Watchmen: An HBO Limited Series Blu-Ray Studio: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Blu-ray Release Date: June 2, 2020 Also available on DVD, Digital and streaming
Synopsis: Set in an alternate history where "superheroes" are treated as outlaws, Watchmen embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, while breaking new ground of its own. Watchmen reunites executive producer Damon Lindelof with Academy and Emmy Award-winning actress Regina King leading the cast as Angela Abar/Sister Night. The series also stars Emmy Award winner Jean Smart, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Hong Chau, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Andrew Howard, Jacob Ming-Trent, Tom Mison, Sara Vickers and Dylan Schombing, with Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr., and Academy, Emmy and Tony Award winning actor Jeremy Irons.
Produced for HBO by White Rabbit in association with Warner Bros. Television, Watchmen was created for television by Lindelof based on characters co-created for DC by Dave Gibbons. The series is executive produced by Lindelof, Tom Spezialy, Nicole Kassell, Stephen Williams and Joseph E. Iberti.
Bonus Content: "Hooded Justice" featurette; "The Colossal King - Adrian Veidt" featurette; "Watchmen: Unmasked" featurette; "2019 New York Comic Con" Presentation; "Watchmen: Masked and Dangerous" featurette; Watchmen Official Trailer; Character Trailers: Sister Night, Blond Man and Looking Glass; "Becoming Sister Night" featurette; "Notes from the Watchmen graphic novel artist Dave Gibbons" featurette; "Rorschach" featurette; "Watchmen: Alternate History" featurette; "It's Raining Squids" featurette; "Squid Shelter with Tim Blake Nelson" featurette; "Andrij Parekh on Directing" featurette; "Sadiqua Bynum runs, jumps and falls for Sister Night" featurette; "Anatomy of a Fight Scene" featurette; and "Glimpses - The Visual Effects of Watchmen" featurette.
Watchmen: An HBO Limited Series Blu-ray Review by James Harvey
Despite the odds and improbability, like turning air to gold, HBO's Watchmen limited series channels the spirit of the source material and spins it into something deeply respectful but also blazingly original. Showrunner Damon Lindelof creates a poignant, compelling thriller that's evocative, gripping and perpetually surprising. HBO's Watchmen definitely isn't the take on the acclaimed graphic novel anyone was likely expecting, but the end result will stand nevertheless as one of the best comic adaptations ever made.
In an alternate version of modern-day Tulsa, one shaped by a history of masked vigilantes and state-sanctioned cover-ups, Detective Angela Abar dons a mask to investigate a white supremacist terrorist group inspired by Rorscach and named the Seventh Kavalry. As she digs deeper, she soon uncovers a tangled web of secrets linking her own family history to a decades-old conspiracy involving the original Watchmen. As major players and true intentions come to light, it quickly becomes clear that not just Tulsa but the entire world is in grave danger.
Ambitious and absolutely absorbing, HBO's Watchmen marries stunning visuals with a weighty, complex tale which progressively builds to a massively mind-melting finale. The masterful and mesmerizing storytelling, hypnotic right from the show's shocking and unsettling opening minutes, creates a vivid and visceral experience that's as arresting as it is addictive. As with the original comic series, this series just pulls you in with its impressive world-building, smart writing, and captivating characters, and doesn't let go.
Picking up roughly 35 years after the events of the original Watchmen comic series, the series follows Abar (Regina King), an undercover Tulsa police officer - her cover being that of a retired cop-turned-professional baker - who also happens to be the masked vigilante Sister Night. HBO's Watchmen story carefully weaves actual history with the world created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, creatively wrapping the two together to both fill in Abar's past and direct her investigation when she's rocked by a shocking murder. The series opens with a horrifying depiction of the real-life 1921 Tulsa massacre, unblinkingly so (though with respect given the subject matter), before dropping viewers in an alternate 2019 where Robert Redford has been president for over 25 years.
Racial tensions are at an all-time high in the alternate world established in HBO's Watchmen. Societal unrest has made it necessary for cops to wear masks, just like the treacherous white supremacists who pursue them, leading to an uncomfortable mixing of police force and superhero culture, though vigilantism is still outlawed. The series does a fantastic job at not only making this world feel real and lived-in, but also hauntingly tangible and just a few plausible steps away from our own reality. It's also a brutal reminder of the hearts broken, lives lost and the true cost of a world driven by hatred and division.
The best way to experience HBO's Watchmen is to go in as fresh as can be with as little as little about the show spoiled as possible. Revealing anything major beyond the set-up and world building established in the first episode risks ruining some riveting revelations and sizable shocks. At the risk of overselling it, yeah, HBO's Watchmen is just that good. And, really, all viewers need going in is knowledge of the original series by Moore and Gibbons.
Those unfamiliar with the original maxi-series launched in 1986 might get a little lost, but, to put it simply, everything that happened in that landmark comic is canon here. Dr. Manhattan, the U.S. winning the Vietnam War, the Minutemen, the giant squid, all of it. These events are either explicitly mentioned or referenced in roundabout ways throughout the series, but all are instrumental to the events which unfurl over HBO's Watchmen's nine-episode run. Some notable characters from the original DC Comics title, including Laurie Blake and Adrian Veidt, also play significant roles.
Unsurprisingly, this show's significantly sharp substance is matched by it's seriously fantastic flash. Lindelof and the creative team behind HBO's Watchmen series deftly balance the series' weighty drama and complex ideas with genuinely stunning presentation, especially when it comes to the show's clever set-pieces. The big action sequences offer up cool visuals and creative camera work, usually on a surprisingly large scale, while the smaller fisticuffs feel visceral and slick, hitting hard and playing out fast and furiously. Even the quiet moments tend to feel unexpectedly bold thanks to impeccable set dressing, exemplary cinematography, and a top-shelf soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
Helping to make this remarkable reality feel that much more authentic are the across-the-board phenomenal performances by HBO's Watchmen's mind-meltingly amazing cast. King, the show's central character, commands the screen every time she graces the screen, delivering a gripping performance that seamlessly slips back and forth between extremely vulnerable to fiercely guarded. She's legitimately incredible here, and that sentiment can basically be echoed to the cast across the board. Whether it's Don Johnson's charming sheriff, Tim Blake Nelson's enigmatic masked police officer, Jean Smart's angry and assertive former superhero-turned-FBI agent, Jeremy Iron's manic and morose prisoner, and so one, everyone absolutely and unquestionably excels.
Every aspect of HBO's Watchmen production comes together with such deliberate perfection that it's hard to find anything that sticks out as problematic. Sure, it would be easy to point to the odd bit of not-totally-convincing CGI, but that's really grasping at straws and also somewhat missing the point. The show's overall tone, mode, storytelling execution and the themes it tackles works in tandem to such a ridiculously exquisite degree, and it just keeps escalating with every episode to a cheer-worthy final scene. This is an ambitious series that delivers in every imaginable way.
For those looking to own this limited series, or checking it out for the first time, the Blu-ray release from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and HBO is a solid package and the best way to go about it. In terms of video and audio, with video up first, the 1080p transfer is occasionally stunning but always excellent, with no compression or transfer issues to be found. HBO's Watchmen not only looks great, but it sounds just as strong thanks for a hefty DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, which is immersive, heavy, and knows when to let loose when the action hits. Everything sounds (and sounds) crisp and clear.
When it comes to the bonus features (note: there's a full list of features at the top of the page), Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has dished out a pretty good collection of extras, though the bonus content rarely digs deep into the production of the series. There are some pretty informative special features to be fond here - such as the 2019 New York Comic-Con panel, a psychological dive into the act of wearing masks in "Watchmen: Unmasked," and nifty dives into Watchmen characters Hooded Justice and Adrian Veidt - but the vast majority of the content is simple marketing and EPK materials. There's plenty of nifty information to be found, but just don't expect a thorough look into the show's history and development.
When it comes to HBO's Watchmen, it's a constantly impressive and captivating series that wows with every turn (unlike the comic's disappointingly shallow big-screen adaptation back in 2009). This is also one of those rare series that not only holds up on repeat viewings, but actually becomes an arguably richer experience upon subsequent revisits when the viewer is able to experience each revelation in a different context (much like its classic four-color source material).
A remarkable series that lives up to its lofty ambitions, HBO's Watchmen is one of the best comic book adaptations ever made, be it for the big screen or small. It delivers some of the most impressive visuals on television, with imagery and acting just as layered and exceptional as the writing. HBO's Watchmen could conceivably (and easily) be considered a masterpiece, and it's every bit of a mesmerizing return to the world of the original trailblazing DC Comics title that any fan could hope for. Do Not Miss!
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Also Available: "Watchmen: Music From The HBO Series, Volumes 1 - 3" available from WaterTower Music
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