Watchmen (2019)

:

Season 1
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Oct 20, 2019
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 504 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 279 out of 504
  2. Mixed: 40 out of 504
  3. Negative: 185 out of 504

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  1. Drebb
    Oct 29, 2019
    0
    Wow, what a waste of time...if you’re a fan of the comics this is NOT for you.
  2. jameshowlett89
    Oct 30, 2019
    2
    Nothing like the comic or movie, Moore didn't even approve of this trash. Only giving it 3 cause cinematography is nice.
  3. TheMajinTrunks
    Oct 31, 2019
    0
    Original watchmen: existential themes of morality, life, death, love, politics.

    This show: racism is bad, but we're like really really pretentious about it.

    **** This. Show.
  4. AthanasiosT
    Oct 24, 2019
    0
    I've read the comic, saw the movie and expected something in the general direction of those two. Unfortunately, the TV show is just a well directed anti-racist drama, in an alternative 2019, with a predictable and overplayed scenario. Not interesting at all, it won't keep me past the first episode.
  5. JonnyDean
    Oct 30, 2019
    2
    Watchmen was unwatchable. There are some very good actors, but they are stuck/wasted in some sort of 80's telemovie.
  6. p2ska
    Oct 21, 2019
    3
    As a fan of Watchmen the movie, hoped more of the same goodness - interesting and dark plot with "realistic" (anti)superheros. Instead, we got boring, cheap, police drama.. Where are the superheros? Ok, there was Dr. Manhattan in all 6x2 pixel glory on Mars - maybe he will spice up things in next episodes, but i seriously doubt it. Compared with (similar themed) The Boys - latter is vastlyAs a fan of Watchmen the movie, hoped more of the same goodness - interesting and dark plot with "realistic" (anti)superheros. Instead, we got boring, cheap, police drama.. Where are the superheros? Ok, there was Dr. Manhattan in all 6x2 pixel glory on Mars - maybe he will spice up things in next episodes, but i seriously doubt it. Compared with (similar themed) The Boys - latter is vastly superior in every aspect.… Expand
  7. Gabe062490
    May 4, 2020
    0
    There's nothing about this show that is remotely close to it being a "comic book". They adapted "Watchmen" just so they could use names, places, and events from Alan Moore's brilliantly designed comic book universe.

    I RARELY write negative reviews about anything I dislike but Damon Lindelof's "Watchmen" is the hottest piece of garbage I have ever seen. HBO's "Watchmen" is an    There's nothing about this show that is remotely close to it being a "comic book". They adapted "Watchmen" just so they could use names, places, and events from Alan Moore's brilliantly designed comic book universe.

    I RARELY write negative reviews about anything I dislike but Damon Lindelof's "Watchmen" is the hottest piece of garbage I have ever seen.

    HBO's "Watchmen" is an injustice to the original comic book and Zack Snyder's adaptation.

    I hope this show gets canceled immediately.

    Nothing about what happens in the show makes sense. It is all written rather conveniently and non-sensically just for the sole purpose of connecting all the characters together.

    Pretentious, meaningless garbage.    … Expand
  8. ScienceAdvisor
    Oct 21, 2019
    3
    This is Watchmen in name only. This first epsiode is boring, incoherent, breaks continuity (if you believe it is a sequel not a reboot) and full of 'member berries. The only other thing it does is pound home that "Racism & Police Brutality" bad, except we are the choir and know that already. How this made it to series is beyond comprehension.
  9. Big_D
    Oct 23, 2019
    0
    For those of us who grew up enthralled with Alan Moore's graphic novel masterpiece, Zach Snyder's 2009 film adaptation was a thin but valiant attempt to bring the work to life. The acting was hit and miss, but the visual effects were stunning. And it did it's best to stay true to the original work.

    I'm not sure what this is but it's not Watchmen in spirit or story. So, within the    For those of us who grew up enthralled with Alan Moore's graphic novel masterpiece, Zach Snyder's 2009 film adaptation was a thin but valiant attempt to bring the work to life. The acting was hit and miss, but the visual effects were stunning. And it did it's best to stay true to the original work.

    I'm not sure what this is but it's not Watchmen in spirit or story. So, within the first 10 mins, I gave up expecting Watchmen and hoped for another series like Westworld. Even that didn't happen. It's Sci-Fi without any desire to be cogent. It's Western without a hero to root for. It's a TV show with one less viewer.    … Expand
  10. WalterJohsnon
    Oct 20, 2019
    0
    This series is Watchman in name only. It has none of the complex themes about morality and justice and the complex characters and morally complex characters that made Alan Moore's story arguably the greatest graphic novel of all time.

    The Series ditches the themes of the graphic novel, and its instead about of "woke" propaganda that we've seen already countless times. Whereas the    This series is Watchman in name only. It has none of the complex themes about morality and justice and the complex characters and morally complex characters that made Alan Moore's story arguably the greatest graphic novel of all time.

    The Series ditches the themes of the graphic novel, and its instead about of "woke" propaganda that we've seen already countless times. Whereas the comic didn't have the typical Heroes and Villains of a normal story, the main villains of the Comic are the Evil White Supremacist Group called the Calvary. The Calvary go around with masks reminiscent of the comic's character Rorschach. I found this to be very frustrating and annoying, because although he was very conservative, Rorschach was not racist or a White Supremacist, and yet they make it seem like he is in this series.

    Of course the Reviewers in the Media will love the "Woke" Globo-Homo themes over the themes that made the original Graphic Novel so Unique.    … Expand
  11. MonsieurAthos
    Oct 20, 2019
    0
    Like a low budget, poorly paced Netflix show, filled to the brim with divisive identity-based politics no more original in presentation, caricatures and themes than the dozens of other such shows infesting modern entertainment with killjoy finger-wagging pandering that ironically worsens, inflames and affirms otherness in the guise of raising awareness/being brave. And to anyone remotely aLike a low budget, poorly paced Netflix show, filled to the brim with divisive identity-based politics no more original in presentation, caricatures and themes than the dozens of other such shows infesting modern entertainment with killjoy finger-wagging pandering that ironically worsens, inflames and affirms otherness in the guise of raising awareness/being brave. And to anyone remotely a fan of the original Watchmen, this is a travesty.… Expand
  12. Syrona7
    Oct 24, 2019
    0
    I watched the 1st episode and had enough.
    The show is basically an Antifa power fantasy.
    The villains are portrayed as uneducated white people, and the good guys as masked people that are unofficially supported by the law enforcement. There is very little room for other interpretations, as the "good guys" basically represent Antifa. Oh, and get this, there is some sort of    I watched the 1st episode and had enough.
    The show is basically an Antifa power fantasy.

    The villains are portrayed as uneducated white people, and the good guys as masked people that are unofficially supported by the law enforcement. There is very little room for other interpretations, as the "good guys" basically represent Antifa.

    Oh, and get this, there is some sort of presidential candidate in the show, that wants to change things such as a 6 months waiting period on buying guns. So basically we got a conservative presidential candidate that is considered a bad guy by the movie's writers. Oh, look, they shoved a Trump stand-in into the narrative.

    The show also has nothing to do with the actual Watchmen story, it's just names thrown into the same universe.

    Overall, the show is overtly and disgustingly WOKE AND POLITICAL.
    But that wouldn't have been its biggest problem, if the show was actually interesting. It's not, it's boring as **** !

    The show should be named "Wokemen". YUCK!    … Expand
  13. weyivi
    Oct 20, 2019
    2
    Watchmen (2019) is very well shot, well acted, and well scored. Thematically, it's nothing like the original graphic novel released in 1986. This show uses the backdrop of Watchmen in order to push its own themes of race relations in the American south in an alternate history with some continuity from the graphic novel. I would be weary of any television show or film that pushes divisiveWatchmen (2019) is very well shot, well acted, and well scored. Thematically, it's nothing like the original graphic novel released in 1986. This show uses the backdrop of Watchmen in order to push its own themes of race relations in the American south in an alternate history with some continuity from the graphic novel. I would be weary of any television show or film that pushes divisive and politically charged themes in order to preach to the viewer. Time and time again, television and film in our current political climate has become about how to best use the medium as a vehicle in order to further political messages. Many prominent franchises of super hero films, science fiction television shows, and fantasy films have been co-opted to further socio-political goals. And it's very unfortunate that Watchmen has been compromised in the same manner. If you the viewer don't want to be painfully proselytized to then I would avoid Watchmen. It's another "woke" television show concerned more with politics than world building.… Expand
  14. Truejustice
    Oct 20, 2019
    0
    ugh... this is just another propaganda tv show... they turned watchmen into another nonsensual story about genders and racism that has nothing to do with an original comics. Thanks i will pass the rest. Just another piece that trys to bait reviewers and drive wedge into the society... BIG NO
  15. arnolddanko
    Oct 20, 2019
    0
    Did they really have to choose the Watchmen franchise to make just another modern propaganda piece? This show has nothing to do with the original comic or movie. The original was not about race or gender, it was about superheroes/role models being corrupt with their "sainthood" being just a marketing illusion. It was a stylish take on the "who watches the watchers" question. This show,Did they really have to choose the Watchmen franchise to make just another modern propaganda piece? This show has nothing to do with the original comic or movie. The original was not about race or gender, it was about superheroes/role models being corrupt with their "sainthood" being just a marketing illusion. It was a stylish take on the "who watches the watchers" question. This show, however, is modern politics and propaganda lightly sprinkled with "iconic superhero lore" for better sales.… Expand
  16. FGPT
    Oct 25, 2019
    0
    I can't believe they did this to the source material! Who is HBO trying to please? Twitter activists? What about the fandom, The people that actually enjoy the art? Such a waste! The production value is amazing, the directing is great. But it all falls to the ground because the story is terrible.
  17. BlackIsle
    Oct 21, 2019
    2
    Total garbage. This is a show made by the extreme left for the extreme left. Watcher beware.
  18. andrewm6
    Oct 20, 2019
    2
    Hamfisted woke garbage that wine aunts and affluent liberals will pleasure themselves to
  19. Leonando_souza
    Oct 20, 2019
    0
    They absolutely destroyed all the magic behind the Watchmen universe, introducing a lot of shallow politics discussions above the TV Show. Happily is just one time show.
  20. jaredvf
    Oct 20, 2019
    0
    Bizarre. Boring. Pointless. Trash. I wanted to like this show, but it was horrible.
  21. ziGihouse
    Jan 16, 2020
    3
    Very poor story with less moments from original Watchmen and just few good moments
  22. electronicoffee
    Jan 16, 2020
    2
    Good. **** afrocentric SJW TRASH!!!! Black Manhattan was sooooo **** lame. Don't waste your time on this utter garbage.
  23. Eranger1
    Nov 5, 2019
    0
    Wanted to like it, was looking forward to it but the show is very underwhelming. Disappointed.
  24. skvbgf44
    Nov 6, 2019
    0
    Very bad series, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring
  25. Rome
    Nov 19, 2019
    2
    Im happy I didnt spend a dime acquiring the first episode of this SJW "black heroes against the evil whites" show. I sat through half of the episode and wow does the writers have a hatred for white people. SJW propaganda show of the year.... I gave it a 2-rating instead of 1, since production value seems high (but only thing that proves is that they spend more money on production). But noIm happy I didnt spend a dime acquiring the first episode of this SJW "black heroes against the evil whites" show. I sat through half of the episode and wow does the writers have a hatred for white people. SJW propaganda show of the year.... I gave it a 2-rating instead of 1, since production value seems high (but only thing that proves is that they spend more money on production). But no way im gonna spend more time watching this when the writers clearly want me to feel perpetually guilty for something I never did just because of my white skin color.… Expand
  26. RidiculousDeath
    Nov 4, 2019
    0
    Don't waste your time on this. The movie wasn't perfect but it was 1000% better than this garbage.
  27. Steyraus
    Oct 31, 2019
    3
    This show is cringey and vert dull. Fight scenes are a joke and the story is just full of stupid nods and winks. Just tired of this format of show.
  28. Jchase
    Oct 24, 2019
    1
    I'm pretty disappointed about this show, had such high hopes going in. Just feel like this isn't watchmen at all but some weird spinoff with no depth.
  29. jefferson122332
    Oct 24, 2019
    0
    It doesn't deserve a zero as a few of the more defensive fascists here would like to reactively label it based on its obvious race-relations commentary. But that aside it seems to be a decidedly below average show. Based on the premier it is poorly scripted, the storytelling is unimaginative and incoherent, and it has almost nothing do with the Watchmen universe aside from borrowing a fewIt doesn't deserve a zero as a few of the more defensive fascists here would like to reactively label it based on its obvious race-relations commentary. But that aside it seems to be a decidedly below average show. Based on the premier it is poorly scripted, the storytelling is unimaginative and incoherent, and it has almost nothing do with the Watchmen universe aside from borrowing a few identifying images, lines, and characters of the series which it hamfistedly shoehorns into a listless cop narrative. I can't think of a better way to alienate people who were attracted to this show because they were expecting something t… Expand
  30. 0lolosha
    Nov 7, 2019
    0
    Watchmen who are impossible to watch.
    Why be called the original title of a great comic book - when you could just call it " Black woman vs. white fanatics"
  31. LukePM
    Nov 8, 2019
    2
    The show makes the Snyder watchmen movie look like a goddam masterpiece. Not worth your time
  32. nurall
    Nov 14, 2019
    2
    as a fan of the movie and graphic novel i was looking forward to this show. huge disappointing mess and i don't mean the squid.
  33. Mihnea
    Nov 4, 2019
    3
    Absolutely one of the most terrible shows of the year. The plot is weak and also very confusing, with no memorable characters. It also feels like a sequel. To what? I don’t know because i watched the 2009 movie and read the comic book and it doesn’t seem like a sequel to neither of those
  34. KeenWatcher
    Nov 22, 2019
    2
    Is it just me who has no idea what the hell is going on? It’s slow, but I guess it is beautiful to watch in a way...
  35. TLPNull
    Dec 19, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Now that's what I call an horrible adaptation, very poorly written, some good actors, but the story is just awful.… Expand
  36. mintlo
    Dec 30, 2019
    1
    What a pile of bizarre, foul **** Don't waste your time. Run. Run away....blah blah blah blah
  37. Voodoo123
    Feb 8, 2020
    1
    While there are certainly some interesting choices in the setting characters and drama, Watchmen 2019 chose the path of the original comic book material in name only and serves as an 'imagined sequel'. It noticeably lacks the wonderful prose of Alan Moore, and the visual stylistic tones of the (still excellent) Zack Snyder movie. Simply put this reads as just another average action/scifi.While there are certainly some interesting choices in the setting characters and drama, Watchmen 2019 chose the path of the original comic book material in name only and serves as an 'imagined sequel'. It noticeably lacks the wonderful prose of Alan Moore, and the visual stylistic tones of the (still excellent) Zack Snyder movie. Simply put this reads as just another average action/scifi. If it went by a different name I would score higher. The original graphic novel and movie still hold up. This is simply a byproduct of that initial success.… Expand
  38. LOBOPAMPEANO
    Dec 20, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Left wing people wet dream.
    White people are white supremacists.
    A black woman the hero, all white men crazy, evil, or both.
    Weapons are illegal for civilians...
    And the black woman ends up becoming Dr Manhattan which the series says he did a poor job with his powers (he probably wasn't a left wing "idealist"). That is, Dr. Manhattan should have used his power to submit humanity into being good. A better version of the communist totalitarian state but more powerful and updated by current left wing creed.    … Expand
  39. SuperMax156
    Nov 6, 2019
    0
    Yeah, I don't think Hollywood knows how to make movies anymore, its just a big propaganda shop for the retarded socialism and braindead woke nazis. Its a disgrace to the watchmen series GET WOKE GO BROKE
  40. dtg12
    Nov 5, 2019
    0
    I'm giving a 1, because of 2 reasons:
    1. It has NOTHING to do with Watchmen. It's baiting. This is a show about cops chasing white supremacists in country settings. Shameful false advertising to tie it to Watchmen comic book. If you wanna build a following, do it with good writing and good acting, creators.
    2. The plot is outrageous. Literally - it's manufactured to outrage and apply to    I'm giving a 1, because of 2 reasons:
    1. It has NOTHING to do with Watchmen. It's baiting. This is a show about cops chasing white supremacists in country settings. Shameful false advertising to tie it to Watchmen comic book. If you wanna build a following, do it with good writing and good acting, creators.
    2. The plot is outrageous. Literally - it's manufactured to outrage and apply to our lowest instincts. It creates unnatural, improbable world of extremely racist people to invoke some moral lessons about real (i.e. completely different, non-black-and-white) world.
    Handmaiden's tale is the same thing for women's dystopia.
    Camp of the Saints is the same thing for actual racists dystopia.

    All these stories are bad storytelling and frankly little different from populist demagogy.    … Expand
  41. ZZBEAR
    Nov 3, 2019
    0
    Its not watchmen, its huwhite man bad preachy BS so if that's your thing go for it but most anti-racist people of sound mental health will not enjoy this very much, same old woke racist garbage.
  42. PicklRick
    Nov 14, 2019
    0
    Netflix 2.0. Focusing on SJW motvies without much of a plot mixed with OK acting. Thank you AT&T for ruining HBO....
  43. kuuderelover
    Dec 16, 2019
    0
    This has nothing to do with Watchmen, only it hangs on its fame to advertise its progressive pamphlet
  44. umaumai
    Aug 18, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. UPDATED:

    I have had several people, from colleagues to screen writers that I admire, suggest that I give a few more episodes of "Watchmen" a try. I dove in and found the next episodes were at least entertaining allowing me to rethink my initial 0 score and have raised it up to a 3. I will say that upon finishing the series I can see a lot thought went into the over arching plot, but it never felt like anything more then fan fiction and made many of the surface mistakes that the movie adaptation made. In retrospect though this show is an almost prothetic vision of what was to come in the new year in the real world. Because of its implications on race and the fact that they put the genocide in Tulsa, in the Greenwood district, on full display I would actually still recommend that people over 16 watch some of this series. Beyond that it is still easily skippable for the causal comic fan who won't be missing out on much.

    ORIGINAL:

    The first episode was garbage and I will not be watching any more. They are just taking the interesting and good parts of the comic and blandly shoehorning them into the story. What crap writer came up with the cops chanting “who watches he’s the watchmen” in Latin? Lame. While that’s a minor theme in the comic it’s out of place here. The rehashing and paraphrasing Rorschach’s best journal entry for the terrorist was awful. And the idea of cops letting anyone, ANYONE in a mask stroll up to their precinct is f@#king dumb. The only thing that was interesting at all that was the nod to the comic of the squids falling from the sky much like the fake “alien” attack.    … Expand
  45. fredjesus
    Dec 8, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. muito fraca, totalmente desconexa aos HQs originais, faltou MUITA criatividade em contruir um vilão fora uma protagonista sem QUALQUER empatia, tirando o apelo a nostalgia pelos personagens originais a serie é uma porcaria com senas muito fracas de ação enredo cansativo e previsível que em nenhum momento nos faz temer pela detetive que basicamente é uma heroína feminista negra intocável… Expand
  46. insickness
    Oct 27, 2019
    0
    Show is boring and trite. They tried to turn a great comic into woke left fantasy.
  47. Xion
    Nov 7, 2019
    0
    This show is bad. The actors are bad. The director and writers are bad and HBO should feel suicidal for greenlighting something that rapes the source material so violently and unrepentantly. Social justice is boring and passé. It's a form of virtue-signaling self-masturbation for actors and film crews and is no substitute for good writing or actual effort; yet the clowns heading this showThis show is bad. The actors are bad. The director and writers are bad and HBO should feel suicidal for greenlighting something that rapes the source material so violently and unrepentantly. Social justice is boring and passé. It's a form of virtue-signaling self-masturbation for actors and film crews and is no substitute for good writing or actual effort; yet the clowns heading this show put it front and center in every episode. Only the most untalented hacks in the increasingly destitute film and television "business" would fall on it as a last resort to find a lowest-common denominator audience in the ironically "woke" sheep known as "leftists". Every drool-dispensing self-masturbatory charlatan even remotely involved with this project deserves to hear the phrase: "you'll never work in Hollywood again" after this trainwreck shoots through its inevitable cancellation.… Expand
  48. TrapKing101
    Dec 3, 2019
    0
    Anyone rating this higher than 5 is clearly some agenda andy because this show is absolute garbage and is not Watchmen material at all. Even the OG creator said he did not want his name to be involved in this **** show hahaha.
  49. Gorba
    Oct 24, 2019
    1
    If you want to watch a show that's has the same spirit of WATCHMEN with a flair that matches the film, I highly recommend The Boys on Amazon. It has an amazing out-of-left-field-didn't-see-that-coming cliffhanger season finale.
  50. altoparlant
    Dec 17, 2019
    0
    Worst acting and swaping of key caracters ever. Very cheap visuals and inconsistent graphics.
  51. dermac
    Jun 14, 2020
    0
    Yes, we get it, racism is bad. We knew that before. Please give us some content.
  52. Cristianfuentes
    Dec 23, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This show kept me interested for some episodes but then I found its negative aspects too overwhelming to keep giving Watchmen my eye and time. Pity, because it has several ingredients for a succesful TV show like high production values and invested actors. However, the underside includes flaws like badly designed lead roles -most of them are creepy, egostistical and generally repulsive-, unnecesary complicated and convoluted plot -one character gets to die three times!- and general nonsense like the tipical one-person army battle against many stupid and weak foes.… Expand
  53. T-Rein
    Dec 21, 2019
    0
    Just another in a growing list of shows written by political activist telling you that if you're a straight white man you're the devil. .. .. Boo
  54. Erik_Of_Bloom
    Nov 26, 2019
    0
    If you just can’t get enough contemporary progressive political opinions ham-fistedly shoved into your show, then this is for you.

    If you’re a normal person looking for entertainment, or a Watchmen fan, avoid this garbage like the plague.
  55. viroodiem
    Nov 10, 2019
    0
    Commits the cardinal sin of a TV show. Being boring and unwatchable. The shows only saving grace is its soundtrack. Wont make it to season 2 with lukewarm reception and over priced budget.
  56. Bubber
    Dec 26, 2019
    1
    Just No, this is another example of what happens when diversity and progressive values become more important than creating good entertainment. Besides the name it's got nothing to do with the original Watchmen comic. I hope this series is cancelled so we never have to talk about it again.
  57. OlivierPiel
    Dec 8, 2019
    2
    With this show Lindelof shows that he doesn't have the discipline, self-restraint and vision to create a TV show to adapt ideas other than his owns .
    In Lost he mixed philosophical ideas that he clearly only superficially understands to create an aura of self-importance. The premisses were at least tantalizing and the production top-notch.
    In the Leftovers, a show which I enjoyed, he    With this show Lindelof shows that he doesn't have the discipline, self-restraint and vision to create a TV show to adapt ideas other than his owns .
    In Lost he mixed philosophical ideas that he clearly only superficially understands to create an aura of self-importance. The premisses were at least tantalizing and the production top-notch.
    In the Leftovers, a show which I enjoyed, he went into a full surrealistic bend, that yielded some great episodes, thanks to superior production values again. However , one must acknowledge that most of it was sophomoric nonsense.
    With Watchmen, he can't bring himself to adhere to the limitations that the original story forces him to consider. A bit like a student who doesn't want to answer the question in the essay but runs wild with his own -very stupid- ideas.
    Case in point: The story of the German attempts to undermine the morale of black soldiers. To think that some of the best educated soldiers (which is the case of the protagonist) would seriously consider the propaganda is patronizing and insulting.    … Expand
  58. 100LL
    Dec 21, 2019
    2
    Great production quality i will say that. I loved the comic and the movie thats why i tuned in. Thats also why i wont be returning. Turning rorshack into a white supremacist? I dont mind politics in my entertainment when its in world politics. I HATE virtue signaling in my entertainment. If you like SJW ram rod virtue signaling you will love this. Thats is the only thing it offers.
  59. Tgc
    Nov 20, 2020
    2
    Basically it is show about strong black woman killing bad white men. If it wasn't loosely based on cult comic book, probably no one will care about this series.
  60. boredboredbored
    Apr 26, 2020
    2
    If you are utterly bored in lockdown, or literally have nothing else going on in your life, give this series a watch. The action sequences are entertaining and well choreographed, and the cinematorgraphy is well done and oft times downright beautiful. The writing occasionally brushes up against a good idea before veering away with screeching tires. Right, now on to the butchering:

    The    If you are utterly bored in lockdown, or literally have nothing else going on in your life, give this series a watch. The action sequences are entertaining and well choreographed, and the cinematorgraphy is well done and oft times downright beautiful. The writing occasionally brushes up against a good idea before veering away with screeching tires. Right, now on to the butchering:

    The story jumps about in time frequently, but only tells you so with about half the jumps. Someone needs to tell these geniuses that confusion does not equal mystery. Especially not when the confusion stems from the story breaking it's own storytelling rules! Multiple events and characters are treated as signifcant, only to be instantly dropped and never mentioned again (I call this "Lost Syndrome"). It's like there was no consensus among the directors as to how the story is supposed to unfold ("Disney Star Wars Syndrome").

    The lead actress is miscast. Her character demands a certain energy from the actress which she - Regina King - fails to convey in nearly every scene. The constant braying of muh racism gets a little boring as well, unless you're really into that, or get off on ethnomasochism.

    But the worst sin of this series is the way the themes of both comic and film are missed, and the character of Dr. Manhattan is mishandled (really if you know even the slightest thing about him, this series is a 9-episode urination on his character). It was as if the writers were told the story this series is supposedly a sequel to by a drunk friend who skips over the most pertinent details. And don't get me started on the denouement of the final episode: let's kill a whole bunch of people to prevent X from happening...hey you know what would be a great idea? Let's make X happen!

    Eh...on second, if you're really bored, rather watch paint dry.    … Expand
  61. voodoo-goose
    Apr 23, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I give this series 2 points for good acting, good story-telling and good tension. Also, it gets the two points: one for each of the original watchmen in the story. Sure, Silk Spectre is there, but she isn't Silk Spectre anymore anyway - she's joined the government (working for the enemy, as far as original Watchmen is concerned).

    First, the good. It really is good acting, it's quite nicely paced and the tension doesn't really let up.

    Now, the bad. It's got absolutely nothing in common with the original Watchmen, which if you read (or saw the movie) was very anti-government, anti-liberal and very pro-individual-rights. In fact, the very first page of original Watchmen says this: "Now the whole world stands on the brink, staring down into the bloody hell, all those liberals and intellectuals and smooth-talkers... ... and all of a sudden nobody can think of anything to say."

    This series is the exact opposite of that, the exact opposite of what the Watchmen were, and what they wanted to do. The series has none of the conflict or the profound paradox of the original Watchmen. The deep questions about morality and politics and war and love that was in the original Watchmen are missing from this series. All of that has been replaced by an almost endless litany of preaching; the message of "white men bad, everyone else good" is reinforced in every episode. All the women are strong or black or both, all the men are neutered, even if they're black.

    Speaking of neutering, the two remaining watchmen in this series, Ozymandias and Dr Manhatten, have been reduced in apparent power and intelligence (can't have the legends overshadow the new characters, I expect).

    Ozymandias, for example, is not the almost-prescient thinker and strategist from the original Watchmen. He doesn't have any of his reputed fighting skills (bar one scene) and is easily taken down with a blow to the back of the head **after being told he was being arrested**. The original Ozymandias would not, after being told he was going to be arrested, have let one of the two officers calmly walk around him and bop him on the head.

    Dr Manhatten gets an even worse butchering of his character. For absolutely no reason at all, he leaves Mars, comes to earth and tells a woman he has never met that he is in love with her. At the end, when he knows that they are about to capture and kill him, he simply stands for a few seconds in front of their trap while it energises to capture him. Everything he does is out of character for Dr Manhatten. There is no conflict in him; in the original Watchmen we get the sense of an almost godlike being, someone capable of seeing through time, dealing with internal conflict as he loses his humanity and tries to hang on to his morality. The Dr Manhatten of this series is almost completely human since arriving from Mars, and only cares about the falling in love bits of the plot.

    They really should have called this series something else; it is not done in the dystopian atmosphere of Watchmen. It has an altogether different feel to it. The society feels more like George Orwell's 1984, where the arrested have no right to a trial; where, in a US state, the arrested can be judged and executed on the spot by the arresting officer; where the police wear masks; where the guns have been confiscated from the population ... and this series tries its best convince the viewer that all of this **is a good thing**.

    I would say watch this if you like superficial storylines, plot holes you could drive a truck through, never-ending politicisation ... and good acting. Do not watch this if you were expecting the complex and intricate world of the original Watchmen to be continued. This series does not do that.    … Expand
  62. maje90
    Jul 6, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The comic is great, the 2009 film was good (and a nice adaptation of the comic, i think), but this is just trash.
    Noone will remember this series, plot is boring and nonsense.
    This doesn't exist.
    Original Watchmen have no sequel.

    3/10 just because some part with Ozymandias were not totally boring.    … Expand
  63. mathias860
    Feb 26, 2021
    3
    I didn't know anything about watchmen before watching this. Here is my view of how the show works:

    episodes 1 - 2: a very cool and emotional crime x police story to trick you to watch the rest of the show

    episodes 3 - 8: introducing new characters and crazy nonsense background stories while you slowly forget to care about the main characters

    last episode: the actual story
  64. Yaman1648
    Nov 3, 2019
    0
    Woke trash full of left wing agitprops, plenty of good tv series that aren't propaganda so don't waste your time on this.
  65. metacritiqueur
    Sep 2, 2020
    0
    Watchmen, Lovecraft Country ... HBO acquires materials that are too white for his taste, then blackens them. By emphasizing that the white man is evil in 2020.

Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best TV Season of 2019
3
#3 Most Discussed TV Season of 2019
70
#70 Most Shared TV Season of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. The Times
    Reviewed by: Carol Midgley
    Jan 7, 2020
    80
    Weird, weird, weird, but definitely not boring.
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  2. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Lucy Mangan
    Dec 3, 2019
    80
    It is a bravura series that interrogates power, storytelling and the former embedded in the latter. It has a (still unusually) diverse cast, writing team and cohort of directors in terms of both sex and class, and, even as it strays from Moore and Gibbons’ original content, it honours their underlying ambition: to deconstruct our legends and our myths, ask where they come from, what purpose they serve; and to make us think and think again about who tells us what, why – and why they are the ones who get to do so.
    Read full review
  3. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Nov 6, 2019
    70
    You may not always be sure what you're watching, but good luck taking your eyes off Watchmen. [28 Oct - 10 Nov 2019, p.8]
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