Continuity mistake: During the prison fight scene, Silk Spectre's stiletto boot heels are alternatively flat-soled from shot to shot, for the stunt woman's benefit.
Watchmen (2009)
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Matthew Goode, Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman
Audio problem: During the battle in Adrian Veidt's lair he catches a bullet. He pulls the slug from his palm but as he drops the slug we hear the sound of a spent shell casing hitting the floor (empty brass) not the heavy lead bullet.
Revealing mistake: During the final confrontation in Veidt's lair, you see the actor Billy Crudup in his SFX suit reflected in Nite Owl's goggles, not the image of Dr. Manhattan.
Trivia: If you look closely, one of the movies playing on one of Ozymandias' screens is "The 300 Spartans", which deals with the same subject as director Zach Snyder's previous film, "300".
Trivia: When Dan and Hollis hear a TV news report referencing Rorschach, they glance at the screen in time to see grainy black and white 'file footage' of Rorschach walking quickly away and to the right of the camera position, glancing back over his right shoulder momentarily. That footage is intentionally designed to precisely mimic the infamously-disputed film of Bigfoot (known as the Patterson-Gimlin film of 1967). (00:17:50)
Rorschach: Men get arrested. Dogs get put down.
Daniel Dreiberg: What happened to us, Rorschach?
Rorschach: You quit.
Rorschach: I'm not locked in here with you! You're locked in here with ME!
Question: I don't quite understand why Dr. Manhattan had to kill Rorschach. That is, I don't quite get why that was the only solution. Rorschach was a valuable member of the Watchmen, and in the type of world they were in (chaos, corruption, murder, etc) one would think that they would want to keep as many of themselves banded together as possible. Couldn't some sort of negotiation or compromise have been reached/agreed to by Rorschach instead of him being killed?
Question: How come the surviving members of the Watchmen (with the exception of Rorshach) agreed to let Dr. Manhattan take the blame for the murders of so many people? Wouldn't it have been easier to just arrest Veidt and let everyone know who was truly responsible for everything?
Answer: The entire reason they don't arrest Veidt is because his actions, while evil and genocidal, did in fact cause the two warring nations to unite. Exposing Veidt would revert the world back to its chaotic state and the peace would end. The millions Veidt killed would've died in vain and the Watchmen can't have that. All of this is discussed in great detail.
Question: Some of the costumed heroes in the film (Comedian, Ozymandias, both Silk Spectres) appear with very minimal masks or even no masks at all while in costume. How are they supposed to be able to keep their identities secret?
Answer: The short answer is that they weren't really trying to. Ozymandias later revealed, and monopolised on, his costumed identity, Comedian was officially endorsed by the U.S.A. Government at the time so his real identity would have been public record, the first Silk Spectre publicly revealed her identity after retiring, though there is no evidence that the current Silk Spectre has. There is no evidence (even in the graphic novel) that anyone tried to hide their identity to the extent that other comic-book heroes like Batman/Superman do. The only exception being Rorschach where even his follow costumes don't know his real identity until they bust him out of prison.
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Answer: He has spent years as a costumed vigilante despite the fact that it was illegal. He has a very strict idea of what is right ("never compromise") and has proven himself incapable of doing otherwise. So no, there was no real chance of negotiating with him - Rorschach himself made it clear he'd have to die if they wanted his silence.
Garlonuss ★
Death was not the only choice. Doc M could easily have teleported/banished Rorschach to Mars/anywhere secluded in an oxygen bubble. He could have spared his life and just made him mute or manipulate his brain chemistry/atoms to remove the memory of what happened. The point is Doc M is all powerful and could manipulate matter at his whim; death was just a plot device creating a chance of an emotive martyrdom/sacrificial ending.
Ethically speaking, exiling him to Mars or erasing his memory of the event can be considered just as cruel as killing him, because then his agency is being taken away from him. Rorshach's malcontent with the situation poses a problem for the other heroes, and since Dr. Manhattan isn't willing to let him tell the truth of what happened, he obliges Rorschach's demand that he kill him instead.
Phaneron ★