People need to know what to expect going into it

Rating: 10/10 (9 March 2009)

Okay, I am not going to provide a lengthy synopsis for this movie as it has been done 1000 times before and one more would likely bore readers to tears. I have a few quick points to make and then will be on my way, however, before I make them, I would like to say that I feel this is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time (on my top ten, for sure). Okay, so here it is. I looked at a few comments people have made about this movie and those most common complaints I've seen are:
"It's a boring movie that has superheroes without superpowers. It does doesn't have enough action for a superhero movie."
Okay, to better understand Watchmen is to understand that it is an extremely unconventional superhero movie, one that breaks the typical superhero stereotype. It is about normal people (spare Dr. Manhattan) who take it upon themselves to do what they can to protect society. It is not about characters who gain superhuman abilities through a run-in with some form of radiation (again, ignoring Dr. Manhattan); they are not meant to have super powers. And as far as a lack of action is concerned, while I disagree with that statement, it is important to note that the graphic novel and even the movie are described as a "complex, multi-layered mystery." If that doesn't give you a heads-up as to what it's going to be like, then I don't know what will. What else did you expect from a movie that labels itself in such a way?
"The costumes are hokey, lame, etc."
That's because they are supposed to be. Again, these are normal people who decided to do what they can with what they've got. The costumes are realistic in the sense that normal people can't afford a billion dollar high-tech Batman suit complete with state-of-the-art flying apparatus and seemingly invincible armor. If people were to actually dress up and fight crime like superheroes, their costumes would look a heck of a lot more like the Watchmen's than Batman's or Spiderman's.
When you go to see Watchmen don't expect a Batman, Spiderman, Iron Man and so on because that's not what you're going to get. You're going to get just what it says you will, which is a "complex, multi-layered mystery." And if you know and expect that going into it, something tells me you're going to love it.