Better than I remember

Rating: 5/10 (17 May 2016)

Like most people, I had mixed feelings towards Zack Snyder's Watchmen when I saw it in cinemas back in 2009. But after watching it the other day on Netflix, I have come to re appreciate the film.
The graphic novel is one of the all time greats. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' book took the art to a whole new level, and Zack Snyder, hot after the success of the brawny machismo and violence of 300, seemed like the perfect man to do another slavishly loyal film adaptation. But he was criticized for being too loyal to the source material, and not allowing scenes to breath and take on a life of their own, and while there is some truth to this, I find the positives in the film far outweigh the negatives.
The opening credits montage is rightly lauded as one of the best opening scenes ever. Jackie Earle Haley is brilliant as Rorschach, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian captures the spirit of the character perfectly. The rest of the cast is unfortunately hit and miss. And the running time is still an issue. There are scenes that could have easily been left on the cutting room floor, and other moments from the graphic novel that would have made the film easier to follow for newcomers, but for whatever reason, were jettisoned. And the sex scene in the owl ship? Bleaurgh.
Final thoughts are that I'm glad it was made. It's probably the best version of the story possible, but some diversions from the narrative would've made it more fun. Recently there have been talks about making a TV series based on the graphic novel, and that would probably service such a dense and multi-layered story better. But I give Snyder kudos for tackling a very noncommercial film about serious issues, with no famous actors, a three hour running time and a glowing blue naked man.