My Review

Rating: 8/10 (8 March 2009)

I was really impressed on how Zach Snyder recreated the comic in almost perfection. He really stayed as close as possible to the comic, including costume/clothing design, dialog, and set design. Most to almost all of the shots in the movie were exactly how the comic illustrated the scene.
I did notice a few difference in the movie when compared to the first chapter of the comic. For example, the comic starts out by informing the viewer about the comedian's death in the Cop's P.O.V., and in the movie you get to see it from The Comedian's. When Rorschach goes to investigate the murder, the movie depicts him searching the apartment for a while before heading to the closet, while in the graphic novel he heads straight to the closet, almost as if he knows exactly where to look. The movie never shows Rorschach writing in his journal, which the comic makes a point of doing. Also the bar scene is different, in the movie Dan (Night Owl) accompanies Rorschach, and in the comic Rorschach is alone. The movie depicts Lori and Dan enjoying dinner on ground level, the comic shows them on a roof. Jon also tells Lori that she is going to have dinner, in the book she tells him.
I'm not a huge reader/fan of comic books or graphic novels, but I love watching the adaptations of them into film. Something about the film gives the characters and story so much life, if depicted in the right way and the director knows what they're doing. The Watchmen is a wonderful example of a director staying as true as possible to the story, and creating a beautiful work of art at the same time.