Now, Everyone's Watching...

Rating: 9/10 (8 March 2009)

Seeing Watchmen has sold out tickets, has had long lines and has already received several reviews on websites, the film appears nothing short of a success. While I do agree that the ending does bog down a tad with its over-dialogue--all the while confusing novel readers alike--the comic book labeled "unfilmable" has been completed to near perfection.
For lack of naming actors, the performances of Rorschache and Nite Owl were arguably the best, while critically-bashed Silk Spector II and Ozymandias were much better than given credit for. I thought Silk was the center of the film's sense of humor (as well as the sex, obviously) and Ozymandias was not given the proper back story to build up his character: the Alexander The Great-influence; his family's wealth; how did he become this ultimate ideal of such strength and intelligence? And so sure, he doesn't look like Robert Redford, either. Oh well.
Watchmen excels with a great opening credit sequence (one of the best ever), beautiful set design and costume (they nailed it), cool tunes (other than an unneeded Tears For Fears instrumental) and outstanding cinematography (didn't rely on lame camera tricks). Director Zach Snyder's use of CGI within the film was especially great, none better than that of Jon Osterman a.k.a. Dr. Manhattan. It's true, if you haven't read the book, you're not going to be nearly as amazed with how superb Snyder captures Jon's presence and dialogue within the movie. Film critics have also claimed that the Mars' sequences look cheesy. Are you kidding me? It was beautiful. The working gears of Jon's new home nailed the reference to the outer realms of time and space. Maybe the newspapers were cutting the budget, not allowing critics the IMAX treatment. Really, Watchmen has some of the best CGI ever put to film.
The fight and action scenes (i.e. the opening death, the alley fight with Dan & Laurie, the prison break sequence) were excellent. They did include Snyder's signature slow-motion, extreme gore, and sheer violence (ala 300) without making it a farce. The black humor and sensitivity of the novel (i.e. Comedian's breakdown, Rorchache acknowledging friendship) gave new fans that much needed balance. Being a hardcore graphic novel and comic book geek, it was even easier to understand more of the Watchmen's analogies, themes and messages from seeing it in live action. That's a plus.
It wasn't hard to receive goose bumps and anxiety from watching the Watchmen. If only those feelings remained towards the end of the film (it's a little different, yes, but the overall meaning is still there), I would say Snyder's adaptation of the Watchmen is perfect. There's no fault in being "too faithful to the book." There is a fault, however, for not giving this outstanding achievement in cinema a few hours of your time.
****