Dr. Manhattan is a giant blue superhero who spends much of “Watchmen” in the buff. He can bend matter to his will, peer into his own future, end wars in minutes, teleport around the cosmos, live in multiple timelines at once, and invent radical, history-altering technologies that normal human minds couldn’t even dream of. He also has a human girlfriend. For the most part, Dr. Manhattan’s relationship with Laurie, aka Silk Spectre II (Malin Åkerman), is inscrutable. “Watchmen” doesn’t seem to have much interest in unpacking what it would actually be like for a human woman to be in love with a glowing blue giant, even as it imagines this relationship having world-threatening consequences for the future of humanity.
One scene, though, leans into the campiness inherent in the pairing. To reiterate, Dr. Manhattan spends most of the film naked; it’s only natural the movie would have some curiosity about what their sex life is like. Lifting an image right out of the graphic novel, Snyder films from overhead as Laurie and Dr. Manhattan are in bed together. His fingers thrill her with sparks. One problem, though: There are too many hands. Her blue boyfriend has replicated himself, and Laurie is in bed with three Dr. Manhattans. It’s a silly moment — exactly the kind of fun “Watchmen” should be having elsewhere.