Blu-Ray Review:
Watchmen: The Motion Comic
By Jason Gillard
*Screen shots are not from the Blu-Ray source.
Movie
Currently we are in the midst of Watchmen mania. The film has just came out and that was a miracle in itself because many thought it was un-filmable. But for those of you who haven't read the 12 part series by Allan Moore and Dave Gibbons, you really are missing out. Head out to the store and purchase your copy. If you are one of those people though who are more visual you will be happy to know that Warner Bros has brought us Watchmen: The Motion Comic. This contains all 5 chapters brought to life with minimal animation. They have added a score, sound effects and a single person doing all the voices. Personally I think this is fantastic and it brings to life the comic in away that was never seen before. All of the comics original graphics have been restored and recoloured making it look unbelievable. If you don't know anything about the series you should know that the comic is for mature audiences. There is a wide range of subject material that would not be suitable for younger viewers. For those who don't know, Watchmen is set in the 1980's in an alternate past. A group of heroes are forced into retirement by the KEEN act set down by president Richard Nixon. One of the heroes, named the Comedian, is thrown out of a window and it appears that someone is targeting masked heroes. Rorschach is on a mission to find out who is behind this. As he reconnects with his former crime fighting buddies he sets off to find out who is behind this and discovers a threat to all mankind. The graphic novels are fascinating landing it on Time magazines top 100 novels of all time. There is a lot of material here and it will take you over 5 hours to get through it, but WB has done a fantastic job of bringing these still panels to life.
9 out of 10
Video
I had just recently read the graphic novel and I was wondering how these motion comics might look. Well I have to say Warner has done an impressive job with this 1080p transfer. Everything comes across super sharp. Text bubbles could be viewed from far away because they are so crisp. They have also went back and given the original artwork an infusion of colour which just jumps off the screen. The graphic novel has never looked so good. Black levels are at there inky best. There is some minor edge enhancement but nothing that distracts from the picture you're watching. I found myself riveted to the story and the beautiful transfer and at times pausing the disc just to look at the incredible artwork. If you haven't read the comic this is certainly a great way of seeing it. Overall great job here.
9 out of 10
Audio
WB has given us a 5.1 Dolby Digital TrueHD track. The narrator's voice is spread out across the front 3 channels. The LFE channel is present but not in a large way. You have to remember this is more like listening to an audio book than watching a feature film. Sure there is a score and sound effects, but it will depend on your expectations, whether you're impressed with this track. For me it sounds great and is exactly what it should be, sound is there to support the story and nothing else. My only complaint would be I really didn't like the narrator's voice for the female parts in the story. Other than that I was quite pleased with what was presented here.
8 out of 10
Extras
Here is what's included in the way of extras:
3-minute featurette about the upcoming Zach Snyder adaptation
10-minute extended preview of Bruce Timm's Wonder Woman.
That's all there is. In this instance I am not sure I can complain considering the feature is over 5 hours. But it would be nice if they had a feature on how they created these motion comics.
5 out of 10
Overall
If you're a fan of Watchmen you should pick this up right away. If you are just curious maybe a rental would be a good idea. Warner has produced something with a great transfer and decent audio bringing all 12 chapters back to life.
9 out of 10
Watchmen: The Motion Comic Blu-ray is available now from Amazon.com