As Good As Anyone Could Expect It To Be.

Rating: Null/10 (30 November 2009)

Given the variable quality of recent super-hero screen adaptations – from adequate to incompetent – this big, bold version of Alan Moore's legendary comic book is as good as anyone could realistically expect it to be. I read the compilation comic book (called a 'graphic novel' so that grown-ups didn't have to feel embarrassed about buying it) more than 20 years ago and was impressed by its sour, jaundiced view of the world – but then, I was only in my early twenties. And while I was impressed, I came away still thinking it was a good comic book and nothing more. Certainly no literary work of genius as some would have us believe. The makers here were left with something of a quandary: stay faithful to the book and you please the fans but get destroyed by the critics; make it more appealing and understandable to an audience with no knowledge of the book and you won't be able to hear the critic's praise over the howls of protest from the fans. Thankfully, they stayed (mostly) faithful to the book – even Rorshach's clipped way of speaking is retained.
As I prefer film to cartoons, I prefer the film to the graphic novel. The film can – and does – create a depth of mood and atmosphere that the comic book has no hope of matching, and as I watched the terrific opening shots of an alternative past unfolding beneath the credits I started feeling really pleased I'd bothered to pick up a copy of the DVD. For the most part, the characters in Snyder's film (and until now I've considered him highly over-rated) are no cartoons come to life but real flesh and blood characters. They're not deep, full-rounded characters, admittedly, but they at least have a measure of depth lacking from comparable flicks. The film retains the dark, noirish atmosphere of the comic, and even though it's a long time since I read the comic, I'm pretty sure that many shots are exact replicas of the comic-book panels they're adapting.
The violence, while difficult to take at times, is also in keeping with the comic – where gory scenes of mutilation can never be as shocking as when it's recreated on celluloid – and it's again credit to the makers that they didn't bow to the inevitable pressure to tone things down in order to get a lower age classification rating and so boost their profits. Remove the violence and you remove the guts of the story and all you're left with is a companion piece to the adventures of Peter Parker.
If you haven't read the book you're probably initially going to struggle to understand what's going on – even though the film takes a long time filling in the back-story (which is why the running time is so long). Sadly, in this age of the post-MTV generation, this means a level of patience is required on the part of the audience that may be beyond the capabilities of some. However, if you've read the book, I'm pretty sure you're going to enjoy this. Let's just hope there isn't a Watchmen II