CINEMA REWIND

If you hated the theatrical release of Watchmen, this new cut will likely not change your mind much.  Most of the violence is still ridiculously and unnecessarily gory (in fact, the attempted assassination of Veidt now includes another little bit where his secretary gets her fingers shot off), the ending has not been altered in any way (which I am fine with, but I know many wanted the squid and/or a discussion between Veidt and Manhattan), Dr. Manhattan's blue penis is still a little distracting, and the acting can be a mixed bag at times.

For those that were willing to overlook some of the film's issues, the director's cut is a lot of fun.  Nearly every scene in the first hour has been extended in some way. In some cases small extra events occur (Comedian shooting from a helicopter in the Vietnam segment), while in others it may just be the inclusion of a single line ("possible homosexual, must investigate further").  Most of what is added in the first hour goes to improving the pace of the film and appeasing fans of the graphic novel.  

The hour and a half that follows the first hour is really where Watchmen has greatly improved.  Many completely new scenes have been added.  Laurie is now questioned by government officials where Dr. Manhattan went after the disastrous interview, filling in the theatrical release's plot hole of how Nixon knew he went to Mars.  Rorschach investigates the home of the man who attempted to assassinate Veidt, allowing the conspiracy plot to flow much nicer.  A few scenes featuring Hollis Mason were added, helping to emotionally round the film.  The right-wing propaganda that is The New Frontiersman is explained, thanks to the inclusion of the two Bernies at the newsstand.  Other scenes are just lengthened, but do wonders to improve Watchmen.  Rather than instantly cutting to Mars after Dr. Manhattan's interview,  we are now shown  him standing alone in the studio after teleporting the entire audience out of the building, along with Hollis and Dan watching the ensuing television report.  The conversation on Mars with Laurie and Dr. Manhattan has also been extended.  There no longer is the feeling that we're watching a checklist of Watchmen moments.  Everything flows.  

Malin Akerman improves in this cut.  She gets some extra scenes and lines that flesh out her character Laurie quite a bit compared to what was in the theatrical version.  Her acting even feels a little more natural this time.  My one complaint about the cut is that we still do not get enough Veidt before the last thirty minutes.  He was only in a handful of scenes in the two and a half hour version.  And now he's only in a handful of scenes in the three hour version.  Granted, he wasn't featured very often in the earlier parts of the graphic novel, but at least there he got to explain his past at the end.  The film devotes only a single line to it.

Watchmen is beautiful, audacious, fun, and now greatly improved.  The director's cut of Watchmen releases July 21st on DVD and blu-ray.