Simply sublime

Rating: 10/10 (12 March 2009)

Saw it last night. I'm in love. I was extremely surprised as to how closely Zack Snyder stuck to the graphic novel. The film was practically oozing with layers-it was so dense and complex, moving away from the awesome but simplistic duality of The Dark Knight and into a complex, philosophical, morally ambiguous epic. It was a visual and aural feast-the film just washed over me, and I sat there aghast at its awesomeness. The music choices were epic, with some fantastic period pieces which, although cheesy at times, were just so fantastically chosen. The visuals can in no way be faulted-everything, from the dark, dreary pre-Armageddon New York, to the red planet, to a glowing blue man with everything hanging out, it was simply stunning. There were so many fan easter eggs (copies of Under the Hood scattered around, the newspaper man, who is apparently in the director's cut, Nostalgia advert playing in the background).
I think I have two gripes with the film: exaggeration of the abilities of the characters, and the altered ending. I won't go into the second in much detail, but I still prefer the giant squid. In terms of the characters, they all seemed to have super-human strength and agility, which doesn't seem right-these guys are just strong, masked vigilantes. They are not Spider-man or similar. (Think Batman for their abilities).
But, the characterisation was SPOT ON (apart from Silk Spectre. Rubbish actress). Nite Owl, played superbly by Patrick Wilson, was a joy; his awkwardness and sexual impotence translated perfectly onto the screen.
Dr Manhattan I felt had the most exposition and it really helped the film, I think. When he was so brutally transformed into a God, I literally gasped.
Ozymandias I think was the weakest (after silk spectre). His character from the beginning was less "all-american hero" and more "maniacal villain". The actor tried his best, but he was playing him all wrong. The point of the film is that it's supposed to be a surprise when we find out he's behind it all, because he was such a nice guy, an intelligent guy, a pacifist, a vegetarian etc. He was a hero, for pete's sake, he shouldn't be doing those things! But from the very beginning he was played as a megalomaniac, intent on dominating the world. If you hadn't picked up that he was the baddie by around the half way point, then his little Alexander the Great speech certainly revealed things (should have left that till we knew the truth...).
The Comedian was perfect really. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is the Comedian, no doubt about that. Nothing else to say really.
Rorschach. Well, what can I say? Simply sublime. Patrick Earle Haley inhabited the role so perfectly it was frightening-I really felt that he was a psychopathic vigilante, dispensing his own brand of justice based on his own warped moral code. He completely stole the show, dominating every scene he was in. His journals, with fantastic voice-over straight from the pages of the book, tied the whole film together extremely well. I really felt for him as a character and, along with Dr Manhattan, definitely was the most fleshed out. When he said those infamous lines "Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon", I did a little "Whoop!" in my head. Then, when he was killed by Manhattan, I literally cried. His almost silent "Do it", followed by a harrowing scream sent shivers down my spine, and Nite Owl's emotional response made the whole moment so emotional (good idea having him there-very effective).
As you can tell, I love this film. Along with V for Vendetta and The Dark Knight, my favourite comic book adaptation ever, and definitely one of my favourite films of all time. I could talk about this film for days, but I've decided to keep it relatively brief Now go and see it, then buy the book, read it, then see it again, then buy the DVD, watch it, then read the book. Then watch the DVD with the book by your side, comparing every page to the film on screen like a complete nerd. I know I will be.