Watchmen is a 2009 American superhero film based on the comic book series by Dave Gibbons, and published by DC Comics. Directed by Zack Snyder, and written by David Hayter and Alex Tse, the film stars Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson. A dark and dystopian deconstruction of the superhero genre, the film is set in an alternate history in the year 1985 at the height of the Cold War, as a group of mostly retired American superheroes investigate the murder of one of their own before uncovering an elaborate and deadly conspiracy with which they are all connected.
For nearly two decades from October 1987 until October 2005, a live-action film adaptation of the Watchmen series became stranded in development hell. Producers Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver began developing the project at 20th Century Fox, later moving it to Warner Bros. Pictures, the sister company of Watchmen publisher DC Comics, and hiring director Terry Gilliam, who eventually left the production and deemed the complex comic "unfilmable". During the 2000s, Gordon and Lloyd Levin collaborated with Universal Pictures, Revolution Studios and Paramount Pictures to produce the film. Directors David Hayter, Darren Aronofsky, and Paul Greengrass were attached to the project before it was canceled over budget disputes. In October 2005, the project returned to Warner Bros., where Snyder was hired to direct. Paramount remained as its international distributor, whereas Warner Bros. would distribute the film in the United States. However, Fox sued Warner Bros. for copyright violation arising from Gordon's failure to pay a buy-out in 1991, which enabled him to develop the film at the other studios. Fox and Warner Bros. settled this before the film's release, with Fox receiving a portion of the gross. Principal photography began in Vancouver, in September 2007. As with his previous film 300 (2006), Snyder closely modeled his storyboards on the comic but chose not to shoot all of Watchmen using green screens and opted for real sets instead.
Following its world premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on February 23, 2009, the film was released in the United States on March 6, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film underperformed at the box office, grossing $187 million against a production budget of $130–138 million. Greg Silverman (former Warner Bros. executive) said that the film did later become profitable through streaming and home video sales.
The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the striking visuals and the faithfulness to the source material, but criticized the complexity of the plot. A DVD based on elements of the Watchmen universe was released, including an animated adaptation of the Tales of the Black Freighter comic within the story voiced by Gerard Butler and a fictional documentary titled Under the Hood detailing the older generation of superheroes from the film's backstory. A director's cut with 24 minutes of additional footage was released in July 2009. The "Ultimate Cut" edition incorporated the animated comic Tales of the Black Freighter into the narrative as it was in the original graphic novel, lengthening the runtime to 3 hours and 35 minutes, and was released on November 10, 2009. The director's cut is generally viewed as an improvement over the theatrical release.
Plot In 1985, a man living in a Manhattan apartment watches news about escalating Cold War tensions and the response from five-term President Richard Nixon when an unknown assailant attacks and hurls him to the street below. Throughout the opening credits, a montage reviews the rise of costumed crime-fighters from 1939 to 1977, culminating in public backlash and the passage of an anti-vigilante act.
Rorschach, a vigilante detective who operates illegally, discovers that the dead man was Edward Blake, better known as "the Comedian", a costumed hero who worked for the government. Suspecting that other vigilantes could be attacked, Rorschach warns members of his former team, the Watchmen. Rorschach's former partner Daniel Dreiberg believes he is paranoid, but relays his concerns to Adrian Veidt, a crime-fighter turned businessman, who also dismisses them. Rorschach later visits Doctor Manhattan, a physicist whose accidental superpowers make him a national security asset, but Manhattan is preoccupied with energy research and ignores him.
At Blake's funeral, Manhattan, Adrian and Daniel each recall the Comedian's pessimism in his later years about the Watchmen's mission. After the service, a lone mourner pays his respects. Rorschach tracks down and questions the mourner, former supervillain Edgar Jacobi. Jacobi says that Blake had recently broken into his apartment while he was sleeping — tearful, unmasked, and incoherent. Rorschach is astonished but doubts that Jacobi would tell a lie so bizarre. During a press interview with Doctor Manhattan, an investigative journalist tells him that several people who had been in contact with Manhattan have developed cancer, including his former girlfriend. As other reporters mob Manhattan with questions, he snaps and exiles himself to Mars. Alone, Manhattan reflects on his existence and his regrets at allowing himself to be turned into a weapon. In his absence, the Warsaw Pact countries make aggressive moves, and Nixon prepares for war.
Adrian survives an assassination attempt, suggesting that Rorschach's "mask-killer" theory is correct. Daniel takes in Laurie Jupiter, a second-generation vigilante and estranged lover of Manhattan, to whom Daniel is attracted. Rorschach's investigation of the assassin leads him back to Jacobi. Rorschach finds Jacobi dead and himself framed for Jacobi's murder. After a battle with police, Rorschach is arrested and unmasked as a low-born vagrant. In prison, Rorschach defends his vigilantism to a psychiatrist, saying he cannot ignore evil and the people who cause it. Daniel and Laurie, after donning their costumes and saving multiple people from a burning building, have sex. Imprisoned crime boss Big Figure stages a riot as a cover for assassinating Rorschach. The attack fails, and Rorschach kills Big Figure and his accomplices before leaving the prison with Daniel and Laurie who have arrived to break him out.
Manhattan teleports Laurie to Mars while Daniel joins Rorschach's investigation of the Blake murder. Evidence points them to Adrian as the mastermind; they find him at an Antarctic hideout, where he has just overseen the activation of Doctor Manhattan's energy reactors in New York City and other locations across the planet. On Mars, Laurie tries to convince Manhattan that humanity is worth saving. She succeeds only when he learns that Laurie is Blake's illegitimate daughter, a fact so unlikely (as Blake had once tried to rape Laurie's mother) that it restores his respect for life.
Adrian admits orchestrating Manhattan's exile, staging the assassination, framing Rorschach, and killing Blake, who was spying on his activities. He has also executed the final step of his plan: turning the world against Manhattan by rigging his reactors to explode, killing 15 million people. Manhattan returns with Laurie to a devastated New York, pieces together what has happened, and teleports to Adrian's hideout. After a brief struggle, Adrian shows him that the world's countries have put aside their rivalries to focus on a common enemy: Doctor Manhattan.
Realizing the logic of Adrian's plan, the Watchmen agree to keep his secret, except for Rorschach, whom Manhattan reluctantly kills to preserve the new global peace. Manhattan departs permanently for another galaxy while Daniel rebukes Adrian's moral sacrifice, and Laurie finally comes to terms with her parentage. A New York tabloid editor, disgusted that there is no war to report on, tells a staff member to choose something from the "crank file", which contains Rorschach's journal.
Cast and characters
Production for Watchmen began casting in July 2007 for actors to double historical figures of the era—something director Zack Snyder declared would give the film a "satirical quality" and "create this '80s vibe". Snyder said he wanted younger actors because of the many flashback scenes, and it was easier to age actors with make-up rather than cast two actors in the same role. Snyder's son appears as a young Rorschach, while the director himself appears as an American soldier in Vietnam. Actor Thomas Jane was invited by Snyder, but declined to work in the film due to being too busy.
The Watchmen / The Crimebusters
Malin Åkerman as Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II: Åkerman described her character as a femme fatale as well as carrying the psychology and the emotion of the film. The actress worked out and trained to fight for her portrayal of the crime-fighter. In earlier attempts to make the film, Hilary Swank, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz, Jennifer Connelly, Kate Hudson, Milla Jovovich, and Jessica Alba were considered for the part of Laurie. According to Comic Book Resources, her characterisation (along with Nite Owl's) was changed from the original comics' model of gentle golden age heroes to one of a brutal fighter. Haley Guiel as Young Laurie Jupiter Billy Crudup as Jon Osterman / Doctor Manhattan: The only member of the group with genuine superpowers, Doctor Manhattan is virtually omnipotent and works for the U.S. government. He is a scientist who suffered an accident in 1959, giving him superhuman powers. Crudup plays Osterman in flashbacks as a human and is replaced for his post-accident scenes with a motion-capture CG version of himself. During filming, Crudup acted opposite his co-stars, wearing a white suit covered in blue LEDs, so he would give off an otherworldly glow in real life, just as the computer-generated Manhattan does in the movie. His body was modeled on that of fitness model and actor Greg Plitt. The crew then 3D-digitized Crudup's head and "frankensteined it onto Greg Plitt's body." Snyder chose not to electronically alter Crudup's voice for Manhattan, explaining the character "would try and put everyone as much at ease as he could, instead of having a robotic voice that I think would feel off-putting." Keanu Reeves was also offered the role. Reeves was interested in the role but he ultimately passed. Jaryd Heidrick as Young Jon Osterman Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias: A retired superhero who has since made his identity public. At first Snyder wanted Jude Law (a big fan of the character) for the part, but said that Goode was "big and tall and lean", which aided in bringing "this beautiful ageless, German superman" feel to the character. Goode interpreted Veidt's back-story to portray him with a German accent in private and an American one in public; Goode explained Veidt gave up his family's wealth and traveled the world, becoming a self-made man because he was ashamed of his parents' Nazi past, which in turn highlighted the themes of the American Dream and the character's duality. Snyder said Goode "fit the bill... We were having a hard time casting [the role], because we needed someone handsome, beautiful and sophisticated, and that's a tough combo." Tom Cruise was also interested in the part, and met with Snyder. However, Snyder revealed in 2024 that Cruise was more interested in the role of Rorschach, which had already been cast.