Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

I've never seen anything quite like the Maximum Movie Mode here. Even viewers who hate the very essence of Watchmen would be able to marvel at this picture-in-picture presentation of the film with hushed reverence. Director Zack Snyder stands center stage for the whole thing, frequently serving as an interface between the film and countless supplies of trivia, behind-the-scenes footage, storyboards, interviews and all sorts of supplemental goodies. Way more than a commentary, way more than a comprehensive documentary, this Maximum Movie Mode on the Watchmen Blu-ray is kind of exceptionally involving experience that truly has the power to knock a viewer senseless. One also has the option to watch all the branched goodies on their own (they run a total of about 35 minutes).

Then we get three featurettes: The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics (30:00) is a look at Alan Moore's and David Gibbons' original graphic novel, Real Superheroes: Real Vigilantes (30:00) is a historical look at vigilante justice throughout the modern age, and Mechanics: Technologies of a Fantastic World (16:00) offers a peek into the filmmakers' concern with scientific accuarcy in the Watchmen world. 

Last but not least is a music video for My Chemical Romance's cover of Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row".

Final Thoughts

This writer has reservations about the film itself - if you're a fan of the comic, this one's worth seeing; if not, I wouldn't get too excited - but this Blu-ray Disc presentation is enough to compensate for nearly all the film's missed dramatic opportunities. A near-perfect video presentation and flawless audio presence really makes the film pop, and Warner's Maximum Movie Mode provides a helluva way to watch the film (I wish they had one on all Blu-ray Discs!). But there is a downside - Warner is preparing an Ultimate Edition of the film for release in December that promises even more bells and whistles, so if you absolutely must have this one, prepare to double-dip...