Watchmen: Chapter II review

WATCHMEN: CHAPTER II: 

SOLID SECOND CHAPTER OF GROUNDBREAKING GRAPHIC NOVEL ADAPTATION! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

WARNER BROS. ANIMATION AND PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Dr. Manhattan, The Comedian, Ozymandias, Rorschach, Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre II in Watchmen: Chapter II

 

            The Watchmen are back in Watchmen: Chapter II, the second part (Chapters 6-12) of Warner Bros. Animation’s 2-part animated adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ groundbreaking DC Comics graphic novel. I already mentioned this in my Chapter I review, but I love the original Watchmen comic and even have a soft spot for Zack Snyder’s 2009 film adaptation of it despite some flaws with it, I have yet to watch the HBO Watchmen miniseries though. 

            I was very impressed with the first chapter of the animated Watchmen adaptation and thought it was better paced and had more of an understanding of the source material than the Zack Snyder movie though that one was still a mostly faithful retelling of the story. Well, now that I’ve gotten films like The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Kraven the Hunter, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Nosferatu, and Mufasa: The Lion King done with, I can finally talk about the second chapter of Watchmen…it’s really good! 

            I can’t say that it’s better than Chapter I since it’s two parts of a larger story and both parts are integral to fully understanding it. But Watchmen: Chapter II effectively continues the story of the comic in a faithful way while retaining the emotional weight and cerebral themes of the source material. 

            The film is set right after Rorschach (voiced by Titus Welliver-Sons of Anarchy, The Town, Argo) was arrested at the end of Chapter I with Nite Owl (voiced by Matthew Rhys-Brothers & Sisters, The Americans, The Owl House) and Silk Spectre II (voiced by Katee Sackhoff-Battlestar Galactica, Robot Chicken, The Mandalorian) breaking him out of prison during a riot. But when it turns out the murder of The Comedian (voiced by Rick D. Wasserman-The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Batman: The Killing Joke, Constantine: City of Demons) and murders of other former costumed heroes might actually be for something much bigger, like a possible World War III and a dastardly conspiracy surrounding former superhero, Ozymandias (voiced by Troy Baker-Marvel Animated Universe, DC Animated Universe, The Legend of Vox Machina), Rorschach, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, and Dr. Manhattan (voiced by Michael Cerveris-Fringe, Treme, Ant-Man and the Wasp) must do everything they can to prevent it. 

            The film also features the voices of Jason Spisak (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Batman: Hush) as Doug Roth, Phil LaMarr (Futurama, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Samurai Jack) as Bernie, Kari Wahlgren (Ben 10, Rick and Morty, Sym-Bionic Titan) as Sylvia Kovacs, John Marshall Jones (White Men Can’t Jump, Con Air, Bosch) as Malcolm Long and Otis, Max Koch as Bernard, Lawrence Andrews, and President Nixon, Phil Fondacaro (Monster High, The Polar Express, Land of the Dead) as Tom Ryan/Big Figure, Adrienne Barbeau (Batman: The Animated Series, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Argo) as Silk Spectre I, and Geoff Pierson (Changeling, J. Edgar, Rules Don’t Apply) as Nite Owl I. 

            Overall, Watchmen: Chapter II is exactly what you’d expect if you watched Chapter I or read the graphic novel, the second part of the Watchmen storyline adapted faithfully to animation. With it being split into two movies, it allows certain plot details and characters to be expanded upon and fleshed out without the worry of going beyond its target runtime which I’m pretty sure the 2009 Zack Snyder film fell victim to though I admire the attempt there. 

            As mentioned before in my Chapter I review, the CG animation is pretty hit-or-miss with some of it looking good during action scenes while other times it looks stilted and almost like a video game cutscene. Still, it is neat to see panels from Moore and Gibbons’ graphic novel recreated in animation form which I’m sure will please fans of the comic. 

            The movie doesn’t really do anything new with the story and if you read the comic and/or seen the Zack Snyder movie, you pretty much already know everything that’s going to happen between these two parts. However, unlike the 2009 Watchmen movie, this one’s got the motherfucking giant squid and it is glorious! 

            But like I said, because this Watchmen adaptation is split between two movies, it allows the story and characters to breathe and expand on plot details that were either skimped over or removed entirely from the Snyder movie. I enjoy the 2009 Watchmen movie, but these two animated adaptations are paced a lot better and probably closer to what fans of the comic want out of a film adaptation. 

            I was very impressed by Watchmen: Chapters I and II and whether you’re a fan of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ original comic and/or Zack Snyder’s 2009 film adaptation, these are worth checking out. It’s a solid retelling of one of the greatest comic books of all time and will hopefully lead to more animated adaptations of fan-favorite DCcomics like V for Vendetta or better yet, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.