Go watch the Watchmen

Rating: 9/10 (11 March 2009)

Zach Snyder was never going to please everybody with his adaptation of the dense, labyrinth novel. But he can definitely feel he's done justice to what couldn't have been an easy thing to adapt. Whats surprising is how faithful the film is to the novel, with whole pages seemingly ripped from the book right up there on the screen! From a fans point of view i got a big kick out of seeing my favourite scenes and characters finally come to life on the big screen. One of the most important aspects in the films success is having the right actors for the film. Thankfully Snyder gets this right. Patrick Wilson nails Night Owl 2 perfectly, Billy Crudup brings Dr Manhattan to life in a way thats tortured and moving, Matthew Goode brings the right amount of cool and arrogance to Veidt, becoming especially effective in the third act. Malin Akerman has been underrated for her Silk Spectre 2 performance, but i think she is excellent in probably the hardest part to pull off. Best of all is Jackie Earle Haley as Rorshach. This guy owns the whole film and its electric whenever he's on screen.
The film looks great and the effects are all top notch. Dr Manhattan is a joy to behold the way he is presented in the film. The Mars scenes are stunning and its great that the smiley face on Mars panel from the novel has been reproduced on film. The Owl ship also looks great and its flying scenes are beautifully shot.
The songs used in the film work surprisingly well, from Dylan, Nat King Cole and Hendrix etc, and the score from Tyler Bates is very good.
Snyder wisely ups the action quota from the novel, and its well shot with no confusing editing ( unlike TDK) and its also very violent and bloody.
Watchmen won't be for everyone of course and the film will take 2 or more viewings to sink in, but i think thats a good sign of the films quality and longevity.
I look forward to the extended cut on DVD when it comes out because i think this film will benefit from repeated viewing and will become a huge cult classic in the same way as Blade Runner did. Go watch the Watchmen. : )