I’m not normally a big fan of superhero movies but I went out the other night and saw Watchmen with my good friend K., and it’s really terrific. It’s dark and funny, and Malin Akerman, who plays Silk Spectre II, is really hot – heck, she’s wearing this latex fetish outfit with heels whenever she’s out fighting crime and in another scene wears this really nice skirt and belted sweater – a real knockout. All the other actors are really good too and some of my favorites were the actors who played the psychopath Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) and The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). The latter’s very funny indeed even though he does some truly horrible things to people, including killing the pregnant Vietnamese girl who’s carrying his own child.

The movie itself is really clever and a lot of fun, set in the 1980s and presenting this alternate history where Nixon is serving his third term in office. One really funny aspect is that all the superheroes are troubled and in varying states of unhappiness, including big blue Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), who has godlike powers over space and time – and also relationship problems. So often I find the self-serious tone of superhero movies kind of tedious but this one was a real hoot, commenting on the genre in a fun way. Did I mention that the actress who plays Silk Spectre II is really hot?