On the film itself, in so much as I remember it, however much I remember liking it, it somehow lacks something, I don't know what. I guess it is the undefinable quantity that I can call "It was worth watching", the one I always get when watching a superhero movie. Ancient Greeks might call it "Catharsis", I dunno. It seems that after watching a superhero movie, you come out of the movie theater relieved that a man who has some super powers, who could have used them to get super rich or powerful or anything, used them instead for the good of the world, his country, his city, his own.
That has been, for me the whole essence of those movies and I guess this is what I like them so much.
"The watchmen" is good in its own way, if one is to go beyond the "sleaze" or the absolute corruption of some of the "heros" in that film. In a way it is like a good digestive after "super hero" over consumption. It allows for some of the things we fear of watching in a super hero flick to become real. What if the super heros are actually bad, what if they are weak and eventually use their power to rape and pillage (much like the comedian did)? Or, what's even worse, having some of the super heroes over there play god? How could anyone do that, I wonder? How could anyone, despite all the powers they have (or think they do- as we must always remember that we are just human beings in the end and
"Watchmen" is just another movie in the end) abandon their people and go off to space and play "creator of the universe"?
I guess "Dr. Manhattan" is the penultimate anti-Superman. Not because he turned bad in the end-he didn't, but because he didn't care and just walked out. Superman (you can tell I'm a fan, right? even if Black Knight and Green Lantern are up there as well, with Batman being a favorite) cared. Not for himself but for everyone else. He used his gifts to do good, help out, stand up to evil. I guess people will always complain about how things in real life are infinitely more complex and in million shades of grey, whereas in the flicks things are just black and white with the "good guys" only picking white, but those are the movies, right? That's why we go there, to get "Katharsis" a good ol' cleansing of the soul, as true now as it was back in Ancient Athens'
tragedies, 2500 years ago. In this aspect, this movie shines, as it turns out that the "golden boy" who had it all and supposedly used his power for the progress of mankind was just a Dr. Manhattan-jealous prick who wanted to "become super duper majick empra" in the end. Supposedly looking for the environment and clean energy while always looking out for n.1 (himself) and becoming super-rich only to use that wealth to become a... paranoid megalomaniac delusional Nero in the end, ready to burn the entire world if that suited him.
What this movie did for me, however, is to make me go back to the superhero-action-cop flicks I love with a vengeance. Because in those films, all heroes face the ugly part of life, as they find it and either try to fix it or defeat it or get defeated trying. That's what heroes do, in the end. That's why, us, little people look up to them, knowing full well they aren't real. Because, by looking up to them, we can, even in the slightest, improve our own daily lives.
Let's not forget one thing. Some historians suggest that Alexander the Great "played Achilles" his entire life, aka lived his life as his supposed ancestor and mythical figure Achilles, did and did things as he perceived Achilles would do. For Alexander, his life was his own Iliad. That was the reason why he jumped over that wall and was alone fighting against an entire city. Guess what? He became Alexander the Great in the end, a real legend which will always defeat a fictional mythological character called "Achilles". I needn't say, again, "do not try to become Alexander the Great", because, we are fortunate enough to have RTW for this, and rule our imaginary lands to our hearts' content. Our own daily lives, as insignificant and as boring as they may seem, are, in a sense, greater than Alexanders' because, those of us who made it, can go back to a home of their own and loving wife and children. (best of luck to everyone else). That is no small feat. Alexander the great, may have beaten the world, but he couldn't defeat himself. Anyone who is raising a family, has done it and is doing it every single day, again and again and again. Some may falter, true, but that's where the "movie world" comes to aid the real world. By allowing us to "cleanse our soul" off all filth that can accumulate, we can go back in the real world better people.
Nobody's saying that a movie can be any replacement for spiritual guidance found in a Church, Mosque or Synagogue, therapy if such is needed or medication if doctors prescribe it. A movie can't be a cure-all, nor is that its purpose. I can't imagine, however, a better way for anyone to learn a little bit about themselves than by watching a movie and playing a game in PC or elsewhere. What we would do in both, sometimes is exactly what we will do in real life. The huge difference of course is that we might actually understand we do something wrong in the fictional world and try to fix it in the real world. Something as simple as taking our responsibilities more seriously, wherever those lie. No, no need to don on spandex to become a super hero. Being responsible for the things we can help with is just as good, I think.