Watchmen Review

Messages: Dark, complex messages about issues like morality, humankind's basic nature, and the specter of mass global destruction. There's not much here that falls into clearly "right" or "wrong" categories; it's all muddled and ambiguous.

Role models: Unlike traditional superhero films, which draw clear lines between the evil villains and the valiant heroes, the characters here are all very complex antisuperheroes, with complicated motivations and sometimes questionable ends. They all believe they're doing the right thing, though to accomplish their goals they may have to break the law, beat up a few people, or worse; the climax presents a huge moral dilemma, as one character concocts a heinous plot aimed at achieving a noble aim -- but at an enormous cost.

Violence: Several intense martial arts fight scenes with close-up, slo-mo shots of limbs breaking, faces being smashed into walls and furniture, and people being stabbed, punched, and kicked across the room. The film opens with a man being beaten severely and then thrown from a high rise window to his death. A woman is savagely beaten and almost raped. One character seems to relish carnage, whether it's on the battlefield or during an urban riot, while another shows no emotions as he methodically attacks people in inventive and painful ways, including pouring boiling oil on one attacker, sawing off someone's hands and electrocuting him, and taking a meat cleaver to a child rapist. A young child's corpse is eaten by dogs, and the ashes of the rest of her remains are shown in a furnace.

Sex: A few long, intimate close-up sex scenes include partial male and female nudity. The only character who's computer enhanced wears no clothing at all and walks around with his penis visible (it's blue, but it's definitely a penis). A prostitute propositions customers on the sidewalk, graphically flashing her breasts. Porn magazine Hustler is visible on a coffee table.

Language: Plenty of swearing, including "goddamn," "f--k," "s--t," "prick," "bastard," and other choice words.

Consumerism: Tie-in to vast quantities of related merchandise. Almost nothing except for a fleeting glance of Fuji Film (remember the non-digital camera days?).

Drinking, drugs and smoking: Some characters smoke; one has a fondness for cigars. Several scenes feature bars and drinking. One woman seems to have a drinking problem and is rarely seen without a drink in her hand.