Redeeming Watchmen

OK, so I know it is technically not a "new" movie, but in order to show my cultural diversity, I thought I'd post some musings on the Watchmen movie, which I absolutely loved.

First, I agree the movie was violent. It is not your typical comic book movie. And people who were unfamiliar with the comic book would be understandably disappointed, especially if they were expecting something more along the lines of a Batman, Spiderman, X-Men, Superman, etc. Most of the characters are extremely flawed, anti-heroes at best. The world they inhabit is a dark place. It is a "more fallen" version of our world. To paraphrase Dr. Manhattan, it is a world that is a watch without a Watchmaker. And I think the movie does a great job portraying what that kind of world would look like.

As far as the excessive violence goes, I'll admit there were a few parts that shocked me. My initial thoughts were that they were too excessive. I felt uneasy watching some of them. But as I thought about it afterward, they were no more violent than the first 40 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. And the violence  of Watchmen was much less sporadic as well. And if the purpose of the violence was to show some of the truth of the horrors that can exist in our own fallen world, I think it served its purpose.

If we were to apply the litmus test of, say Philippians 4:8 to this movie, how would we respond?

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Is it true? I think there is plenty of truth in the movie; especially in the flawed characters and how tormented they were because of how ineffective their individual worldviews were for dealing with the world. In that respect, I think it was a just portrayal as well.

Was it honorable or commendable? I think parts of it were. The existence of miracles was promoted. The futility of placing all one's trust in the government, or in any individual for that matter, was also clearly communicated. Granted, the gospel was not communicated, and a message that we need to place our trust in God was not explicit at all, but that doesn't mean there weren't hints here or there. There was a great line at the end, where Dr. Manhattan recognizes that he is not divine. For all his power, he says, "I can not change human nature." Beautiful. I got chills when he said that. No matter how much man evolves, how powerful he gets, he can't change human nature.  That's Biblical!

Jeremiah 13:23: Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil.

Anyway, I could go on and on about some of the metaphysical questions Dr. Manhattan raises. I do think that implicit in the movie is this question: Who will save us? Not the government, not ourselves, and not any of the Watchmen. Who then?

If the world is a watch, then perhaps the answer can only be some sort of Divine Watchmaker!

All of that being said, I recognize this is not a movie for everyone. Certainly not for young kids. It deserves its R rating. I think it is one of those Love it or Hate it movies. People will love it or hate it. Kind of like the book The Shack (though comparisons stop there).

Artistically, and stylistically, I thought it was a great film. I knew the characters would not get too deep. I knew there would be some graphic fight scenes. The use of music in conjunction with the cinematography was incredible. Some of the shot compositions were just perfect. The way visual elements were woven together was also great; much like the comic book had done.

So I definitely fall into the Love It category, though as I said, I can fully understand why other people would strongly disagree with me. But I can't help but think that one of the underlying messages of the movie can also be found in Psalm 127, verse 1.

"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain."