What have they done?

Rating: 6/10 (13 July 2009)

It is the 1980s, but in an alternative reality with 2 major differences, one masked heros (not super heros exist) and one god like super hero does exist (Dr Manhattan).
It is the 1980s, the doomsday clock is moving closer and closer to midnight, nuclear destruction is close.
It is hard to review this movie. On one hand it is a literary master piece. The comic book (I won't use graphic novel, because while it is one of the first graphic novels, it wasn't published that way) is visually boring but tells the story in a multilayered manner.
Transitioning to a movie the layers are gone, but in a masterful way which suits the movie medium.
Unfotunately made today it is a period piece, and not enough has been done to remake the movie as a period piece.
The visual style is up-to-date not part of the 1980s, the action scenes which involved ordinary people seem more like the over the top kungfu or super hero pieces. There is no colour or lighting styles from the 80s. The clothes chosen are timeless. Younger viewers might get confused by the alternative time line, not really being able to fit things together as not enough back story is included.
In addition the comic book's original visual style doesn't stand up against modern comic books and graphic novels and provides no visual inspiration for the movie.
Story wise, it is still up there. It is hard to really say, because I found I was filling in untold pieces from the comic book, rather than them being retold to me.
In addition many elements are only really understood by children of the 70s and 80s. In the 70s the caped hero become an icon (Elvis wore a cape on stage). In the 80s these heros were not so popular and the events in the alternative time reflect this.
In addition, only those who grew up in the 1980s, where we would often have serious conversations about surving nuclear holocaust, can really get the core of the story. This is something that was not fleshed out in the movie version.
But then maybe audiences are smart enough not to spoon fed every part of a story (unlike modern movies).
In the end the positives out weigh the negatives.
Something, different, post modern, interesting. I suspect it may become a cult classic as viewers return to the original comics, or review and find the layers inside the story.