Guardians: Chapter 12024.
Directed by: Brandon Vietti.
Featuring the voices of Kelly Hu, Katee Sackhoff, Adrienne Barbeau, Grey Griffin, Titus Welliver, Matthew Rhys, Troy Baker, Jeffrey Combs, Yuri Lowenthal, Kari Wahlgren, Phil LaMarr, Dwight Schultz, Geoff Pierson, Michael Cerveris, Corey Burton, Jason Spisak, John Marshall Jones, Rick D. Wasserman and Max Koch.
SUMMARY
Chapter 1: In an alternate world history set in 1985, the murder of a government-sponsored superhero brings his outlawed colleagues out of retirement and embroils them in a mystery that threatens to turn their personal lives and the world at large upside down.
It is 2009. I see an adaptation of the classic Guardian Graphic novel. It’s 2019. I’m watching an adaptation of the classic Guardian Graphic novel. It is the year 2024. I am watching an adaptation of the classic Guardian Comic novel.
Guardian is without a doubt one of the most groundbreaking graphic novels of all time, one that defined the genre and helped to realize that comics aren’t just for young readers. DC and Warner Bros. Animation’s latest adaptation of the book stays much closer to the original than the live-action film, without making it feel like we’re just watching a big-budget motion comic. The voice acting is stellar, putting their own spin on Rorschach, Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre, with the animation highlighting the emotion the cast puts into their performances.
Similar to DC’s Batman: The Long Halloween, Guardian is divided into two chapter films with Chapter 1 ends about halfway through the book. At 78 minutes, the film keeps a good pace of the challenging story and even includes the Tales of the Black Freighter segments presented as a montage of comic panels in the right places. Some of the supplementary materials, such as Hollis Mason’s autobiography Under The Mask or the newspapers Nova Express and New Frontiersman, are mentioned or alluded to when not shown directly, but the film is still a complete retelling of the story without Zack Snyder’s added or altered scenes or his trademark ultra-violence.
However, the story does feel a little rushed at times, moving from one point to another too quickly for new viewers to really think about it. For example, the characters’ memories of the Comedian are not arranged in the order of the book, so they jump between different points in his life rather than in chronological order. This is a little jarring, as it hinders the natural development of the Comedian’s despicable character and philosophy, but it still makes it clear that this man was always a terrible person, even though his murder was the catalyst for the central mystery.
One of the most remarkable aspects Guardians: Chapter 1 is the animation, which has some similarities in style to Marvel’s “What if…?”. I admit that before watching the film I was a little unsure about the visuals, especially given the more “traditional” and dynamic animations we’ve seen lately. Batman: The Masked Crusader And X-Men ’97the latter was produced by Guardians: Chapter 1s animation studio, Studio Mir. I’m happy to say that the animation is impressive and captures the book’s vibrant colors and imagery. The movements are fluid and the characters are very expressive, especially during emotionally charged scenes like Comedian’s breakdown to Moloch or Dr. Manhattan’s transformation.
The actors are absolutely outstanding. The highlights are Titus Welliver as Rorschach, who, although seemingly inspired by Jackie Earle Haley’s voice in Snyder’s Guardianmanages to put his own spin on the character (especially in the brief flashback where Rorschach speaks normally). Katee Sackhoff gives a great performance as Laurie/Silk Spectre II, finding the layers of Laurie’s frustration and loneliness, while Matthew Rhys does a pretty good job of conveying Dan/Nite Owl’s depression and restlessness. Michael Cerveris also does a good job of portraying Manhattan’s growing alienation from humanity, even in his intentionally stilted performances. Rick D. Wasserman, Troy Baker, and Jeffrey Combs also give notable performances as the Comedian, Ozymandias, and Moloch, with Combs gaining a lot of sympathy through his portrayal of Moloch’s fatal cancer diagnosis.
Guardians: Chapter 1 is an entertaining adaptation of the classic comic book that brings it to life much closer to the actual book than previous adaptations. Some parts of the story feel a little rushed, but ultimately the main themes and mystery are brought across, while the cast delivers great performances that capture the seriousness and legacy of the comic. Fans of Guardian should enjoy the latest adaptation and be excited to see how it ends with the second chapter.
Assessment of the flickering myth – Movies: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Watchmen: Chapter 1 is now available digitally. It will be released on 4K UHD and Blu-ray on August 27th.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Þjórsárdalur for more movie news and nerd talk.
