Watchmen

Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder. Based on the 1986-1987 comic book limited series Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the film adaptation stars Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson, Matt Frewer, Stephen McHattie, and Laura Mennell. Set in an alternate-history 1985, Watchmen follows a group of former vigilantes as tensions heighten between The United States and The Soviet Union while an investigation of an apparent conspiracy against them uncovers something even more grandiose and sinister. The film began shooting in Vancouver in September 2007. As with his previous film 300, Snyder closely modeled his storyboards on the comic, but he chose to not shoot all of Watchmen using chroma key and opted for more sets.

Following the series' publication, the film adaptation was mired in development hell. Producer Lawrence Gordon began developing the project at 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. with producer Joel Silver and director Terry Gilliam, the latter eventually deeming the complex novel "unfilmable". During the 2000s, Gordon and Lloyd Levin collaborated with Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures to produce a script by David Hayter. Darren Aronofsky and Paul Greengrass were also attached to the project before it was canceled over budget disputes. The project returned to Warner Bros., where Snyder was hired to direct – Paramount remained as international distributor. 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.

Watchmen was released in both conventional and IMAX theaters on March 6, 2009, grossing $55 million on the opening weekend, and with a total income of over $180 million at the worldwide box office as of April 21, 2009. Watchmen divided film critics; some critics gave it overwhelmingly positive reviews for the dark and unique take on the superhero genre, while others derided it for the same reason, as well as the R-rating, the time length, and the much-publicized accuracy to the graphic novel.

A DVD based on elements of The Watchmen universe was released, including an animated adaptation of the comic Tales of the Black Freighter within the story, starring Gerard Butler, and the documentary Under the Hood, detailing the older generation of superheroes from the film's back-story. An extended edition of the film, with Tales of the Black Freighter interspersed through the main storyline in a manner reminiscent of the comic, is also forthcoming.

The story takes place in an alternate timeline in which masked, costumed vigilantes fight crime in America. In the 1930s and 40s, the vigilantes form a group called The Minutemen. Decades later, a second generation of superheroes attempt to form a team as well, calling themselves The Watchmen. Various historical events are shown to have been altered or impacted by the existence of superheroes, such as The assassination of John F. Kennedy and The Vietnam War. The American victory in the Vietnam War, due to the intervention of the godlike being Dr. Manhattan, leads to Richard Nixon's third term as President following the repeal of term limits in the United States. By the 1980s, however, the Watchmen have been outlawed, and tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union have escalated The Cold War with threats of nuclear attack.

By 1985, only three adventurers remain active: The Comedian and Dr. Manhattan, who act with government sanction, and the masked vigilante Rorschach, who refuses to retire and remains active illegally. Investigating the murder of government agent Edward Blake, Rorschach, knowing that Blake was The Comedian, concludes that someone is trying to eliminate masked heroes. He goes off to warn his retired comrades: the emotionally detached Dr. Manhattan and his lover Laurie Jupiter (the second Silk Spectre), Dan Dreiberg (the second Nite Owl), and Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias), but makes little progress.

After Blake's funeral, Dr. Manhattan is accused of causing the cancers afflicting his former girlfriend and colleagues from before the accident that turned him into the being he is now. Manhattan exiles himself to Mars, giving the Soviet Union the confidence to invade Afghanistan in his absence. Later, Rorschach's conspiracy theory appears to be justified when Adrian, who had long since made his identity as Ozymandias public before retiring, narrowly avoids an assassination attempt, and Rorschach himself is framed for murder.

Meanwhile, Laurie, having previously broken up with Manhattan, falls in love with Dan, and the two former heroes decide to come out of retirement as they grow closer to one another. After breaking Rorschach out of prison alongside Nite Owl, Silk Spectre is confronted by Manhattan, who takes her to Mars and explains he is no longer interested in humanity, denying her request to intervene. Probing her memories, they both discover that The Comedian is her father. His interest in humanity renewed, Manhattan returns to Earth with Silk Spectre.

Investigating further into the conspiracy, Rorschach and Nite Owl discover that Adrian may be behind everything. Rorschach records his suspicions in his journal, and posts it to a newspaper office. Rorschach and Nite Owl confront Adrian, presumably now Ozymandias once again, in his Antarctic retreat. Ozymandias confirms that he is the mastermind behind The Comedian's murder, Manhattan's exile, and the framing of Rorschach; he also staged his own assassination attempt to place himself above suspicion. He explains that his plan is to unify the United States and Soviet Union and prevent nuclear war by destroying the world's main cities with exploding energy reactors he had Dr. Manhattan create for him under the pretense of providing free energy for the world. Rorschach and Nite Owl attempt to stop him, only to find his plan has already been enacted; the energy signatures are recognized as Dr. Manhattan's, and the two opposing sides of the Cold War unite to combat their "common enemy."

Laurie and Manhattan arrive at the ruins of New York City and realize Ozymandias's plan. They arrive to confront him, only to agree that, with the cessation of hostilities around the world, this conspiracy is best left unrevealed to the public. Rorschach, however, is unwilling to compromise, and leaves to reveal the truth. He is confronted by Manhattan who vaporizes him after stating that only death would stop him from revealing the truth. Manhattan shares a final kiss with Laurie and departs for another galaxy.

With the end of The Cold War and the transformation of humanity into a united front, Laurie and Dan return to the destroyed New York City, which is being rebuilt, and begin a new life. Meanwhile, a newspaper editor in New York complains about how there is nothing worthwhile to print; he lets a young employee look for something to run in a collection of crank letters, among which is Rorschach's journal.