Zack Snyder's Watchmen, not Alan Moore's or Dave Gibbon's

Rating: 10/10 (5 March 2009)

As a guy who has read the comic book and thinks it's the most influential book ever written in the genre ( though I actually don't think it's Alan Moore's best work- I think that title goes to V for Vendetta ), I was both excited and worried. Excited that these larger than life characters would get their shot on the big screen, but worried in that I wondered how such a densely layered text could make the transition from comic to movie without losing its soul.
Fortunately though Zack Snyder has done an excellent job keeping the spirit of the book intact- but what must be remembered is that it is his vision of the Watchmen world. If you are looking for Alan Moore's dialogue cramming every scene you'll be disappointed ( though the movie amply borrows lines straight from the text ) and the same goes for the artwork.
Acting wise this movie is very good, with solid performances by all the actors- but 2 standouts are from Jackie Earle Haley as the sociopathic adventurer Roarsharch and Jeffery Dean Morgan as the nihilistic, cynical Comedian. Both actors have tough, complex roles but convince you completely ( Earle's voice as Roarsharch is particularly...compelling ). Unfortunately, Matthew Goode as Ozymadias just doesn't manage to pull off the right amount of pathos for his role, which as the movie continues, lets it down slightly.
The other little wrangles I have is with the soundtrack which is at times great and at times...mystifying. I like All Along the Watchtower as much as the next guy, but when it begins to obscure the dialogue, it's a bit much. On the other hand, the montage at the beginning with the Times They are a Changin' was wonderfully done; a beautiful piece of cinematography. Again though, the song in the credits sort of ruined the last moment slightly for me. Also the sex scene in the middle went on for too long. I don't know if Zack Snyder was trying to be arty or just trying to express how much they had been aroused but it became boring to watch.
This is not my favourite superhero movie of all time- the Dark Knight still holds that title- but what it does achieve is a remarkable attempt to make a truly fantastic novel more accessible to people. There are flaws, mostly due to the changes that have been made in order to make it more accommodating to the film medium, but out of all the Alan Moore adaptations, this is by far the best.