Who Watches the Watchmen? I did and it's Great!

Rating: 10/10 (9 March 2009)

Let me just start by saying I have long been a huge Watchmen fan. I think the only comic I would put ahead of it would be Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns. That being said I had lofty expectations of this film. So after seeing the film how did it fare? Well... it exceeded my wildest dreams. This film is amazing. It captures every rich detail of the comic. The political paranoia, the harsh violence, the love story, great action, the deep philosophical questioning of life in the universe and everything else Alan Moore painted into a rich literary masterpiece decades ago is all here. When I heard the cast so long ago not one actor, with the exception of Billy Crudup, excited me. After seeing the movie I can say this entire cast was phenomenal starting with Jackie Earle Haley who in every way WAS Rorschach and captured this role like i never could have imagined, Jeffrey Dean Morgan makes you actually feel for the loathsome comedian and Billy Crudup's detached Dr Manhattan struggling with emotion all the way to a strong performance by Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl. Even Mathew Goode, who at first seemed so miscast, really captured Ozymandias by the final chapter. The costumes and sets are great. The soundtrack fits well and sets the mood in each scene. The special effects, most notably Dr. Manhattan, are top notch. Zack Snyder's film really captures this "unfilmable" comic much as his take on 300 did. Even the "new" ending I can honestly say seemed to fit better than the original giant squid written by Moore. I know blasphemy right? well I stand by that remark it works the same yet feels less forced and random than the original. Comic films have grown up in the past few years and become not just great comic films but great films period. Like Dark knight this pushes the bar for the genre and brings credit to comic book based films. This is not Spider-man this is a dark, violent realistic film and it is a great one. Running about 2 hours and 40 minute this film never drags. I've actually read a director's cut may hit theaters this year(AWESOME). See this movie especially if you are a fan of the comic. Who watches the watchmen? Everyone should.