To anyone who might not have seen the movie or have read the book yet - maybe stop reading now.
First of all I think that the opening sequence that combined Bob Dylan's classic 'The Times They Are A Changin'' with some of the most iconic and influential images of the century was fantastic. It immediately set the mood, explained the universe and engaged the audience with something familiar while at the same time giving new and crucial information. The use of timeless/very much of the time music would be a running through-line within the movie that saw more greats like 'All Along The Watchtower' performed by Jimi Henrix, Janis Joplin's 'Me and Bobby McGee' and '99 Luftballoons' by Nena make appearances. The prototypical 'Hallelujah' by Leonard Cohen even made a showing... and in the midst of a steamy sex-scene at that - very appropriate indeed. Who can say no to those low, bass vocals backed up by soul singers?
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the film stuck pretty close to the source material, but I suppose that would be expected with Zack Snyder at the helm. The movie had a fairly long running time at 2 hours and 45 minutes, but it was interesting, visually stunning and, in short, I didn't get bored. To tell you the truth, a lot of the story contained in the initial 12 volumes of comic had to be paired down in order to make it into one movie - things like the Black Freighter story line, which is understandably absent from the movie, but will be appearing as an animated extra on the DVD.
The casting of the film was near perfect with Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan, Patrick Wilson as The 2nd Nite Owl and Malin Akerman as the 2nd Silk Spectre. The show was easily stolen, however, by Jackie Earl Haley in the role of Rorschach. Mr. Haley delivered a performance that was tormented, exciting and just this side of insane without becoming nonsensical or alienating. I cared for the character and identified with him... acting success. The only dent in the cast-armor I could point out would have to be Carla Gugino as both the Silk Spectre of the past and of the present. I found her past Silk Spectre completely believable... but when I watched her play an older version of herself, I found myself feeling that I was watching an actress in old-person makeup trying to play an old person and ending up with a caricature of what it means to be elderly.
The story of Watchmen is pretty vast and complex and, as such, the film in it's one and only installment was forced to deliver a lot of information in a short amount of time. Again, for the most part I feel that it achieved this to a high degree of success, but there were a couple of places that suffered as a result of these time constraints, the biggest of these being the emotional attachment and significance to some of the characters and the events in their lives. As needed exposition was delivered, some of the character's back-story or grounding had to be only hinted at, condensed or ushered out completely. In the end this left the job to the actors to convey a lot with only looks, short bits or dialogue and reactions. But again, I think they pulled this off in fine form. Rorschach's individual defeat-while-still-standing-proud as revealed when he takes his mask off is one of the most powerful images I have seen in a while.
All in all, I feel that Watchmen was both a good adaptation and a good film standing on it's own. The special effects were amazing while still serving the story. The performances were top-notch and believable. The arc was quickly paced without losing the audience. The best comic-book movie ever? Probably not. A good contender for one of the greats? I'd say that's a pretty good call. 'Nuff said.
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