Emotionally challenged version of the graphic novel

Rating: 4/10 (6 March 2009)

God I love this graphic novel. It shows super heroes in a totally different light (read: realistically), the plot is a great whodunit, and the ending is a show stopper that is completely unique. That being said the movie had a lot to live up to and I just don't think it had what it takes. It's a gargantuan undertaking to take something like this to film, but that doesn't mean it can't be criticized.
First of all, I was very happy that they did Rorschach justice. He was replicated pretty darn close to the graphic novel version of the character, I really have no complaints. As is with the graphic novel however, I wish he was in it more! Most of the other characters were translated pretty well to the screen as well but unfortunately they really missed the mark on Adrian Veidt. He was taken from an Adonis-type guy to being "the smartest man in the world" that can kick everyone's ass for no reason we know of in the movie. They just simply chose the wrong guy and there's not enough time to bring out his character. He lurks in the shadows of the plot until revealing himself to be the key cog in the whole story near the end.
The movie just didn't carry any weight for me. This story is great because it blends real life implications into it masterfully. You just didn't get the sense that the fate of the world was at stake even after the final "reveal." I think the problem is that although they did the fans justice in one way by not editing hardly anything from the original story, the movie moves swiftly when you imagine it chapter by chapter and there's really no time for it to sink in how big a deal all of this really is. I tried to picture viewing the movie as someone who wasn't familiar with the story and I have to say I'm not sure those people would have much idea of what everyone was making a big fuss about. Oh, and the one big change was the ending, which didn't offend me as much as I thought because it has almost the same consequences as the original. Would've preferred them to put the extra effort into pulling off the true ending though.
Not really sure what else to say. It seems a lot of people are disagreeing with me but if you've read the graphic novel and are a big fan I don't think you the movie even compares. The film is like an emotionally dead version of the graphic novel sorry to say.