Movie Review: Watchmen

The first thing I want to know about a review of the new Watchmen movie is whether or not the reviewer has read the original graphic novel on which it is based. I need to know if the reviewer is basing their opinion solely on how it works as a film, or if the reviewer is comparing the film to the comic (consciously or subconsciously). In that spirit, I'll fill you in on my level of experience when it comes to Watchmen: I've read the original series created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons a few times, including a re-reading a couple of days before seeing the film. When it comes to the comic, I have no original opinions to share: basically, I agree with most everyone that it represents the very best the medium has to offer, and reading it for the first time well over a decade ago changed both what I came to expect from comics and how I read them.

That said, I'm no über-fanboy who thinks the original text is sacrosanct and is insulted on behalf of Alan Moore by the very thought of a Hollywood adaptation of his work (Moore long ago decided he wants no part of adaptations of his work, deciding the medium incompatible with comics after being burned with a couple of bad adaptations of previous work). I enjoyed the 2005 film adaptation of V for Vendetta, and felt that if properly respected, there's no reason why a good Watchmen film couldn't be made. Sure, things would be lost in translation, as the comic was as much about the medium of superhero comics as it was about these particular superheros, but that's true any time you adapt a story from one medium to another. I was prepared to allow for changes as long as the main ideas and themes of the story remained intact. Honestly, despite how much is written about how unforgiving fanboys are over the minutiae of their worlds, I think the whole thing is either exaggerated, or representative of only a small minority of comic-book fans. As long as filmmakers treat the characters and stories with respect, most comic-book fans have no problem with changes like Spider-Man having organic webshooters or Storm being an original member of the X-Men.

Still, despite having some anticipation for this film, I can't say that I've been looking forward to it for years. I was fine with the comic just being a comic, and haven't exactly been waiting for Hollywood to come along and validate its existence. I'm a huge film fan, but I don't think it's the superior medium. I don't need my personal favourites to become fodder for the general public, so if a Watchmen movie was never made, I wouldn't think it a great loss.

Article Author: Andy Sayers

Andy Sayers is a technical writer from Canada, which automatically makes him funnier than people from other countries. When not writing about pop culture, he is consuming it alongside his loving wife.

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