I must preface this review with the statement WATCHMEN is meant to be read.
Now that that's out of the way, I should mention that I didn't have high expectations of Watchmen as of late. I was excited like everybody else when the first trailer appeared those many months ago attached to The Dark Knight. Then, I don't know. I lost sight of something positive.
Then I saw it, and it wasn't bad. In fact, I thought it was kinda good. Even at 2:30, it's slightly bare, and I expect the director's cut will be more satisfying, but even so, the film delivered as much as it could've, and did it very well. I think there were quite a few unnecessary additions that took up time that could've been dedicated to the source material, but alas. So it goes.
Performances: Malin Akerman, who I have seen in exactly 2 movies, and hated in both of them, was not bad. She played Laurie Juspeczyk with the same kind of jaded, worn out irritation that I imagined the book version to be. Patrick Wilson reminded me why I'm ever so in love with Dan Dreiberg. Jackie Earle Haley nearly did justice to my favorite, Rorschach, but maybe his grumbly monotone was too Batman for me? Jeffrey Dean Morgan, I think, was pretty perfect as Edward Blake/ The Comedian. Mathew Goode did both a great and a horrible job at portraying Adrian Veidt, who, to be honest, is the least likable character anyway. He definitely had poise, but his accent was constantly changing. Is he American? English? German? Lastly, Billy Crudup plays Dr. Manhattan. I guess I never thought about what he sounded like, so I can't quite say how I felt about his performance. And considering most of him was encompassed in CGI, it's even trickier to judge. I found his performance... Serene. Which is probably perfect.
I think Zack Snyder at least shows he's a competent director. Though he is apparently a "die hard" Watchmen fan, and some of his choices were (really) questionable. Some of the song choices threw me, and there was a lot of gratuitous sex/profanity/violence. But, that's just his dumbed down style I guess. Still, I didn't find anything HORRIBLY wrong with this. But I must reiterate: it is redundant to make a Watchmen film.
I cannot speak for the Watchmen fans. I haven't been one terribly long, but I do love the book very much. I think it's an incredible piece of literary genius, and a fantastic graphic novel on top of it. But, I can't say for sure this is good or bad. I think it's one of those that will either excite the fan boys, or severely piss them off.
Recommended? Yes
Grade: B
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