So here I am, two days after seeing on screen one of the most revered graphic novels come to life and I have the horrible task to try and give you my thoughts on the film without making it seem completely biased. Now I’m not going to lie to you, I hadn’t even heard of this book until the first trailer hit the internet, but since then I’ve read the book three times already and I love it. I knew going in that there was no way this movie would do for comic book films what Sin City did. There is no way that Zack Snyder could put every single panel on the screen without making the entire movie a slideshow – and if that’s what you want you can get it on amazon. However, there is no way I can down talk what a great adaptation this movie is of the book.

Zack Snyder fought tooth and nail to get this movie made and we should all applaud him for it. For another Alan Moore graphic novel – that he will probably hate for biased reasons – has been put on the screen for all fans and non-fans alike to experience and hopefully enjoy. My fear going in was not only could this not feasibly work in a three hour time limit, but I wasn’t sure what non-fans would think of this movie, especially after The Dark Knight made the comic-book genre of film the hot ticket to buy. Anyone could’ve seen any of the trailers and thought to themselves that this film would be another great looking action movie set in some comic book world, especially with the look of super-heroes. This line of thinking isn’t far off. However, Watchmen deals with a lot of deeper ideas and issues throughout the book and the film.

I personally have my small nitpicking problems with the few changes that were made and some of the trims, but overall the movie was a very real and true representation of the graphic novel. Personally I hope that those who are uninitiated go and see this film, leave it liking it just enough to go out and read the source material.

What was most evident throughout the movie was the wonderful cinematography. Larry Fong did a great job of capturing the look and feel of this alternate 1985. The specific use of lighting and colours makes it so beautiful to watch the movie, which honestly is my second favourite thing to like about a movie. I don’t even know why David Hayter & Alex Tse are even credited for writing, because the dialogue in this movie – minus some minor editing – is panel for panel whenever we get a specific scene from the book.

One of the things that I was slightly worried about going into the movie was the overuse of Rorschach [Jackie Earle Haley]. Rorschach is a great character and one of the most badass things that the book gave us, but the thing I liked most about the book was that it was definitely an ensemble of characters. Even though Rorschach does the most to push the story forward, he is still not my favourite character in the book or the movie. My favourite character must be Dr. Manhattan [Billy Crudup] and it is not because he is the only one of the Watchmen who actually has super powers, but because he is the most honest of all the characters. One thing the book and film tackles is how all of these vigilantes find it difficult to change from a life of crime-fighting to a regular life, just like in Pixar’s “The Incredibles”. Dr. Manhattan on the other hand is different from the rest of the Watchmen since he is not able to change back, because he is no longer human and cannot simple take off a mask and get a regular job. Also I loved the relationship between him and Laurie/Silk Spectre II [Malin Akerman]; I thought that the movie represented that relationship best. My only complaint about Manhattan that the movie fumbled on was the scene on Mars with Laurie, Snyder butchered that dialogue so much that it annoyed me. I loved that scene so much in the book and as I was listening to the conversation in the theatre I found myself distracted by how lines were cut and pasted all over the place and how he rushed it to get to the point way too quickly.

Night Owl II/Dan [Patrick Wilson] was an unbelievably amazing casting choice. I’ve seen him in Little Children and Lakeview Terrace and I loved him in both movies, but here he was just amazing. There’s no way that you can’t leave this movie without falling in love with Dan Dreiberg. He’s charming and vulnerable at the same time and we all know we want to go for a ride in that Archie – the owl ship, can’t remember if they mentioned that in the movie.

One thing that Zack Snyder did to make the movie more marketable was that he fleshed out all, if not most, of the action scenes in the film. Which I can’t complain about I loved the book for its characters and the plot, but that won’t sell tickets I guess. I have to say I loved the action in the movie, and I love especially the editing in the action scenes. My personal favourite in the movie has to be when Laurie and Dan are in the alleyway and when a gang decides to try and mug them, now that’s a mistake they won’t make again. One action scene I have to give my two cents on is the final fight. The fight sequence was completely changed from that in the book, just like everything else it definitely kept the same vibe from the book but at the same time I was so in love with that sequence that was so meticulously choreographed in the book that I was slightly disappointed. Once again this is just a minor fanboy nitpick, but hey that’s the whole point of me having this blog right?

Overall I think this movie is a must watch for comic book fans, action movie fans and also mystery/detective fans. Just go in with an open mind, fans and non-fans alike, and you will find this an enjoyable film. Also, if you find that you like the movie go check out the graphic novel if you haven’t read it yet, I can’t give that enough praise I guess.

IMDB says 8.1/10

Rotten Tomatoes says 65%

I say 8.0/10