I'll Watch The Watchmen, Over, and Over Again

Rating: 10/10 (23 March 2009)

I have to salute Warner Brothers for taking to obvious gamble on producing a film which was not a guaranteed sell for mass audiences. They choose to stick as close to it's source as possible without compromising the integrity of said source. Doubly so I have to salute Zack Snyder for bravely throwing himself into a no win situation in taking on this project. He knew that he was damned by the purists of the graphic novel in lieu of the fact that he strove to stay as close as possible to Alan Moore's masterpiece. He also knew that he would also be damned by the uninitiated. The people who have never read the graphic novel. For the popcorn munching, soda-gulping crowd who were expecting another Dark Knight, and instead found a film which is abundant in psychological complexity, and jam packed with political satire. Watchmen was always meant to be a story where action takes a back seat to character depth.
In this age of cinema, we all seem to be plagued by the belief that things can't be done. We find ourselves to be discouraged to take risks, and attempt to think beyond to sphere of the current social consciousness. In the case of Watchmen, everyone concerned with the making of this film decided that this kind of cynicism is damaging. Warner Brothers decided that instead of joining the line of studios that rejected the project for fear of whatever backlash may occur, WB instead decided to be the one's to say "We did it, and whether you like it, or not, what matters is that we had the guts to say it could be done.
After reading Watchmen I knew deep down that a film was possible, and that all it needed was a Director who had the right sensibility, and comprehension of the material to make it work. Zack Snyder, though not the obvious choice, was definitely a great choice. Some may call him a director who is all flash, and no substance, but after watching his prior work on Dawn of the Dead, and 300 I just can't agree with those claims. Snyder simply knows how to make the most of every scene by capturing it at every angle. He knew that the way to make any film memorable was to insure that every frame is an iconic image that'll be burned into the subconscious of the viewer. With Watchmen he struck a gold mine. Every frame of Watchmen is gorgeous to behold. He brings out the grimy streets of 1980's New York with unflinching passion. When Dr. Manhattan exiles himself on Mars, Snyder makes you feel the blissful solitude. Having read the book, I was able to see the same story from new and exciting aspects. I loved seeing familiar scenes achieve a kind of emotional impact that cannot be achieved with 2D images alone.
I do agree with Alan Moore that the graphic novel format is a medium all it's own, but I also agree with Robert Rodriguez (re: Sin City) when he said the mediums are similar. In the realm of movies, comics are storyboards, and Snyder, like Rodriguez, followed the imagery every step of the way. All the while knowing how to pace the story in all the right ways.
The differences in the adaptation are seldom but they are still appropriate. Never once was something cut or changed that I was left lamenting it's omission. I'm sure a lot of it will be in the promised director's cut. As for the squid. I'm sorry but even if Zack Snyder, and the screenwriters could find a way to fit it in, it seriously would have been a hard pill to swallow on film. Even with Snyder visual talents, it still would have looked ridiculous, and would have overshadowed the impact of Ozymandias' intent. The ending is different, but still the same. You still feel for the tragedy of what Ozymandias has done, but you still feel the conflict that all the Watchmen feel regarding their decisions afterward.
The only shortcomings I could say this film had was that Malin Akerman was lackluster, and seemed unable to reach the core of the part. Also the inclusion of Ozymandias' pet Bubastis is great for fans, but is quite confusing for the uninitiated, so it may mean a lashing from the fans, but since there's no prior scene explaining Bubastis' origins, as a fan I'd feel no remorse for losing the cat. I just hope that the director's cut explains her more thoroughly.
In the end I will boldly say that Watchmen is a masterpiece of ambitious film-making, and in the long run people will look back and realize what all the hubbub is about.