A great film that is highly misunderstood

Rating: 10/10 (8 July 2009)

Going into this film, I had already read the graphic novel twice. I love the novel and think it may be one of the most brilliantly crafted pieces of literature ever written. When watching any adaptation, you should never sit there and try and pick apart the alterations made to the original story. My reasoning behind this is that by doing this you will never be able to just enjoy the film. Throughout the history of cinema, films have greatly differed from the material they were based off of, and yet they were loved and considered classics for what they were. The best example I can think of right off the top of my head is probably "The Wizard of Oz" for how I am sure it strays away the source material and yet it is one of the most beloved movies of all time because how well the changes work for the medium. The same applies to Watchmen. There has been much outcry against the altered ending, and some of the little details that have been left out. I feel that the original squid ending would never work in the film, no matter how perfect it was in the novel. A giant squid alien attack worked within the context of the comic because of how it related classic comic book lore, but on screen it would just seem random. The new ending that uses Dr. Manhattan as the final solution works in the context of the film and actually gives Dr. Manhattan more of an emotional reason to leave Earth. Now that I have gotten my rant on the film's changes out of the way I can finally analyze the film itself. I gotta say, for the most part, the casting is dead on. Rorschach is this film's Heath Ledger, in the aspect that every scene he is in, you cannot take your eyes off of him. Dr. Manhattan, the Comedian and Nite Owl II were also handled very well. The only two that were a little off were Ozymandias and Silk Spectre II. Okay, Ozzy wasn't too bad, just a little wimpier than I would have liked, but Malin Akerman's performance as Laurie/Silk Spectre II was just mediocre. She ruined almost every one of her lines with her lifeless line delivery. The example that sums up my feelings on her can be found towards the end of the film. The scene where she holds up a gun and tries to shoot Adrian was an emotional moment in the comic for Laurie as she cries and says, "you're such an asshole". In the film she says this, only it sounded like she was trying to give an action hero like one liner. My fanboy gripes aside, this is a movie that needs to be seen. It is possibly the most risk taking Hollywood blockbuster to come out in a long time. It is uncompromising, unforgettable and thought provoking, just like the tone of the novel. Anyone coming in expecting just a hardcore R rated version of X-Men or Spiderman will be disappointed. The films does not have that many action sequences, but it is not a story about action, it is about the characters and how society has been affected by their existence. Zack Snyder may not be very original (in the aspect that he has only directed adaptations of other artist's work so far) but he fights for his vision of how the story should be interpreted. Not many other directors would dare to do with their big Hollywood films that he has done in this one. It is almost Stanley Kubrick-esquire. I am saying this in the aspect that it is very noncommercial and tries to do things no one else is doing. I feel that Watchmen will one day get the recognition it deserves like many of Kubrick's films that were not accepted at release. It is a brilliant film that should be enjoyed as a separate work from the novel, and it will only improve with time. To sum thing's up, Watchmen follows one of Rorschach's more memorable lines: "Never compromise, not even in the face of Armageddon."