Editor’s Note: In the spirit of fair play, after our C review of Watchmen, we figured we’d let Dre explore the studio space on why he loved the film.

Watchmen is a comic book film that begins in a world where masked crusaders have been outlawed. The public inevitably turned on these once-popular vigilantes of justice and with good reason. With great power comes great responsibility, and since most of these comic heroes are so screwed up mentally, it is no surprise there were abuses of power. Forced into retirement by Nixon, they were living out their unsatisfying lives anonymously.

What is so shocking about Watchmen is the assured nature in which it tells a very tricky story. It’s almost unsettling at first and I had to stop and ask myself, “Is this working?” I honestly wasn’t sure in the first 45 minutes or so. The film starts strong, true, but then it seems to take a little while to get its feet wet. Somewhere along the line, though, it all began to click for me. When I stopped asking myself whether or not it was working, I started asking why it was working. The answer is simple: This is a very confident film from a director who knows exactly what he is doing in (almost) every scene. It’s tight and it’s focused, which is a strange thing to say about a comic book movie that runs about two hours and 45 minutes. The top five reasons to see it:

1. The themes are as relevant today as they were in 1985.
This film has been accused of being irrelevant and this — to me — is a load. This is a movie about Hiroshima. It’s about mankind’s path toward self-destruction. Turn on the news. The themes and conundrums posed in this film are as real and relevant today as they are in an alternate universe in 1985. And director Zack Snyder brings that alternate universe to life. It’s the Russkis versus the U.S. of A. on the brink of nuclear holocaust. It’s a black-and-white setup, perfect for the film’s noir tendencies and multi-character, multi-generational storylines. Into this simplistic setup enter our protagonists, the Watchmen, and things get complicated.

2. The “heroes” are peculiar, complex, and fascinating.
The “heroes” in Watchmen are peculiar. They are comprised of bigots, fascists, and emotionally (and physically) impotent people who can only truly be happy dressing up in kinky gear and imposing violence on others. The film adores these people, no doubt. Yet look closely and you will see them criticized as well. This movie has a story to tell, but it is also very interested in asking just who are these people? Like the book, the film deconstructs the comic book genre, digging deep into who exactly these people are. Their motives are driven by something other than the pure desire to help others. They’re more real than that. They’re driven by sex, ego, and the opportunity to crack skulls. Something, perhaps, is very wrong with them.

3. The cast is nearly perfect.
I can’t talk about this movie and what I love about it without getting into the cast, so here we go:

The Comedian is a monster of the American dream, or at least his version of the American dream, an America that doesn’t lose wars in Vietnam. “If we lost Vietnam,” the Comedian says, “It’d drive this country crazy.” Thanks to Dr. Manhattan, they don’t, and we are able to enjoy the irony. If losing the war in Vietnam made us crazy, I still would not want to live in the “sane” world of Watchmen. It’s a world drowning in doom and cynicism and it never seems to stop raining. The Comedian is a product of this dejected world. He’s just doing his portion. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is terrific in this role, giving one of my favorite performances in the movie. He is an animal, yes, but he’s an animal with some foresight and depth.

Everything you have heard about Jackie Earle Haley in the role of Rorschach is true. The guy just owns this role in a major way. This is an ensemble cast but make no mistake — this is Haley’s film. Beneath his utter badassness is a man of questionable morals and faculties. But you root for him anyway because he at least has a very clear code that he lives by and is loyal to his friends. Audiences can’t help but go nuts for him; he is one of the best anti-heroes to make it to the big screen in a long time. Plus, he only gets more and more interesting as the film progresses. The actor’s last scene is truly powerful stuff, especially on my second viewing.

My second viewing also gave me a chance to appreciate Patrick Wilson. It’s a fine-tuned performance he gives as the second Nite Owl, Dan Drieberg. He’s a bit of a nice-guy loser, but you slowly start to see his confidence build as he reverts back to the person he truly is. The actor saves his best stuff for the final act, however. It’s simmering work that pays off. He is the film’s moral authority.

The film’s heart belongs to Billy Crudup’s Dr. Manhattan. Manhattan is interesting in the graphic novel, but he is straight-up awesome on the big screen. His look is truly magnificent: Light swirls beneath his skin and reflects off (or through); snowflakes and particles float gently around him. When you’re near Manhattan, you’re in his glow. Crudup’s voice is a surprisingly nice fit for the character. It’s not what I had in mind, but it works beautifully. He appears stoic, but Crudup’s voice is tender and deep with understanding. One of the film’s best scenes has him explaining to Laurie (Malin Akerman) — with real poetry — what a “miracle” she truly is.

I was skeptical of Matthew Goode in the role of Ozymandias and continued to be worried despite some of the more positive reviews leading up to the film’s release, but I actually think he’s quite good here. Yes, Tom Cruise would have been perfect. But I have to judge what’s on the screen and Goode had a pretty good command of the role. A Muzak version of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” plays just outside his office as he struts about his skyscraper in a dapper purple suit, towering over men the likes of Lee Iacocca with just the right amount of grace and intimidation.

Malin Akerman has been getting some bad notices here and there for her role as Laurie Jupiter/Silk Spectre II, and I don’t really get what that’s all about. She isn’t great. Truth be told she gives the least interesting performance in the film. Still, she’s fine. Meanwhile, the beautiful and sexy Carla Gugino is very strong as Sally Jupiter. I only wish there was more of her in her pinup days.

4. It’s complicated, challenging, and really, really good overall.
Everyone who leaves the theater after seeing this thing has to ask themselves something: Have you ever seen a movie quite like this? Taken as a whole, I’d say, no. No, you have not. This is an epic unlike anything we’ve seen from a major studio: It’s artsy, it’s R-rated, it’s violent, and it’s complex in terms of narrative and theme. It’s likely a film that will polarize audiences and is certainly a movie that demands multiple viewings. Here is the really great thing, though: It’s good. It’s really, really good. From the opening sequence where the Comedian is brutally taken down as Nat “King” Cole sings “Unforgettable” to the brilliant opening credit sequence to the tune of Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” (music plays a very important role in this film) to the wonderful sequence where Manhattan recalls his transformation to the haunting conclusion in the Antarctic … this movie comes to play and it comes to challenge.

5. The movie’s ending is better than the book’s.
As for the ending of the film, I said this months ago when I heard about the change but I’m going to say it again. And I don’t care if this pisses any fanboys off, either. The ending to the movie is better than the book’s ending. Choke on that. It’s in the same spirit of the book but it’s more logical and character-oriented. It’s also very Dark Knightish. Yeah, the squid thing was kind of cool but it came out of nowhere and always felt like a hokey conclusion. The ending here just makes more sense.

Credit to writers David Hayter and Alex Tse for taking on and nailing what was a rather onerous task. Congratulations to Zack Snyder for really bringing it and showing he gives a damn. And major kudos to Warner Bros. for allowing this all to happen. I hope they all get rewarded at the box office because movies like Watchmen deserve it, and we, as audience members, deserve more ambitious undertakings like the one released this past weekend. I can’t wait to see it a third time.

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Dre writes two times a week for Film.com. Email him!

Tags: jackie earle haley, watchmen, zack snyder