Watchmen

‘Watchmen’ is the long awaited movie adaptation of what has often been called the greatest graphic novel ever written. After years of wait and trouble with both finances and finding the proper cast, it was put in the hands of Zack Snyder and finally it began to get made. Towards the end of last year the first trailer for the movie was put out and comic book fans everywhere went crazy. This trailer promised us greatness.

Anxiously we anticipated the coming of March 2009 and when it rolled around we lined up outside the nearest cinema, practically wetting ourselves with anticipation. The trailers went by, slower than they seem too and far less interesting than usual, and finally the lights dimmed. The audience went quiet and the movie started. The Comedian was sitting in his robe watching TV. Then it happened.

The world’s greatest graphic novel came to life right in front of us. For nearly three hours we had nerdgasms as we saw Nite Owl, Roschach, Doc Manhattan and all the other great characters be given life by actors who look more like someone cast a spell over the graphic novel and the real characters jumped out and got jobs as actors. What I’m getting at here is that this movie is the most faithful novel to film adaption ever. The costumes, and I don’t mean the superhero costumes, are taken right from the pages of the book. Are there changes? Yes. Ozymandias has a less colourful costume and the ending is changed slightly. Now I’ve already heard some people whine about this but these are the people who don’t understand why some things work in a comic and not in a movie. There are also more actions scenes but that’s not at all a bad thing. Once again: The changes that have been made are only done so to make the transition better. You can’t complain about such minor changes that were needed.

Now even though “Watchmen” is a superhero movie, it’s not the kind you’re used to. This is far more a drama and a mystery and very psychological. So there was never a lot of action in the graphic novel but there was some. There’s even more in the film and it is fantastic. The fighting is interesting but not outlandish and has an exaggerated grittiness to keep the gore fans happy. Most of all these characters are fighting like they not only know the tricks, but they’ve tried them all through and through and they’ve got the experience of fighting street thugs for years and years. If you like realistic fights then this will keep you happy. If you like well choreographed, fun to watch fights then this movie will still keep you happy.

The acting is convincing. There are no real big names in this movie but everyone holds there end up. They know their characters as well as we do and they play them the right way. It seems everyone working on this movie understood that the fans wanted the comic done as the comic. They keep us interested and move naturally from scene to scene. Crudup (Manhattan) really shines in his scenes on Mars and when it comes to emotional detachment, he gets it right. The other cast members show their talent in the climax of the movie. The range of emotions and the sudden change as the truth is revealed is all flawless. Haley (Rorschach) in particular goes out with a brilliant display. Rorschach is a much loved and complex character and he makes it live just the way we imagined it.

So is it really perfect? Is this the greatest movie ever? Can I say nothing bad about this film? Well yes. It’s common knowledge that Zack Snyder is not a very good director. He’s got a handful of tricks that he over uses and the cameras are very plain. He also insists on directing sex scenes that are supposedly tasteful enough for mainstream cinema. The problem is that he’s got no idea how to do it. They just look extremely awkward and once again it relies on the same tricks he used in “300″. The worst is the especially cheesy moments such as hearing “Ride of The Valkyrie” when Doc Manhattan is in Vietnam. All you can do in moments like this is shake your head and sight.

So Zack Snyder doesn’t do so well when it comes to directing. So why did he get chosen? Well it’s because he’s good at making a movie look like a comic and he’s comic nerd enough to make a faithful adaption. Which means he does his job and I would worry that another director might try and influence the writing too much and give it his own interpreting. That’s not what this movie needed. He does his job and lets the comic speak for it self just as it was written.

So what’s the final verdict?

This film was worth the wait. You could hardly get a more faithful adaption that works on the big screen. The actors, the sets and the costumes all come together to give us what we’ve been waiting for. Alan Moore was always clear in stating that the comic medium can do things that you can’t do with movies and “Watchmen” is an example of that. Well there are things movies can do that comics can’t and that’s where “Watchmen” the film comes in. It is equally the masterpiece the comic was and worth the watch for fans and newcomers alike.

I give it 5 spandex costumes out of 5.