Warning this review contains major spoilers for the Watchmen film so do not read on if this bothers you

One Sentence Review

A fairly faithful adaptation of the graphic novel and if anything knowing the graphic novel ruins Watchmen as a film

Detailed Thoughts and Analysis

Aside from the films ending which replaced the fake Giant Alien Squid with framing Dr Manhattan for the deaths of millions this is one of the most faithful adaptations of a book that I have seen and therein lies the films problem for people like me who know the graphic novel well as it was too similar and I did not really enjoy it as a film but was too busy thinking that’s the same, that’s a little different, or I don’t like how this scene has been filmed etc.

In terms of what is kept and what is cut, almost everything involving the main characters interaction together is kept, the main material is lost is to do with the side characters, this has the side effect of the New Frontiersman ending to the film seeming out of place as this is the first time you meet the characters. The Tales of the Black Freighter has been completely removed but as I tend to skip that in the Graphic Novel I am not that disappointed by its omission.

Moving on in terms of the films style aside from the opening scene which I felt used “Bullet Time” too much, I could not really fault it too much and felt immersed in the alternate 1985. My main criticisms of the film style is that a few details early on foreshadowed later reveals too much and the adaptation of the attempted rape of the Silk Spectre (original) by the Comedian made it look like she had led him on and even a slight possibility that if it had gone further it was consensual when I did not get any suggestion of that from the graphic novel. One thing I did find distracting was the constant shifting of the blots on Rorschach’s mask, and while it does occur in the graphic novel on the big screen I found that it was distracting. The final thing which was not made clear and should have been is that Doctor Manhattan aside the Watchmen are normal human beings and not superhuman as a few of the scenes made them look too powerful.

Moving on to more positive things I thought that on the whole the songs picked for the film fitted it really well and that with the exception of the casting of Matthew Goode as Adrien Veidt/Ozymandias the actors chosen for the roles fitted them well. My problem with Goode was that he appeared a little young for the role and did not have the gravitas that the role needed.

Overall though I do not think that Watchmen works as a film or at least not this version of it and that is probably because too much time was spent getting the details and feel of the film too match that of the graphic novel that it does not “breathe” as a film should. If anything watching the film felt like reading an alternate version of the Graphic Novel updated for 2009 and that is not what I go to the cinema for. This is one of those films that it is probably best to buy the DVD, not because it is a bad film but because that is the only way to take in the details and watch in sufficient times to start to enjoy it as a film.

My personal recommendation is if you have read the graphic novel recently and/or know it well buy the DVD, if you have not and enjoy dark comic book inspired films watch the film, then go out and buy the graphic novel

Rating

6/10