Among the Most Fantastic Adaptations Ever Produced

Rating: 8/10 (7 March 2009)

The experience of viewing Watchmen on the big screen has stuck with me since the beautiful opening credits graced the screen set to the soft sounds of Dylan's The Times They are A'Changin. I'll be straightforward, Watchmen is, at least to me, a near-masterpiece that will satisfy the expectations of even the most scrutinizing fanboy, but still is accessible enough for an intelligent general audience to enjoy.
If your reading this, you probably are somewhat aware with the plot of Watchmen, so I won't waste words trying to explain the deep complexities of this film or the graphic novel on which it is based, but, I will try to analyze the individual aspects of the film. Since I'm on story I'll start with the screenplay. David Hayter and Alex Tse have done the impossible. They took one of the most densely packed pieces of literature and managed to whittle it down to a brisk two hours forty- three minutes, and in doing so still capturing the spirit of the book. Even the most scrutinizing Watchmen fan could not notice most of the changes to the book. Some are slightly more obvious, *coughSQUIDcough*, but most are incredibly subtle and do not detract from the story. Nearly every character big and small was able to develop into fully-fledged human beings that one can identify with.
This leads me to my next subject, the acting. The cast is mostly unknown outside of the realm of film geekery. This is to the film's advantage as it lets the actors connect more with the characters. Nearly all of the performances were spot-on with special mention going to Jackie Earl Haley for completely embodying Rorschach body and soul and to Billy Crudup for taking the character of Dr. Manhattan and making him his own. I have only minor quibbles with the duo of Carla Gugino and Malin Akerman playing Silk Spectre I and II respectively. Gugino has a tendency to overdo it a bit with her portrayal, while Akerman has the opposite problem, occasionally sounding whiny or apathetic. Nevertheless, Watchmen's cast goes above and beyond expectations.
Next, the music choices. Tyler Bate's original score is reminiscent of Vangelis's work on Blade Runner, but is often times underused in lieu of period appropriate music. These choices range from stunning(Nat King Cole, the aforementioned Dylan) to questionable(Leonard Cohen' Hallelujah seems out of place), but are mostly effective.
Finally, the biggie, how is Zack Snyder? Some have called his previous works sophomoric and immature, but boy did Snyder put on his big boy pants for this one. Maturing in nearly every way, but still with the distinctive flair for visuals, Snyder creates scenes with pastels you would swear were drawn by Dave Gibbons. But, the man is still a perv for slow-mo. But fear not, he restrains mostly restrains himself, using the speed ramping sparingly to create a living comic feel at times. The gore in this movie seemed significantly stronger than in the book, and this is sometimes to the movie's detriment, but most of the action scenes are beautifully choreographed and not excessive in their violence. But the true strengths of Watchmen lie not in its action, but in its characterization and its creation of a completely separate universe from our own. The detail throughout the movie is incredible to almost OCD levels. This can all be traced back to Zack Snyder's love of the source material and his affectionate handling of it.
To be honest, I want to watch Watchmen again to take in the many layers of this story. Like last summer's The Dark Knight, Watchmen transcends its genre to create a lasting piece of art that sends speaks inherent truths about us as a society. It is not for everyone, but I believe that everyone should see it at least once.
Lance St. Laurent 9/10
P.S. If you get the chance to experience this film in Imax, do so. It is stunning on the big, big screen.