Bloody and violent from the outset - hence the 18 certificate - Zack Snyder's stylish adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' celebrated graphic novel pulls no punches as its transports us back in time to a very different vision of the mid-80s.
Relations between America and the Soviet Union are strained and there is a clear and present danger of nuclear attack.
Nixon is clinging onto power in the White House and costumed heroes are part of the fabric of a society in the thrall of fear and paranoia, reflected in the symbolic Doomsday Clock which edges closer to midnight as tensions increase between the superpowers.
In this politically charged climate, a deadly conspiracy involving the masked crime-fighters unfolds, which could have far-reaching implicat-ions for the future of mankind.
Many years after the so-called Minutemen - Captain Metropolis, The Comedian, Dollar Bill, Hooded Justice, Mothman, Nite Owl, The Silhouette and Silk Spectre - watched over humanity, a new team of heroes has taken up the mantle.
The Comedian (Jeffrey DeanMorgan) is the last of the old guard still standing and he is joined by Dr Manhattan (Billy Crudup), Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson), Ozyman-dias (Matthew Goode), Ror-schach (Jackie Earle Haley) and Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman).
When one of the team is murdered in the film's bone-crunching opening sequence, the remaining members unravel layers of mystery shrouding the crime.
In the process, Silk Spectre II clashes with her lover Dr Manhattan, the only member of the team blessed with actual superpowers - he can glimpse the future - after an accident in a nuclear lab.
The argument drives her into the arms of Nite Owl II and an exceedingly raunchy sex scene - shot in yet more slow motion - to a soundtrack of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.
Watchmen is clearly a labour of love for Snyder, the writer-director of 300, working from a screenplay by David Hayter and Alex Tse, and he adheres closely to the source text.
Pacing is incredibly slow, even in the action sequences, which rely heavily on slow motion.
It is little wonder the film runs to an uncomfortable, buttock-numbing 162 minutes. There is no doubt that Snyder can orchestrate mayhem on a grand scale.
The break-in to a prison is masterfully executed and myriad computer generated special effects are seamlessly melded with live action.
However, the final half hour, dense with philosophical navel-gazing, is especially heavy going despite a very simple, straightforward mystery as the central dramatic thread with an obvious master villain.
The script is littered with occasional tongue-in-cheek one-liners, like one character laughing off suggestions that Ronald Reagan could become President: "This is America. Nobody wants a cowboy in the White House!" Yee hahaha!
The Young Victoria (PG) ***Of all the love stories that have defined the British monarchy, none tugs the heartstrings quite like Victoria and Prince Albert.
Brought together in the eye of a political storm in 19th century Britain, the queen and her first cousin weathered public disapproval to affect lasting change including the abolition of slavery and educational reform.
When Albert succumbed to typhoid at the age of 42, the queen was plunged into mourning, wearing black for the rest of her life, movingly recreated in the Oscar nominated 1997 film Mrs Brown starring Dame Judi Dench.
The Young Victoria traces the romance from the initial sparks of attraction to marriage, revealing the private frustrations of the young queen as she attempts to walk a minefield of political intrigue and stringent social etiquette.
"Some palaces are not at all w hat you think. Some palaces can be prisons," rues Victoria (Emily Blunt) in voiceover as she steps into the glare of the 1838 coronation, which brings to an end months of plotting by so-called friends within the walls of Buckingham Palace.
Jean-Marc Vallee's film then rewinds one year with the princess at the mercy of her mother, the Duchess of Kent (Miranda Richardson), and scheming advisor Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong), who won't allow her to descend a flight of stairs unaccompanied for fear she might tumble. Ambitious Whig Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne (Paul Bettany), cleverly persuades naive Victoria to install him as private secretary in order to control affairs at Buckingham Palace.
He exploits the position to fill the royal quarters with allies such as the Duchess of Sutherland (Rachael Stirling), and keep her at arm's length from rival, Sir Robert Peel (Michael Maloney).
Everyone, it seems, wants to manipulate Victoria for their own ends, all apart from Albert (Rupert Friend), who defies protocol to assist the princess in outwitting the schemers, telling her that she must stop being a pawn in other people's games and take control.
"We will take care of each other, won't we?" asks Victoria. "Always," replies Albert.
The Young Victoria has a similar look and feel to The Duchess, boasting gorgeous sets and costumes and a haunting orchestral score courtesy of Ilan Eshkeri.
Produced by Sarah Ferguson - look out for a fleeting appearance by Princess Beatrice in the opening minutes - the film adheres closely to fact, albeit with an attractive cast being somewhat easier on the eye than some of their historical counterparts.
There is also the fanciful addition of Albert using himself as a human shield to take a bullet for his beloved as they ride through London in an open-top carriage.
The pomp and pageantry tend to obscure the emotion in Julian Fellowes' script, despite the best efforts of Blunt and Friend to stoke the flames of their characters' mutual admiration and attraction.
FLAME & CITRON (FLAMMEN & CITRONEN) (15)Ole Christian Madsen directs this Second World War drama set in 1944 Copenhagen, which is overrun with Nazi forces.
Resistance fighters Flame (Thure Lindhardt) and Citron (Mads Mikkelsen) operate under the radar, assassinating any of the countrymen and -women who conspire with the Germans, no questions asked.
However, allegiances are torn when the men receive orders to kill Ketty (Stine Stengade), the object of Flame's affections, who is suspected of being a double agent.
Surveillance (18) *** For more than 30 years, David Lynch has exposed the dark and twisted side of the human condition through challenging films like Eraserhead, The Elephant Man and Blue Velvet.
It was perhaps inevitable that his daughter Jennifer would follow in his footsteps, and in 1993 at the age of 24, she became the youngest woman in American history to direct a feature film, the controversial Boxing Helena - picking up Worst Director at the Golden Raspberry Awards
Fifteen years have passed and now she returns with her second feature, a thriller of murder and deception set predominantly on one of those never-ending highways loved by her father.
Explosions of graphic violence and moribund humour prove that she has definitely inherited his appreciation for a world teetering on the brink of insanity.
Cop buddies Jack (Kent Harper) and Keith (Josh Strait) get their kicks by terrorising motorists and stealing their wallets.
They attempt the scam on two cars but the traffic stop turns sour when serial killers, who have been running amok in this barren landscape, unexpectedly gatecrash the roadside party.
Hours later, local police captain Billings (Michael Ironside) and his officers Degrasso (Gill Gayle) and Wright (Charlie Newmark) begrudgingly welcome FBI agents Anderson (Julia Ormond) and Hallaway (Bill Pullman) onto their patch to interrogate the witnesses.
The fractured chronology successfully conceals Lynch and co-writer Harper's design but they tip the wink too early, putting us several steps ahead of the protagonists.
Histrionics of the final act skirt perilously close to laughable as rage explodes with lashings of blood.
ALSO SHOWINGWENDY AND LUCY (15)For her follow-up to the acclaimed Old Joy, writer-director Kelly Reichardt ponders the devastating power of grief in this poignant drama co-written with Jonathan Raymond, which is blessed with a tour-de-force lead performance from Michelle Williams.
Wendy (Williams) is trapped in Indiana with a sister who doesn't understand her, living in her car with her best friend in the world, a golden retriever called Lucy.
Believing she can find work at a fish cannery in Alaska, Wendy hits the road only to find herself stranded in Oregon with no money to buy dog food.
Wandering around a place she doesn't know, Wendy is plunged into despair when Lucy goes missing and her loyal companion is nowhere to be found, not even at the dog pound.
AMERICAN TEEN (15)IN MTV's The Hills, the hugely successful glimpse at the lifestyles of the bold and the beautiful in Laguna Beach, the lines separating fantasy and reality are horribly blurred, right down to arguments, infidelities and tearful confessions being staged for the benefit of the camera. That same sense of artificially heightened reality pervades American Teen, Nanette Burstein's fly-on-the-wall documentary chronicling the hopes and fears of everyday teenagers in the small town of Warsaw, Indiana.
The director focuses on five youngsters: star basketball player Colin who dreams of playing in the big league; hunky team mate Mitch, who could have any girl he wants; aspiring filmmaker Hannah, who takes time off school to recover from being dumped by her boyfriend; academ-ically gifted Megan who wants to get into Notre Dame to please her dad; and acne-blighted, video game nerd Jake, who desperately wants to be loved.
