7/10This is a BIG movie. Big in scope, big runtime, big dangling blue super dong in yo' face . . . There is so much packed into the 162 minutes that it gives you ample opportunity to both like and dislike a lot of things, especially if you've read the source material. I have read the comic, numerous times, and this movie did its best to tear me in two. Part of me was euphoric to finally see one of my favorite stories in movie form, and part of me was arching an eyebrow at some of the more ridiculous elements of the movie. And every part of me was trying hard not to compare the movie to the comic yet failing miserably.
'Watchmen' is so sprawling that it's hard to neatly distill its good and bad aspects. But I'll try my best.
Rorschach was ripped straight out of the comic. Not just his physical appearance, but the feel of the character as well. Rorschach's performance, as well as the Comedian's, were probably the best in this movie. The Comedian may have been a deviant sociopath, but he was the only character who demonstrated any noticeable development. The rest were basically static. Sure Dr. Manhattan goes from human to glowing blue, but we see so little of his pre-jellybean form that there's really no change to the character outside of his appearance.
The visuals were awesome. The slow motion didn't detract from the overall experience as I had feared. A lot of the scenes and dialogue matched the comic exactly which was surreal and exciting to see. This movie certainly didn't mind kicking a fair number of comic book movie paradigms right in the throat, which was refreshing. On the other hand, I think the subversive undertones turned off a lot of the non-readers who were expecting some sort of wholesome, good vs. evil arc.
Basically, what 'Watchmen' has going for it is its unapologetic grandiosity, its slavish devotion to the source material (minus the ending) which is staggering enough to keep the hardcore fans of the comic at bay, its impressive visuals, and the singular, signature plot. All these things combined were enough to result in an overall positive experience for me. But there were negatives as well.
Firstly, the acting is mediocre and even flat in places. Some of the actors, at times, struggle with believable delivery of their lines. As for the ending, I understand why it had to be changed, but the movie's ending didn't sit well with me. It seemed rather anticlimactic and a little half-assed. I really hated Veidt's characterization. The movie turned him into a cookie cutter villain. It was obvious from his first and second appearance in the movie that he was the villain, which was infinitely frustrating. Plus the movie set him up as very foppish and smarmy, again adding to the villainous stereotype. One would be hard pressed to believe that he was ever a superhero. And the soundtrack . . . well, it's not for everyone. Some of it worked, and some of it was out of place.
The most glaring flaw with this movie was its failure to get the viewer emotionally attached to, or involved with, the characters. The scenes which were mostly dialogue and which propelled the plot felt like they were treated as a burden and tossed in the can as soon as possible. The characters' interactions seemed to bore the director and get in the way of the next "cool" visual sequence. "Yeah, yeah, finish your lines so we can get to that next cool pose!" Based on Snyder's past work as well as this movie, it seems emotional subtext is not one of his top priorities.
If you have read Moore's 'Watchmen,' you'll probably like Snyder's 'Watchmen,' though you might have some hangups with its transition from page to screen. If you haven't read 'Watchmen,' your reaction is much harder to predict. If you don't read comics at all and expect a classic clash of good and evil, you're likely to be disappointed with the moral ambiguity this movie shoves in your face.
