Watchmen: Chapter II

• Directed by Vinton Heuck and Brandon Vietti
• November 26, 2024
• Based on the 1986 to 1987 DC Comics limited series Watchmen co-created by Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore

Voice Cast

• Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl II /Sam Hollis, Max Shea, Michael Stephens, Prisoner #1-Matthew Rhys
• Laurie Juspeczyk/Silk Spectre II/Sandra Hollis-Katee Sackhoff
• Walter Kovacs/Rorschach-Titus Welliver
• Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias, Derf, Laurence Schexnayder, Gerald Grice, News Announcer-Troy Baker
• Edward Blake/Comedian-Rick D. Wasserman
• Sally Jupiter/Silk Spectre I, Police Dispatcher-Adrienne Barbeau
• Jonathan Osterman/Dr. Manhattan, Police Guard #2-Michael Cerveris
• Hollis Mason/Nite Owl I, Prison Guard #1-Geoff Pierson
• Female Knot Top, Sylvia Kovacs-Kari Wahlgren
• Knot Top #2, Seymour David, Bully #1-Yuri Lowenthal
• Comic Book Narrator, Bernie, Male Citizen #1-Phil LaMarr
• Doug Roth, Hector Godfrey, Bully #2-Jason Spisak
• General #1, Otis, Malcolm Long-John Marshall Jones
• Hira Manish, Newscaster-Zehra Fazal
• Bernard, President Nixon, Lawrence Andrews-Max Koch
• Tom Ryan/Big Figure-Phil Fondacaro
• Female Citizen #1, Advisor #1-Grey Griffin
• Attendant #1-Long Nguyen

The mystery deepens leading to the discovery of a shocking conspiracy.

Looking back at my discussion of Watchmen: Chapter I, I cannot say I was not thrilled with it. We got there pretty much what we got in the first half of Zach Snyder’s Watchmen which made me somewhat question why even do another version of the story if you are going to ape the previous version almost one-to-one. Pretty quickly though Watchmen: Chapter II gives us a little bit more than the live action film did. We get a better explanation of why Rorschach, well, became Rorschach which connects to the real-world murder of Kitty Genovese which was (erroneously at the time reported by The New York Times as having been) witnessed by 40 people who did nothing.

It also goes into better detail on the relationship between Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II much more than the film ever did. This combined with the additional Rorschach information provided a nice balance. It comes together well in the previously seen prison riot making that moment come off with a different feel.

Overall there is a noticeable amount of new in comparison to Chapter I or even the live action Watchmen. There are expansions upon scenes or characters not done previously. We have a moment connected to the conspiracy on an island though that was unnecessary. It added nothing to the story that later elements did not. Not as egregious as Nite Owl’s erectile issues outside of his costume though.

Dr. Manhattan’s ability to see the future and past kind of fades in importance even though it is a key hindrance to completing the plot. It becomes more of a novelty than anything else. It’s a very significant ability, but one that nobody really cares too much about here. They should be horrified or angry that Ozymandias did to further his own plans. Yet they barely even remark on it.

There are things that get treated casually that should be a bigger deal when learned like Laurie Juspeczyk being conceived via a rape by the Comedian. It is also important that her mother Sally became okay with that and even looked back fondly on the man. Snyder at least paid some attention to it!

And it seems a little stupid to take the last name of ‘Hollis’ when Dan and Laurie decided to disappear by creating new identities. It’s even stupider to go visit someone you have a personal connection with while under your new identities. If the police are looking for you they will find you if you do that. So would anybody else looking for you. You might as well just walk into the police station and give yourself up. 

They still use computer animation meant to look hand drawn. The style is reminiscent of the cut scenes from the Avatar: The Last Airbender Xbox videogame. It’s okay but so much weaker than the fading art of traditional animation. It does not have the same punch. Anywho…

Directors Vinton Heuck and Brandon Vietti give a sense of things spinning out of control but the ending felt a touch muted. I’m not saying the finale is boring but it takes so much of what I thought was a quieter approach to things than the Zack Snyder’s watchmen did. That’s for the better. It helps the film stand by itself and makes it feel slightly more intelligent. 

I liked Watchmen: Chapter II more than Watchmen: Chapter I. It was different enough from the live action film that I felt the audience got something at least a little unique in comparison to the first half. There is more meat here to keep you hooked.

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Certainly not perfect and with a first half that feels like a retread of the live action film Watchmen: Chapter I and Watchmen: Chapter II are not bad. The second half is a much more an original take on the story and this probably should have been one long film rather than two short films. Neither is a waste though.