I watch the Watchmen, and I love it.

Rating: 8/10 (7 March 2009)

Watching the Watchmen is a satisfying experience. I'm a fan of the comic, and this movie lived up to my lofty expectations completely.
I love the visual style of the film, and the music choices suit the mood nicely. It's kind of reminiscent of what Scorsese does with music in his films. The highly stylized look of the film, the use of CGI, I dig it all. Right from the very impressive opening credits, the movie pulls me into its world with the visuals and music.
The cast is great all around, they deliver the goods. Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl II, Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian, and Carla Gugino as Silk Spectre all resonate very strongly with me. Some folks have said that Malin Akerman's performance as Silk Spectre II is weak, I have no complaints personally.
Pretty much every artistic liberty the movie takes is fine with me. The villain comes across as more creepy in the movie than in the comic, I do enjoy this interpretation of the character as well. The various other changes also went smoothly with me. I feel that they did a perfect job adapting a very dense work into movie form.
The characters are as likable and flawed as ever, and the feel of paranoia and helplessness of the cold war is thick. The action is spectacular, brutal and satisfying. The tender moments are handled quite well also, giving us the full package of sex and violence.
Pretty much, Watchmen is a modern fable about vigilante heroes trying to fight the feeling of powerlessness during the Cold War. It's an uncompromising ride I plan to take many more times over the years.