Could not have been done better.

Rating: 9/10 (31 December 2010)

When I read that Zack Snyder was to take on Watchmen I rolled my eyes. I mean, sure, he did a great job with 300, but that book lent itself to film like a cheap hooker to a wealthy jon; it was cinematic before cinema even touched it.
The Watchmen graphic novel is not cinematic. Even though it is composed of images that could be shot with a camera, it's slow and deliberate and rebels against any notion of shortening or getting to the point with pith. Alan Moore would hate you for even asking... and so does his book. While modern editors would call this a weakness to any story, those of us who've read Watchmen know it is an honest strength.
So how could a beast like that be adapted to film and call itself a Comicbook Movie, and sit beside others like Iron Man and X-Men and Fantastic Bore... And how could Mr. Snyder's experience on 300 and Dawn of the Dead possibly prepare him for something like this? Well, how could Peter Jackson come off Heavenly Creatures and The Frighteners and make Lord of the Rings, my all-time favorite book and film (they're all one, don't ya know ;^)). It's just not possible! But it happened.
And it happened here, too. Zack Snyder rose above merely making excellent films and made something that shouldn't have been possible. Watchmen is slow and deliberate and utterly dripping with potency. It retains the pacing, style and quality of the Alan Moore book, and does it all in 162 minutes.
Henceforward this weird creep shall sit high and proud on my short list of favorite directors whose movies I'll always see opening week. May he live there forever along with Peter Jackson, the Scott brothers and James Cameron.