(This review may contain spoilers).
I remember watching this movie originally when it came out at the cinema, but recently decided to watch it again, as it was available on Netflix.
It was interesting to see something of the contrasts between the two groups of heroes – or masked vigilantes. While I do like the chivalrous hero, the characters in this movie were far more gritty and had quite a lot of depth to them. Rorschach wasn’t the stereotypical hero, but I found him a lot more interesting.
I found Dr. Manhattan very hard to connect to, which I think was probably down to the character. He appeared to be divorced from his emotions, but even in the flashbacks, I didn’t really care that much for him. Especially after the way he broke up with his previous girlfriend and started a relationship with Laurie.
I would have liked more background on the individual characters. I saw what motivated Rorschach and I saw Dr. Manhattan’s past, but the others just seemed to be there. I wasn’t clear on why Dan joined the group. Or Adrian initially, even though both of them seemed quite idealistic at first, only to be later jaded. And it was an interesting twist to see them after they’d broken up and, in some cases, unmasked.
This movie was a lot darker than most comic-book based movies I’ve seen. The so-called good guys tended to be more in the grey area and I think perhaps Dan was the only one who I really saw as a hero. Though Laurie did demonstrate a lot of physical strength, even if I wasn’t sure I particularly liked her at times.
I had very mixed feelings about the ending, as this was a movie with characters I could understand even when they were on opposite sides. I imagine I’ll watch this movie again in the future and I would have liked to see a sequel to it.
Ink of Blood 