A Mixed Bag

Rating: 8/10 (23 February 2009)

I'm a huge fan of Watchmen and after months of anticipation, I came out of the theater with reservations but an overall positive reaction to the film. Zack Snyder did an good job in adapting the unfilmable graphic novel.
Jackie Earle Haley stole the show as Rorschach and Patrick Wilson did a great job as Nite Owl, Billy Crudup and Jeffrey Dean Morgan also relished their performances, Malin Akerman and Carla Gugino gave flawed performances and Matthew Goode did a good job as The World's Smartest man. The Opening sequence was a dazzling cinematic experience i'll never forget, the soundtrack was filled with great songs, although some didn't fit.
My problem with Watchmen is that Zack Snyder left out several scenes from the graphic novel, as well as minor characters, who had pivotal roles in the comics. Also, The Minutemen, the heroes in the generation before the film hardly had any screen time. Also, The Comedian's role was minimised significantly. The changed ending fitted much better than that of the graphic novel.
Watchmen is no where near as good as it's source material but considering the high expectations and the years of anticipation, Watchmen is a valiant effort.