Blu-Ray Review:
Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut
By Jason Gillard
*Screenshots are not from the Blu-Ray source.
Movie
Parts of this review are from previous Watchmen reviews here and here.
Current RottenTomatoes.com score 64% Fresh: 170 Rotten: 96
WATCHMEN follows a group of retired costumed heroes living in an alternate 1985 where Nixon is still president and fear of nuclear doomsday permeates the air. When a hero named the Comedian is murdered, his former colleague--the unhinged, masked Rorschach begins investigating who is behind the death. The other masked crime fighters--Silk Spectre 2, Ozymandias , Nite Owl 2, and Dr. Manhattan, a godlike being who is the only one with actual superpowers--soon learn that there may be a plot to rid the world of their kind.
Watchmen is a difficult movie to describe. You can see the plot above, but to sit down and actually watch it is another story. There are so many layers to the movie. The movie is very dark and every minute people fear that the world is going to end by nuclear war. Don't expect a big action movie out of Watchmen. It does have a few cool fight scenes that are shot perfectly but I would not call it a non stop action flick. Watchmen is more of a cerebral movie than a check your brains at the door kind of flick. Personally I really liked the film and it's interesting to get a superhero movie that makes you think. There are people that said that Allen Moore's novel was un-filmable. Well I think Synder has shown them that is not the case. This version of the Blu-ray is the Ultimate Cut. This includes "Tales of the Black Freighter" woven back into the movie. It tells the tail of a shipwrecked captain who goes to great lengths to stop a ship of demonic swordsmen from returning to his hometown. Using the bodies of his fallen comrades he straps them to a raft and sets off to save his family. Along the way he has to battle sharks, gulls and his own madness. The imagery that is displayed in this tale is graphic and some may find it disturbing. I thought it was awesome. Not only is this animation now included in the movie they had also shot other live action scenes with the boy and the comic shop owner. The question is does this need to be in the movie? Well that all depends how much of a fan you were of the original graphic novel. I think for most people it makes it to long and they might find it confusing. For me I think its a great addition, but that is because I know the history behind this story. If you are a fan of Watchmen I think you will be pleased that this has been included.
9 out of 10
Video
Warner gives Watchmen a spectacular 1080p transfer in the films original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The picture is almost flawless. In the graphic novels colours were very bright. But they did not use the traditional super hero colours of red, white, blue, they used colours like green, purple and orange. So when Synder filmed this movie he used the same colour palette. The colours come alive on the screen giving us a really rich green, and purple that show off your hi-def tv. Black levels are also good, making the shadowy world come alive. Detail is fantastic, and you can see everything from blood trickling down the stubble of the comedians face, to shards of glass twinkling in the nighttime sky as the comedian is thrown out of his apartment. I will say it again, the detail on this Blu-ray is great. The only issue I noticed was a bit of banding whenever Dr Manhattan was around, but other than that I don't think I have anything bad to say about the transfer of this film. But what is the quality of the newly inserted footage? Well its exactly like the Tales of the Black Freighter Blu-ray. In that Blu-ray, it came across looking very sharp and colourful. It reminded me of recent Warner animation titles like Wonder Women. The colours are vibrant and really bring the story to life. Grotesque images jump off the screen such as rotting corpses bursting from built up gas inside. Black levels are at their inky best making the many dark scenes look excellent. Overall, the presentation of this footage is quite impressive. So overall this new ultimate cut is more of the same which is a good thing.
9 out of 10
Audio
Watchmen the Ultimate Cut is presented in DTS-HD 5.1 track. Just like the video transfer the audio is equally stunning. It can go from quite to rattling your walls in seconds. Every punch has a definite weight behind it. There is a lot of music in the film and whenever one of these songs come on it fills all the channels and sounds fantastic. Dialogue comes across crisp and clear. The rear speakers are also firing on all cylinders adding ambiance and in your face effects. As much as the film is a visual experience the audio experience is definitely part of the whole package. One of the scenes that I think really shows off the mix is right at the beginning with the comedian getting beat up. Punches sound like jackhammers and when he finally meats his demise the glass shattering sounds real. Warner has done a fantastic job with this track and it will give your system a definite workout.
10 out of 10
Extras
Watchmen the Ultimate cut comes in a sturdy black case. If you have seen the Bourne trilogy case then you will know what to expect. It closes with a magnetic clasp which is nice. Inside the case is a digipack containing three discs. The first disc contains the ultimate cut of the film, the second disc contains all the special features and the third disc is a digital copy of the movie. Also included in the case is a standard Blu-ray case containing Watchmen: The Motion Comic.
One of the biggest disappointments in this set is that it does not include the fabulous Maximum Movie Mode from the previous set. This included Zach Snyder standing in front of two virtual screens explaining and pointing out interesting things as the movie went along. At least there were two new commentaries included, but I would have liked to have seen the Maximum Movie Mode continued here.
Disc 1 - Ultimate Cut of the film
Zack Snyder Audio Commentary
Dave Gibbons Audio Commentary
BD-Live Functionality
Disc 2 - Special Features
The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics
Real Superheroes: Real Vigilantes
Mechanics: Technologies of a Fantastic World
Under the Hood
Story Within a Story
Watchmen: Video Journals
Music Video
Disc 3 - The Complete Motion Comic
Watchmen Motion Comic
Watchmen Video Journal: Dave Gibbons
Wonder Woman Sneak Peek
Since most of these features have been included in other sets, let me talk about the two new commentaries. Even though we don't get the maximum movie mode, Snyder does a good job of giving a very in-depth commentary. He talks about production, sets, characters, but he also talks about inserting the Black Freighter footage back into this cut and why the footage has been left on the cutting room floor for so long. The commentary is pretty good, but at some points it sounded like Synder was distracted for some reason. It's not Maximum Movie Mode, but I guess it's the next best thing. The Dave Gibbons commentary is also quite good albeit a bit more restrained than Synder's. With the running length of the film he has plenty of time to dissect Snyder's choices. He talks about his work on the original comic and working with Alan Moore. I personally think that if you're not obsessed with the original graphic novel you will probably end up turning this track off. On the second disc I will point out some of my favorite features. I really liked "Real Superheroes: Real Vigilantes" this feature talks about vigilantes from the 70's to present. It's interesting to hear these stories and it's a nice inclusion here. "The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics" is really in-depth and goes into a lot of detail on what it took to make the graphic novel. The Faux Documentary called "Under the Hood" is pretty cool. It's made to look like a Dateline type show from the 80's. Much of the conversation is with the original Night Owl. It gives you some interesting back stories for first-generation watchmen characters. If you're a fan of the movie and the graphic novel, this is for you.
On disc 3 you get the "Watchmen Motion Comic". If you have never read the original graphic novel, then this is a great way to experience it. You can read my full review of it here.
Overall there is a ton of great material here for the Watchmen fan!
9 out of 10
Overall
This is a set for someone who is a huge fan of the movie and the graphic novel. It might be a little overkill for the casual viewer. Warner has done a great job giving us a great transfer and great sound, and pretty much every extra that we could want. For the Watchmen fan this set comes highly recommended, but for the casual fan I would just stick with the previous directors cut.
9 out of 10