Boring, slow, zero character development, don't bother

Rating: 1/10 (3 March 2009)

I have just seen this movie in a free preview screening and I can honestly say I would have been really upset if I'd had to pay to see it.
This is a long movie - 2:45hrs and the first hour was utterly pointless, nothing at all happens, I was struggling to stay awake. The plot suddenly makes an appearance at 2 hours in and the last 45 minutes are quite entertaining.
The CGI and cinematography overall are superb, this is a heavily stylized movie- it was a graphic novel after all and the music choices are also excellent.
But there's no plot, none. I saw this movie with a friend and neither of us could figure out the point of the movie at all. I guess you have to have read the graphic novel to have a clue whats happening and why. So in that regard it may be like Dune, which is much more enjoyable if you already know the story.
The violence really is quite graphic - think Kill Bill and you'll know what to expect, not that thats a bad thing, its just graphic.
What a waste - I was really looking forward to this movie and pumped that I was able to attend a preview, now I wish I'd stayed home and watched The Mentalist on TV. Seriously this is a horrible movie.