Watchmen Is No Longer Unfilmable!

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2009)

Watchmen was everything I had hoped for. It delivers a great story, interesting characters, top-notch special effects, gore, nudity, and a visual style that matches the graphic novel perfectly.
For starters, I have read the graphic novel and enjoyed it immensely. I was initially wary of the adaptation, but with the very competent Zack Snyder directing, I was sure that he would be able to deliver on his promise of a faithful adaptation. Boy did I hit the nail on the head! The story is multi-layered and involving, and has been adapted perfectly from the graphic novel. If you've read the novel, you won't be disappointed and if you haven't read the novel, you'll enjoy just as much (though you may not pick up on the subtle things included for the fans).
The characters are excellent and well-developed, something comic adaptations can fall short with. Each actor is superbly cast, especially Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian, Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan, and Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach. Each plays their character exactly how I envisioned them from the graphic novel. Haley is particularly unsettling and extremely effective. Malin Akerman was wonderful too; she was not just eye candy. Everyone else does a great job, even the supporting actors. It was also nice to see very minor characters in the novel make an appearance in the film.
The special effects were downright amazing, especially Dr. Manhattan who looks completely real and not at all like a CGI piece of crap I feared he might turn out to be. I'm not sure how they shot it, but he looks great. Rorschach's mask was very cool as well. Its ever-changing patterns evoked a certain identification with the character's complex and disturbed mind. The scenes on Mars were great but the standout effect was Dr. Manhattan's disintegration and reformation - by far one of the coolest things I've seen in years! The film was also quite gory, especially when Dr. Manhattan explodes people from the inside. Let's just it's not for the kids!
The music was great too and utilized flawlessly. Some people thought it was inappropriate but I thought its use was more than justified in context. I loved the opening montage set to Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and the use of Hendrix's "All Along The Watchtower" near the end. By the way, "All Along The Watchtower" is originally a Dylan song, in case you didn't know!
Lastly, Snyder did make some changes to the graphic novel, mainly for pacing and to help the cinematic transition. However, nothing that was left out felt missing. The ending is changed slightly, and if you've read the novel, you will most likely be perfectly fine with the change unless you are a die hard perfectionist. My friend thought that the ending change actually worked better than the novel's real ending.
The Bottom Line: A satisfyingly well-done adaptation of Moore and Gibbons amazing graphic novel that delivers everything one could want and more! A+