It seems that the silver screen adaptation of the cult graphic novel, Watchmen, has drawn a clear cut line between loyalists who have greeted Hollywood’s fleecing of their beloved story with dread and loathing, and those who are stoked about another showing of box office badassery. No matter which side of the street you find yourself on, there's no denying that the film's producers have assembled an excellent collection of tunes for the soundtrack.

You can never go wrong with Bob Dylan, and the master's works appear three times on this Romance. Surprisingly, MCR's gritty take on the classic works better than many Dylan covers out there, save for Jimi Hendrix’s classic retelling of “All Along The Watchtower,” which also appears. An original recording of "Times They Are A-Changin'" creeps from its shadows brilliantly amongst this collection. Well-placed in their respective scenes, "Unforgettable" (Nat King Cole), “The Sound Of Silence” (Simon & Garfunkel) and "You're My Thrill" (Billie Holiday) also feel right at home here. Symphonic interludes from The Phillip Glass Ensemble and The Budapest Symphony Orchestra and their flawless "Flight Of The Valkyries," bring the film's larger-than-life feel to your stereo, while Janis Joplin's "Me And Bobby McGee" and "I'm Your Boogie Man" (KC and the Sunshine Band) put the fun back into things. And in case you forgot that Shrek didn't really write "Hallelujah," they've included Leonard Cohen's original take.

Watchmen fan, not a Watchmen fan; it matters not. If you're a music fan, you're a fan of this soundtrack.

—Ryan Ogle
03.29.09

As a comic book, -Watchmen presented an alternate history of the 20th century, twisting the familiar into the surreal. Director Zack Snyder chooses to cherry-pick chestnuts from every decade of the story's time line. There's a little Billie Holiday, a little Nat King Cole, a bit of Simon & Garfunkel and Janis Joplin, some ironic disco via KC & the Sunshine Band, some somber sobriety with Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," and a whole lot of Bob Dylan (whose "The Times They Are A-Changin'" opens the film, underscoring a montage telling the story's alternate history), who is then covered by Jimi Hendrix and My Chemical Romance, whose truncated cover of the epic "Desolation Row" is performed in the "style of the Sex Pistols," as requested of the band by Snyder. MCR's "Desolation Row" is placed here at the beginning, not the end as it is in the film, all the better to get attention -- and it does get attention with its buzzy guitars and Gerard Way's affected snarl. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi