"In my opinion, the existence of life is a highly overrated phenomenon."

Rating: 10/10 (14 March 2009)

In anticipation of the movie, I read "Watchmen" just about a month ago, it was my fourth time. Each time, I came away with a greater understanding of the characters and story, in no small part due to the extensive narrative offered as backup to the panels one most closely associates with the comic book medium. To enjoy the movie, I don't think it's a prerequisite to read the book first, but I will say this - a viewer going in cold will have no idea that some of the scenes in the opening montage preface events in the story, like the young Laurie Jupiter watching her mother argue with her then husband (who wasn't revealed by name in the movie version). I think having that insight only brings a greater satisfaction to the viewer who has an insider's understanding of where the story is going.
What most impresses me with the film adaptation was director Zack Snyder's attention to detail, reminiscent of the same way he approached "300", another graphic novel by veteran writer Frank Miller. Granted, the ending, which many devotees of Moore will find fault with, is somewhat different from the original, but I was left entirely satisfied with the way the movie handled it. So much so, that I was left wondering why Moore hadn't come up with a similar ending himself, it seemed to make a whole lot more sense given the attention to Dr. Manhattan's self imposed off planet exile. Even in the graphic novel version, the alien creature construct ('the squid'), seemed clunky, perhaps more so in the artwork then in the concept. I say this after the fact of course; upon an initial reading, the story flows quite logically in regard to Ozymandias' scheme to defuse tension between the world powers.
What truly amazed me about the movie was how the entire back story of the characters meshed perfectly with events happening now, with no disconnect to the chapters of the original graphic novel. That, and the virtually perfect casting of actors for the lead roles. The only character that I had some trouble with was Matthew Goode's portrayal of Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias, I was expecting someone a little older and perhaps a bit huskier in physique. But Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson, and especially Jackie Earle Haley were perfect choices for their characters. Put Heath Ledger's Joker up against Haley's Rorschach and I think you'd be hard pressed to come up with a clear winner. The role of Laurie Jupiter could probably have been handled competently by any number of current young actresses, but with all said and done, Malin Akerman did just fine.
As for the run time of nearly three hours, I might be in the minority on this, but I didn't have a problem with the length and pacing of the picture at all. In fact, I'm looking forward to the extended version when it eventually comes out on DVD. I don't understand why movie goers seem to have a problem with anything much over ninety minutes or so; for my money, as long as the quality matches the content, more is always better by me. I mean after all, I'm going to a film to escape for a brief time from some of the lunacy going on in the world, so keeping me in my seat for an additional hour isn't the worst that could happen.
With minor nods to the present, the "Watchmen" set in the mid 1980's doesn't seem like it would be much different from a fictional universe set in the present day. I'm thinking specifically about the notion of super power rivalry over finite resources and energy supply, and the ever elusive concept of a just and lasting peace between the major players on the world stage. In that regard, I'm reminded of a similar theme at the center of a movie that came out more than a half century ago. In "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (1951), the Earth's major powers were faced with the threat of annihilation from an alien source if they persisted in continuing a rivalry that might lead to nuclear annihilation. The Ozymandias solution, for all it's intended 'good' effort to sacrifice millions to save billions, in the end would never achieve success for the simple reason posited in the graphic novel by Dr. Manhattan, and in the movie by Laurie to Dreiberg in a closing scene - Nothing ends, nothing ever ends..." For all his effort, Adrian Veidt achieved only a temporary goal.