disappointing, faithful as it is to the graphic novel. That rigid reverence should please purists... but it also contributes to the film's considerable bloat."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 650 words, 03/05/09
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "Overlong at 161 minutes and ultra-violent in a bone-crunching way... though devoted fanboys will likely salivate over all the visual excitement."(See all of Thelma Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 128 words, 03/05/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "...starts out powerfully, with a brutal but inventively offbeat action sequence, to the tune of Nat King Cole's 'Unforgettable'.... it grows plodding, convoluted and forgettable..."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 527 words, 03/06/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (14 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: FAIR "...the ideal viewer would probably be a mid-'80s college sophomore with a smattering of Nietzsche, an extensive record collection and a comic-book nerd for a roommate."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,475 words, 03/06/09
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...will thrill fans, have others checking their watches.... What is distracting is how cheap most of the performances are."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 513 words, 03/06/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...rich enough to be seen more than once.... I'm not sure I understood all the nuances and implications, but I am sure I had a powerful experience."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,124 words, 03/05/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "...something acceptable but pedestrian, an adaptation that is more a prisoner of its story than the master of it.... plays it safe cinematically."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 972 words, 03/05/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...as fresh and magnificent in sound and vision as '2001' must have seemed in 1968, yet in its eagerness to argue with itself, it resembles 'A Clockwork Orange.' "(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 981 words, 03/04/09
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: WEAK(cg) "...the appeal of the film version, such as it is, relates almost entirely to eye-for-an-eye, severed-limb-for-a-limb vengeance, two hours and 41 minutes of it..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 850 words, 03/05/09
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the superheroes are flawed, nuts, and worth the wait.... it delivers the goods. Twenty years earlier, it might have been considered a masterpiece."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 366 words, 03/06/09
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: WEAK "Alan Moore refused to put his name on the movie, which must have hurt Snyder and company terribly; they've made the most reverent adaptation of a graphic novel ever."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 651 words, 03/02/09
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a substantial, occasionally audacious immersion into an alternate universe, juxtaposing caustic 'Dr. Strangelove'-like satire and big-budget CGI spectacle."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 744 words, 03/06/09
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...neither desecratory disaster nor total triumph.... director Zack Snyder has managed to address the cult while pandering to the masses."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 921 words, 03/04/09
Bob Strauss, Orange County Register: EXCELLENT(cg) "The film doesn't sugarcoat the graphic novel's violence and erotic content.It's got flaws. And it's pretty magnificent."(See all of Bob Strauss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 850 words, 03/06/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...an adaptation of a ferociously beloved cult object that does justice to its source, even as it works some unavoidable changes on the material."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 356 words, 03/05/09
KEY CITIES (19 Reviews)
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "...a bore.... long, dull and subject to what might be called the 'Lord of the Rings' problem: It sinks under the weight of its reverence for the original."(See all of Philip Kennicott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,265 words, 03/05/09
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "It should have remained what it was from the start: a masterpiece of vicious Cold War paranoia, completely and gut-churningly rendered on the printed page."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 716 words, 03/05/09
John DeFore, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...tries mightily to live up to the lore.... one still walks out with the feeling that some masterpieces just can't be translated with complete success."(See all of John DeFore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 700 words, 03/06/09
Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a dense and dizzying work that mixes philosophy, history and literature with pulp fiction, tabloid sensationalism and pop psychology."(See all of Tom Maurstad's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 680 words, 03/06/09
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Snyder is beginning to look like the best thing to happen to the action movie this decade... a director not going through the motions but pulling from all sides of his brain."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 740 words, 03/06/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "The last 40 minutes present an impossible let's-wrap-up-this baby string of cliches... There is no happy ending... But there is a whole lot of explaining to do."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 784 words, 03/05/09
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the movie has to fill in an entire universe while simultaneously spinning it forward; it's 163 minutes long and you feel every fat, million-dollar second of it."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,298 words, 03/06/09
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...one of the most ambitious films in recent memory.... At times it's quite brilliant, visually stunning, multilayered and complex. Yet it can also leave you feeling flat and fidgety."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 494 words, 03/06/09
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "...with its basic themes, structure and apocalyptic vibe intact, 'Watchmen' turns out to be quite filmable after all, and its stylish highlights trump any quibbles."(See all of Connie Ogle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 713 words, 03/06/09
Carla Meyer, Sacramento Bee: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Dark, gruesome and complicated are fine when there's commensurate character and story development.... 'Watchmen' is nearly three hours long."(See all of Carla Meyer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 767 words, 03/06/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "Jackie Earle Haley's Rorschach and Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Comedian capture all the ugliness at the heart of this darkness and spit it back at us."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 836 words, 03/06/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...neither desecratory disaster nor total triumph.... director Zack Snyder has managed to address the cult while pandering to the masses."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 921 words, 03/04/09
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...stumbles and sometimes falls on its top-heavy ambitions. But there are also flashes of visual brilliance and performances..."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,095 words, 03/06/09
A.S. Hamrah, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...brutality is Snyder's main interest. It's what he's good at, it's what he loves. When 'Watchmen' concentrates on violence, it comes alive."(See all of A.S. Hamrah's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 656 words, 03/05/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...an adaptation of a ferociously beloved cult object that does justice to its source, even as it works some unavoidable changes on the material."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 356 words, 03/05/09
Bob Mondello, NPR All Things Considered: MODERATE "...backstories tend to clutter up a movie... director Zack Snyder is still doling out origin flashbacks two hours and seven minutes into his little epic."(See all of Bob Mondello's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 216 seconds, 03/06/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: FAIR "...the ideal viewer would probably be a mid-'80s college sophomore with a smattering of Nietzsche, an extensive record collection and a comic-book nerd for a roommate."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,475 words, 03/06/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: MODERATE "...elegance isn't Zack Snyder's bag; a certain sort of impact is. 'Watchmen' establishes him as Hollywood's reigning master of psychic suffocation."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 582 words, 03/06/09
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: POOR "Incoherent, overblown, and grimy with misogyny... marks the final demolition of the comic strip, and it leaves you wondering: where did the comedy go?"(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,187 words, 03/02/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "...something acceptable but pedestrian, an adaptation that is more a prisoner of its story than the master of it.... plays it safe cinematically."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 972 words, 03/05/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: MODERATE "...less a fully realized comicbook epic than a sturdy feat of dramatic compression.... the film seems to yield to the very superhero cliches it purports to subvert."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,215 words, 02/27/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "...something acceptable but pedestrian, an adaptation that is more a prisoner of its story than the master of it.... plays it safe cinematically."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 972 words, 03/05/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: FAIR "...the ideal viewer would probably be a mid-'80s college sophomore with a smattering of Nietzsche, an extensive record collection and a comic-book nerd for a roommate."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,475 words, 03/06/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: MODERATE "...elegance isn't Zack Snyder's bag; a certain sort of impact is. 'Watchmen' establishes him as Hollywood's reigning master of psychic suffocation."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 582 words, 03/06/09
21.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Watchmen's reviews are separated by an average 21.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Watchmen (51 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Watchmen's reviews cover 99.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 39,008 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 765 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 28.4 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Watchmen's reviews on average broke 28.4 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Watchmen's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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