Well done, and more comprehensible than the comic

Rating: 9/10 (8 March 2009)

Maybe it was low expectations, but I thoroughly enjoyed "Watchmen". It ranked up there with the first Matrix movie.
Even though I have become jaded with movies of the action genre (I was not a great fan of the Batman movies, nor the Superman movies, except the first one), Watchmen was well done, great action scenes, and some plausible people. It was a good "alternate universe" (genre) of movie.
So, if you have not seen the movie yet: please go see it without reading about it, and be prepared to follow a complicated story line.
And, yes, if you have NOT seen the movie yet, please rate this a good review that was helpful to you, and then see the movie, but don't read the rest of this review. Okay?
**Spoilers below**
I was surprised and glad that they had male nudity: somewhat a first for such a series. I guess part of it was the opposite of gratuitous violence: most action movies throw in violence, and most US movies do not show nudes, even when it is appropriate. And like the "Southland Tales" movie, sometimes low expectations and surprises can make you appreciate something even more.
The movie, by the way, is a bit too long, but you know, it's worth it. There's a lot of good stuff in the movie, and the irony and plot twists are great.
Some things are a little strange: the dumbness of some of the characters, their incredible skills, and some great technology. Examples of that are: 1) female super-hero pushing buttons without thinking 2) one character's weird Chinese style way of speaking (dropping the word "is" and articles "a" and "the") -- but that fits in with the original comic book 3) their ability to fight -- although a bit more realistic than Kung Fu movies 4) Gee, I want to list some of the technology, but I feel I can't without ruining the movie for those who haven't seen it. 5)Rorschach's totally appropriate name.
I read the comic book, and it was okay, but not great. The movie (for whatever reason) is great. Maybe I took too long and couldn't follow the comic, but I could follow the movie, with its twists and turns.