A Masterpiece of modern cinematography

Rating: 10/10 (6 December 2011)

In a nutshell, one of the best movies ever made, if not the best.
Based on Alan Moore's awe-inspiring graphic novel of the same title, the movie does a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the book, paying attention to the tiniest details and using the book as a storyboard that allows the pages to come alive on the screen and transport, for the duration of the film, to a a darker but fascinating alternate reality while looking at history that never was but, perhaps, could have been.
The movie opens up with a mystery, and the tension keeps building as we meet a diverse cast of characters, enjoy spectacularly filmed, breath-taking sequences, and slowly other mysteries and unanswered questions turn the movie into a mesmerizing Chinese puzzle box in which everything, and I mean everything, can assume different shades of meaning that might at first appear isolated but really are always connected to the main themes of the movie, at times in ways we'll only recognize later on as we solve parts of the puzzle.
The action sequences are fantastic, original and superbly choreographed, but often take a back seat to the depth of character development (often touching but never clichéd) and grander themes that challenge us to ponder mysteries like; time, the corruption brought on by power (who watches the watchmen?) love and the nature of life itself.
A great director, a beautiful soundtrack, inspired performances by all the actors (special kudos to the man under the Rorsharch mask) and creative, stunning cinematography come together to bring to the screen one of the most intelligent, thought-provoking stories ever written.
Any film lover will count it among the best movies ever made, if you haven't seen it yet, enjoy it now, movies of this caliber are few and far between.