Lets cut to the chase whether this purchase is worthwhile depends on what you have.

All you get extra is a fraction of new footage and two commentaries for your big splashout.

Buy a Blu-ray player and stop moaning…. And I will.

When I buy a Blu-ray player, Im going to get a top-end expensive machine that also cooks toast.

And dont even get me started on rebuying my catalogue.

I havent got a few grand to spare.

So, UK fans ofWatchmen, get stuffed.

Simply put, Britain isnt important enough to get the luxurious five-DVD set ofWatchmen : The Ultimate Cut.

First things first, though, its not a definitive edition.

In it you get the 215 minute Ultimate Cut plus two commentaries.

You also get a slightly rearranged version of the Special Features that populate the special editions.

Theres also the Theatrical Cut available as a digital download that only works on iTunes.

And finally, discs four and five are The Motion Comic.

If youve bought everything else, the only new content is on the first disc.

The Ultimate Cut

And what a Cut it is.

The Black Freighterexists in two or three minute increments spread out through the film as a whole.

Overall, as per The Directors Cut, many scenes are expanded with extra dialogue and nuance.

And everything feels just a little bit more real.

But the film is not perfect.

The 85% that is perfect?

In this, you arent watching Billy Crudup, but you are watching Dr Manhattan.

Still, this gritty remake ofThe Incrediblesis something to behold.

That said, the ending is a rather different experience.

Its still four minutes too long.

Ive always found sex scenes boring, mind you, unless they actually communicate something to advance the plot.Hallelujah.

Like300, Watchmenis a faithful but also faithless adaptation.

But still, theres an awful there to admire at even one glance.

A very good adaptation of a brilliant book.

Technically, its a slight disappointment.

The print is clean and the sound clear as you would expect.

IM KILLING HIM!!

His track is geared towards the visual, but its still chock full of fascinating nuggets.

The disc has been re-authored, so the brilliant Under The Hood Documentary is also included.

The special features themselves?

Four half-hour documentaries that micro-manage elements of the production, as well as 11 three minute webisodes (Webisodes?

The worst word in the human lexicon since Cassingle).

There is no equivalent of the enormous, covers-all-bases documentaries that accompanyBlade Runner,The AlienQuadrilogy, or even1941.

A film like this deserves better than a handful of featurettes.

Finally, Under The Hood is included, which makes the purchase worthwhile on its own.

If you dont already have it.

Worse than useless, to be honest.

Complete Motion Comic DVDs 4+5:

Lets get the usual cliches out of the way: Unfilmable.

This proves them all.

An exact transference of one medium to another simply does not work in the majority.

It is a brave flawed experiment that is certainly not the way you should experienceWatchmen.

For heavens sake, if you havent got it, read the original book.

(This isnt quite as bad as Watchmen Babies: V For Vacation, of course.)

At its bum-numbing length, its practically impossible to sit down and digest in one sitting.

Rating:

4 out of 5