Watchmen (2009)

Don't be fooled by the fact that writer Alan Moore has disowned this adaptation of one of his works. That guy does that automatically. No one really knows why. But still, if you get a chance: read some of his work. It's pretty darn good.

This adaptation is also better than you might think, actually.

Now it is a well-known fact that acidic fanboys have been having rage boners about this one ever since it came out, descrying this and claiming it has ruined the unique vision of the graphic novel.

That is all a load of codswallop.

Is it the best possible adaptation of 'Watchmen'? 

No. 

Is it a fairly decent film that does its best to explain the story without going into too many details? 

Sure. 

Now some can stroke that rage boner again.

Also, this film does have its problems, but most do.

Explaining the story in full would take us too far. Let's just say that in an alternate timeline, Nixon got re-elected several times, people put on costumes to fight crime, they are now outlawed and after the well-known Comedian gets killed, events are set in motion that will forever change the direction this planet is heading. Nuclear war is brewing and tensions rise.

Also: Dr Manhattan is basically a god.

You can bitch about Zack Snyder's penchant for slow motion, but I never found it distracting in this one. Like with '300', he tried his best to get the look and feel of the comic right and even though this one is not as close as '300', it gets near. Also, there are quite a lot of characters to juggle and once again: he pulls it off fairly decently. Maybe I could have used a bigger dose of the Comedian, but that's just a personal thought. He is one of the more interesting characters, after all.

The one I really like, is Dr Manhattan. Here you have this all powerful being, yet he is so genuinely disinterested in regular concerns for human beings, that he might as well think we're nothing more than cosmic dust. Which is exactly how he operates. He seems to be losing his 'humanity' and this is used by various parties in various ways. For those not in the know, I don't want to spoil it all.

Rorschach is also a fan favourite and the way Jackie Earle-Haley plays him is rather nice. Maybe a little too much on the gruff side of things, but his delivery and intensity is cool to watch.

But what are the downsides then? Well, to put it bluntly, not all characters are as interesting. Laurie Jupiter is unfortunately rather bland, although I must admit I don't know whether it's the script or her acting that makes me feel disinterested. And I'm not really convinced by Night Owl, either. Too bad that we spend most of our time with these two then. I guess you can't win them all.

Sometimes, the film is also rather slow. Normally, that doesn't bother me too much, but on occasion, I do feel myself thinking: "Get on with it!" I guess it has to do with the mindset at the time of watching.

Nevertheless, 'Watchmen' is a more than decent comic book adaptation, just not the overly flashy one we've grown accustomed to. Makes sense, if you consider the source material. I'd still recommend this one, though.