Watchmen is a dark satirical and dystopian take on the superhero genre.
Watchmen is a 2009 American superhero film directed by Zack Snyder , based on the 1986 -- 87 DC Comics limited series of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons . A dark satirical and dystopian take on the superhero genre , the film is set in an alternate history in the year 1985 at the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union , as a group of mostly retired American superheroes investigates the murder of one of their own before uncovering an elaborate and deadly conspiracy , while their moral limitations are challenged by the complex nature of the circumstances .