From Someone Who Has Not Read the Book

Rating: 6/10 (5 March 2009)

"Watchmen" is an obviously ambitious movie. They are gathering of superheroes in the fictional modern world where Richard Nixon was still US President well into the 1980s. Director Zach Snyder (who burst into the scene in a big way with "300") ups his ante with more violence, gore, bloodshed and a considerably more complex inter-weaving multiple story lines.
It is really overwhelming for someone who has not read the so-called "best graphic novel in the world," and thus have no idea who these characters are at the start. But you know what, the innovative title credits sets the mood right off. And later on, you do learn about each character very well enough to care about them towards the middle and end.
I am still not really clear on what the superpowers of the mysterious Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) and innate good guy Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson)up to now, but I would know what kind of person they are by the way these topnotch actors have essayed these complex characters. Mr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) is a buff and unabashedly naked blue CG image almost throughout the whole film, yet it was still very effective in conveying this super-being's thought processes, despite his blank eyes. The raw physicality and conflicted character of The Comedian was very well limned by actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
The main antagonist Ozymandias I felt was the weak link in the cast. As played by Matthew Goode, he did not really look like a menacing super-villain nor did he even look like "the smartest man" on earth that he supposedly was. Malin Akerman had a lot riding on her as the main female character Silk Spectre II. She is quite sexy and all, but somehow her performance as a superhero was not too convincing.
Overall, it was a good enough introduction to the ultra-violent world of the Watchmen for the uninitiated. But this movie is not really for everybody. The younger male demographic is definitely the target audience, despite the overt frontal exposures of Mr. Manhattan. As far as graphic novels go, I still prefer "Sin City" and "300". I have to confess that the violence content of "Watchmen" went a bit beyond my comfort limit.