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WARNER

MOVIE INFO

Director:
Brandon Vietti
Cast:
Titus Welliver, Matthew Rhys, Katee Sackhoff
Writing Credits:
J. Michael Straczynski

Synopsis:
In an alternate 1985, the murder of a government-sponsored superhero draws his outlawed colleagues out of retirement and into a mystery that threatens to upend their personal lives and the world itself.

MPAA:
Rated R.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Spanish Dolby 5.1
Subtitles:
English
Spanish
French
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English
Spanish
French

Runtime: 84 min.
Price: $24.99
Release Date: 8/27/2024

Bonus:
&bull: “Worldbuilding” Featurette
• “Introducing the Story” Featurette


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RELATED REVIEWS


Watchmen Chapter I [Blu-Ray] (2024)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (September 25, 2024)

Across 1986-87, a limited-series comic called Watchmen created a sensation. This led to a mix of cinematic adaptations that continues apace with 2024’s animated Watchmen Chapter I.

Set during an alternate version of 1985 in which the US won the Vietnam War and Nixon remains president, Watchmen posits a world in which superheroes have been banned.

Most go underground or into retirement. Only two heroes – nearly omnipotent Dr. Manhattan (voiced by Michael Cerveris) and hotheaded Comedian (Rick D. Wasserman) – operate with government approval.

Borderline psychopathic Rorschach (Titus Welliver) continues to do his thing as a vigilante, however. When government official Edward Blake gets murdered, Rorschach discovers that Blake was The Comedian, and he sets out to solve the crime.

This leads to a potentially deeper plot. Questions remains whether The Comedian’s death was an isolated incident or a grander scheme to eliminate superheroes from the world. As Rorschach attempts to discover the truth, we follow his former compatriots and learn more about their lives and situations.

If that synopsis looks familiar, it’s because I used it for prior Watchmen reviews. This 2024 version follows a 2009 ”motion comic” take as well as that same year’s big-screen adaptation.

2019 brought a ”limited series” that expanded on the Watchmen universe but for once didn’t tell the same story. Chapter I goes back to the source for yet another retelling of the narrative from the 1980s comic.

Or half of it, at least. As implied by the title, Chapter I brings only part of the story, with Chapter II due for release in 2025.

If one expects Chapter I to tamper with the source, one won’t find much in terms of deviation. For better or for worse, the film adheres closely to the original comics.

In theory, I don’t mind this. However, given that we’ve already seen other adaptations of the property, I can’t help but wish that Chapter I branched out in some ways.

The Complete Motion Comic took its title seriously and literally reproduced the original graphic novel. At nearly five and a half hours, it becomes easily the most extensive take on the property.

The theatrical Watchmen spanned 162 minutes, and the “Director’s Cut” found on the home video release went 186 minutes. Filmmaker Zack Snyder put out an even longer edition of the movie via a 215-minute Collector’s Edition that incorporated Tales of the Black Freighter.

In the original graphic novel, a kid read a Black Freighter comic and we saw snippets of it that acted as a form of Greek Chorus to reflect on the main narrative. Snyder largely left this material out of his live-action film but allowed it back into the 215-minute edition.

One assumes the combined two chapters of this animated Watchmen will total about 168 minutes. That means it doesn’t have the space to reproduce everything from the source but it still allows for the project to cover most of the narrative.

In any case, even though it may edit out some information to fit that running time, Chapter I still sticks closely to the comics. As mentioned, this might not become the best choice due to the Been There, Done That factor.

I simply question whether fans “need” another fairly literal retelling of the tale. I thought Snyder did very well with his live-action version, and the “Motion Comic” acted as a good solution for those who wanted an elongated animated production.

Well, semi-animated, as the “Motion Comic” created modest movement. It also used one actor for all the voices, so Chapter I clearly offers a more traditional animated project.

I just can’t help but find it unnecessary, though perhaps I might feel differently if it showed a bit more pizzazz. With such a literal reproduction of the source, Chapter I lacks a lot of life and it seems more dutiful than creative.

Although Chapter I proves watchable, it just never connects with what made Watchmen special. It feels as though the filmmakers worried that if they tried anything fresh, fans would reject it so they played it safe.

It doesn’t help that neither the animation nor the voice acting work especially well. In the former domain, we get computer-created cartoons that move in an awkward and off-putting manner.

The animation rarely feels natural. Although the film reproduces the look of Watchmen acceptably well, the oddly smooth visuals create a disconnect.

None of the actors manage to do much with their parts either. Welliver makes Rorschach sound more like Krusty the Clown than a psychotic anti-hero, and the others just blend into the background.

Because the source remains so compelling, Chapter I keeps us with it. Unfortunately, it winds up as a lackluster retelling of the tale.


The Disc Grades: Picture A-/ Audio B+/ Bonus C-

Watchmen Chapter I appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. I felt consistently pleased with this strong presentation.

No issues with sharpness emerged. The movie always came across as tight and well-defined, so don’t expect any signs of softness.

Jaggies and moiré effects also remained absent, and the image lacked edge haloes or artifacts. In addition, source flaws were a non-factor and didn’t appear at any point.

In terms of colors, Chapter I went with a palette that favored subdued hues, though they popped to life when appropriate. The tones looked solid, as they showed positive richness and vivacity.

Blacks were deep and tight, while shadows showed nice clarity. Across the board, the image worked well.

I thought the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Chapter I opened up the superhero narrative well. With plenty of action, the mix added pizzazz to the program.

The forward channels brought out the majority of the material. Music presented strong stereo imaging, while effects cropped up in logical spots and blended well.

The surrounds also contributed good information. For the most part, these reinforced the forward channels, but they also brought us a fair amount of unique material, instances that mainly occurred during bigger action scenes. The back speakers brought out a nice sense of space and environment.

Audio quality always satisfied. Speech was warm and natural, without edginess or other issues. Music sounded lively and full, while effects displayed good definition.

Those elements seemed accurate and dynamic. All of this led to a positive presentation that deserved a “B+”.

Two featurettes appear, and Worldbuilding runs nine minutes, two seconds. It involves director Brandon Vietti, graphic novel editor Barbara Kesel, co-creator/artist Dave Gibbons, DC president/publisher/CCO Jim Lee, producer Jim Krieg, storyboard artist Danica Dickison, character designer Dusty Abell,

The program examines aspects of the source comic. Too much of this feels like praise for the original work, but we still get some good insights.

Introducing the Story spans nine minutes, 50 seconds. It offers comments from Gibbons, Vietti, Krieg, Dickison, producer Cindy Rago, and art director Jonathan Hoekstra.

Here we learn about the original property’s adaptation for this animated version. Expect a decent examination of these choices.

Adapted from a legendary 1980s comic series, Watchmen Chapter I offers an animated take on the first half of that narrative. While faithful to the source and reasonably entertaining, Chapter I comes with a few snarls that mean it doesn't quite connect. The Blu-ray boasts very strong picture and audio as well as minor supplements. Perhaps Chapter II will elevate the material better than the first part does.

Viewer Film Ratings: 3 Stars Number of Votes: 2
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