The most anticipated comic-book-movie of all time comes out today, Friday March 6, and I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. After experiencing a midnight showing almost exactly eight months after I saw the preview at a midnight showing of The Dark Knight, I haven't quite made up my mind about Watchmen.
Watchmen is the most critically celebrated comic of all time. Even referring to the story as a comic will unnerve many a fan. Graphic novel is the more PC term. Having read the comic for the first time almost 10 years ago, I was ecstatic when the first preview appeared on the big screen. Immediately after finishing the best movie made last year (Dark Knight) I logged on to my computer and cued up the Watchmen trailer just to watch it again in anticipation of what I was sure would be the movie event of 2009.
With such high expectations it might be easy to say I am disappointed by the final product. Any film would be hard pressed to live up to the dreams of fans, and the amount of money that must have been spent on the advertising campaign. (Seriously, when is the last time you turned on the TV or went online and weren't bombarded with Watchmen promos. I know it was an expensive film, but has any movie that ever tried this hard to convince everyone of its importance lived up to the hype?)
However, the nearly three-hour behemoth of a film left me satisfied. Not overly impressed. Not blown away. But content.
For any movie based on such dense and familiar source material, adaptation can be a tremendous challenge. Watchmen succeeds where many adaptations fail because it is absolutely reverent of Allan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons original work. The film is gorgeously shot and rendered with the entire movie matching the look and feel of the comic almost panel for panel. At the same time, Watchmen fails where successful superhero movies succeed because it fails to grow beyond the source material. The Incredibles and The Dark Knight were stories crafted for the big-screen specifically. Watchmen, for the entire length of the film, plods along at the pace of a novel. While the depth of each character separates the film from less carefully created works, slow pacing fails to add action an excitement at a consistent level. Instead, you feel as though a story is being read to you. So carefully is each word read, that they begin to lose some meaning in the context of the story. While the comic is rightfully lauded, some changes would have made the story more accessible as a movie.
However, before the die-hard Watchmen fans scouring the web for negative reviews get their tights in a bunch allow me to clarify. The film, aside from two awkwardly humorous sex scenes, worked smoothly and comfortably. The ending, which was changed from the comic, fit in exactly with the spirit and story that was originally laid out. The characters are all revealed in great detail through memories and expose a multi-dimensionality that even most good dramas seem to lack. The story is dark and the directing doesn't pull any punches. Those of the squeamish variety should probably stay away. Even the strangely out of place attempt at passion can't interfere with a plot that is always rushing forward towards an exciting conclusion.
It's just that despite all these positives I can't help but think that this film could have been even more. The dialogue at times is stilted and seems lifted directly from the page. The actors, almost all of whom are unknown, give strong individual performances, but lack chemistry together. The 80s style soundtrack is too familiar for a film taking place in an alternate history.
The main question I keep asking myself is how much did I really enjoy the film I just saw, and the truth is it's hard to decide. I'm fairly certain I wouldn't recommend the movie to everyone. While it never felt long, three hours is a lot of time to commit to an unknown. The action is sparse, and the violence is intense, so action buffs and drama nerds won't find themselves ever quite at home. If you read the title of the review (and made it this far!) and understood the reference just go see the movie already, I'm sure you'll love it. Otherwise, perhaps it's best to wait for the always epic but sometimes disappointing film to come out on DVD (which I will be buying to watch the film again and again).
The story is still fantastic, the characters are still engaging, but something intangible was lost in translation, and Watchmen the movie can't live up to the standard set by the graphic novel.
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