Watchmen - Season 1 (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Creator: Damon Lindelof (screenplay writer for the Lost TV-series, Prometheus, Star Trek Into Darkness, World War Z)
	Actors: Regina King, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Tom Mison, Jeremy Irons (Die Hard 3), Tim Blake Nelson (O' Brother Where Art Thou?)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Fantasy, SF, Drama, Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: December 2019, VOD, 10" tablet screen.
Synopsis: In a uchronic world that has seemingly been attacked by an interdimensional giant squid 30 years ago, masked heroes are still outlawed. But the members of the 7th Kavalry (a branch of the KKK) do wear masks, as well as the police officers in the town of Tulsa.
Review: Watchmen was one of the first movies reviewed on JoRafCinema back in 2012. In that post I described the adaptation work that had been done by Zack Snyder from a cult comics book to a visual candy that was unfortunately quickly forgotten. I still like to watch it once in a while. But be careful: this TV-series by HBO is NOT a sequel to the movie but to the comics book. This is most important considering that the movie ending was changed with respect to the book and at some point the series doesn't make sense following the films ending. Having read the book will also make you enjoy other small details that were not adapted to the movie. So I can only warmly recommend you to read Watchmen the comics book before watching the series (I want to read it again). Well in fact there is not much way around it if you want to enjoy the show. At the very least you must read or watch a YouTube summary for example, like the brief one given by NewRockstars at the beginning of the their breakdown of the first episode. Still, when watching the series I couldn't help but constantly having scenes and music from the movie in my head, making me also want to watch it again! But I didn't find it to be a bad thing. Putting the ending aside, there are no conflicts between the movie and the series: the time period is different as are the main characters and the one that are common are shown aged or ... different (trying not to spoil). The main location is different (Tulsa) and the few common places (like Ozymandias' Karnak temple) just look the same. This is very well thought. About the cast: Regina King is pretty good especially when dressed at Sister Night, Don Johnson reminds of his role in Machete, Jean Smart plays excellently an old Laurie and Tim Blake Nelson is awesome as Looking Glass (he reminds so much of Rorschach when he eats from a can although he is not the same at all). Without forgetting Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Angela's companion, Hong Chau as Lady Trieu and some other masked heroes. But the best cast is Jeremy Irons as Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias. When the movie was released I was telling everybody that a young Jeremy Irons would have been perfect for the role of Veidt and that Matthew Goode who got the part was a valid lookalike. And now Irons IS Ozymandias. Awesome! He is so much better in that role than in the one of Alfred in the Ben Affleck Batman movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I only regret that his acting is not energetic enough even in the flashbacks, and DC could have used some the sweet Marvel de-ageing technology for a better effect. So what about the series?? I loved it, as reflected by the rating of 8/10. It takes a few episodes to dive into the tone that was selected and the strong emphasis on racial conflicts. Watching the YouTube review of the series first episodes Watchmen was already woke made me learn this new term that "refers to a perceived awareness of issues concerning social justice and racial justice". Yes the series is that, but it is totally fine as the comics book was also a reflection on the contemporary political / social landscape. The series pilot is also great at publicizing the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot which I though at first was a made-up event for the series (sadly it isn't, check the Wikipedia page). The series counts only 9 episodes but once you are familiar with the Universe, you get hit by the origin stories in S1E5 Little Fear of Lightning and the two best episodes of the season S1E7 This Extraordinary Being and S1E8 A God Walks into Abar. I enjoyed them like I haven't a movie or series in a long time. And I did so by taking my time and watching them in better conditions, one at a time and on a large TV. I realize I came that far without even mentioning the story! Well, tension rises in the town of Tulsa between masked bad guys and masked police officers. Slowly the link is made to the events of the Watchmen story. There are many mysteries at the beginning (the creators of the show did Lost) but answers come when needed so that you don't get frustrated like by that other show. The last episode S1E9 See How They Fly is slightly disappointing, I think because it suffers from the comparison with the crescendo of the three preceding ones. Still I appreciated the conclusion, and for one would be perfectly happy without further seasons.
Rating: 8 /10