A good movie in its own right, but that doesn't cut it!

Rating: 6/10 (6 March 2009)

I know a 6 seems harsh. The movie is good. Well done with good acting. If there was no source material I would have thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a feat not easily accomplished and it should be praised as a movie. However, I simply refuse to give this a higher rating. The fact that this was even made into a movie is appalling to me. Hollywood needs to get over comics and give them back to the people faithful to the medium.
Watchmen was the first comic i ever read and it opened up so much to me. It is so much more than what people see comics as. This isn't Batman, Iron Man, X-Men, Wolverine, Spider-Man, or any of the other properties being whored out to moviegoers. Watchmen is literature and is layered with great characters, compelling story, great writing, infinite references, and themes that run far beyond what comics had ever been. Trying to make this into a movie is like trying to put everything from LOTR into a movie. It's too dense and the subtlties of the graphic novel simply cannot be put on screen effectively.
My other argument is one that people seem to overlook or dismiss, which really saddens me. Alan Moore never wanted movies made from his work. So far four have been made without his blessing. Why? Because DC owns his work. He literally has no choice but to separate himself from his own work. It's like working in a Taiwanese sweatshop. He was just labor.
That said, the movie is seriously flawed in relationship to the novel. So much is missing, it seems like the SparkNotes version of Watchmen. No Black Freighter, no Under the Hood. The density from the comics just isn't there because it couldn't possibly be. Dr. Manhattan looks great, but he is played wrong. Things about all the characters changed in the movie because real people played them. It was doomed to fail. Moore's writing and construction of each character is essential to the story and to all interaction throughout. The ending is changed, and it is terrible. Total Hollywood ending. Veidt still does it his way, but the effect is marred and the characters react differently. Zack Snyder wanted an edgy take on superheroes, but it flops for him. Also, none of the characters besides Manhattan have superpowers, but in the movie they seem pretty super. The whole movie feels like a soulless copy of the original. The choice of music is ridiculous, too. The only good choice was Dylan's at the beginning credits. Overall, it comes no where near what the comics are, a great piece of literature.