by Sharto Pagan

Created on: March 10, 2009

Watching the Watchmen

I am going to be honest. I am a former comic book addict. I used to be the kind of guy to spend a lot of money on comic books but somewhere along the line, I lost my way. Recently, i have found the time to renew my faith in the art and somehow found my way to the Watchmen graphic novel. Ultimately, it's a great book...period. Not particularly of the way it's drawn but how it shows the"human" essence of the superhero. Seriously, if you think of it, it would take a certain kind of person to put on a costume and go out and fight crime at night. there would be some sanity issues, that's for sure. This is something never brought to light before in the world of comics and Alan Moore showed it in vivid detail.

Now, after saying that and re-reading the book a time or two, I ventured out and saw the Watchmen movie. first let me say that Zack Snyder is a great director. I've seen all his movies and I'm a big fan of his visual style. When i heard that he was doing the Watchmen Movie, I was overjoyed with the idea of this coming to fruition. I have always heard that Watchmen was considered the "unfilmable" comic and maybe it was true until now.

Firstly, the look of the film is great. Little details from the book are in each frame and enthusiasts will revel in delight. You can tell that you're dealing with a Zack Snyder film (at least anyone who has seen one). The action is smooth and fight sequences are executed brilliantly. The acting was top notch overall. However, there are exceptions. Jackie Earl Haley as Rorschach was genius. Haley personifies the character head to toe and gives a dynamic performance. Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the Comedian/ Edward Blake was also note-worthy. Patrick Wilson as NiteOwl II was a bit sluggish and I wasn't convinced overall with his portrayal, although he did get the look right. Carla Gugino's role as Silk Spectre was OK, but her "aged" look leaves much to be desired. Billy Crudup was also good as Dr. Manhattan. Admittedly, I was a bit squeamish when they chose to keep the "nude" factor of the character intact, but I was glad that these moments were brief and passed quickly. The rest of the cast more or less played their part and filled out the scenery adequately.

Now the plot of the movie, more or less, follows the plot of the book and I wasn't disappointed. There are changes obviously, but I guess Snyder followed the book as closely as he could and it shows. There aren't many movies made (if any at all) that nail the book version and remain intact. I was happy with what I saw and can overlook the flaws to enjoy the experience as a whole. Graphic novel fans (who are realistic) can appreciate the effort and will walk away as pleased as I did. Then again, you can't satisfy everyone.

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