God! How does one even begin to review this. I’m blown away! I’m in geekboy/fanboy ubergeek nirvana! I saw Watchmen last night. Watchmen!!! I first read the graphic novel back in the late 80’s. It was a time in my life where in terms of comic-book reading, I was looking to move on from the standard Marvel/DC superhero-fare.
The comic book industry was about to be turned upside down. The birth of the internet was about to hit and many of the leading artists and writers from the big two (Marvel & DC) were about to split and form their own companies. Comic books became more about multiple covers and gimmicks. Fellow fanboys were being sucked in to buying a bazillion copies of each issue no matter how dire and crap the stories were. (I know this first hand. Anyone wanna buy a copy of the 5 different versions of X-Men that were released? I have 30 copies! Howzabout Todd McFarlane’s Spiderman title? Several available!)
I digress.
In short, I was growing up and needed more than the normal superhero schlock that was being offered.
Titles such as V For Vendetta, The Dark Knight Returns, Killing Joke were books I was beginning to gravitate to, and later the brilliant Vertigo imprint hit me hard with titles such as Preacher, Sandman, Swamp Thing, and of course Hellblazer becoming my constant companion.
But the title that turned it all upside down for me, the title that left me with my mouth agape and blew me to hell and back – was Watchmen. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I digested each page as if my life depended on it. I was hooked beyond belief.
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect that masterpiece to ever translate on screen.
Last night, from beginning to end, I witnessed an adaption of the Watchmen that reminded me so much of the first time I read it. I was transfixed at the beauty and majesty before me. Each character was so beautifully portrayed by by their respective actors. Scenes from the comic book were perfectly translated to film and many times throughout the movie, I had flashbacks to twenty years ago when I first laid eyes on it all.
So is it as masterful as the Alan Moore’s graphic novel? (Moore who has publicly and vocally disassociated himself from the film) – well, yes and no. There is no way one can totally and faithfully recreate such a vastly dense and intricate tale. Impossible. But it comes close in a ‘edited’ ‘outline’ kinda way. I would have liked to have seen the characters fleshed out more, but with a running time of two hours and forty one minutes… how much longer can one make a commercial release these days?
It is a visual treat but please, please, please – grab a copy of the graphic novel and see for yourself – just how amazingly good the medium can be.
Vox Populi