Going in, I'd say my outlook toward the film was cautiously optimistic. I purposely kept my expectation levels in check (as much as possible), but made sure to enjoy the preceding hype for what it was. Whether or not the film ended up being any good, it was fun to see so many online discussions about the book and characters pop up, or experience the fun little pieces of viral marketing that boded well for the film's attempts to recreate the iconic imagery from the book, or even just to take in a few Watchmen-related spoofs. Sure, Zack Snyder wasn't my first choice of director for a potential Watchmen film (or second choice, or a choice I would've made at all), but I had to give him credit for fighting the battles to get it made, set it in the '80s, and other little touches that showed that he respected the work (after all, I may not have liked 300, but I did feel that it was a pretty exacting adaptation... of a pretty dumb comic).

So how did Snyder do? To start with the good news, his at-times slavish devotion to the source material led to scenes that leapt off the page and on to the screen, be it Dr. Manhattan's origin or Rorschach attempting to avoid capture. It was thrilling to see these iconic images spring to life in two-dimensions on a 50-foot IMAX screen, and enough to warm the cockles of even the most cynical fanboy's heart. Snyder is an adept visualist, an ability put to good use in the film's bravura title sequence, where he takes iconic moments in America's history, and inserts the characters of this world, adeptly establishing the world and history of Watchmen in a creative way that is not borrowed from the book.

In terms of the cast, there are some good performances on display, with Jackie Earle Haley standing out in particular as the grim Rorschach. He's the highlight of the film, and can be placed in the pantheon of perfectly cast roles in comic-book movies, and is probably the best reason to go see the film. Patrick Wilson is solid as the film's emotional centre, bringing a humanity to the film that is largely missing from its two stand-out characters in Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan. Billy Crudup brings the calm, distant attitude of Dr. Manhattan to life, while Jeffrey Dean Morgan brings charisma to the morally reprehensible Comedian.

On the flip side, Malin Akerman and Matthew Goode are pretty bad as Silk Spectre II and Ozymandias respectively. Neither can overcome the Alan Moore purple prose that populates David Hayter and Alex Tse's screenplay, giving flat line readings that fail to imbue either character with any depth. Unless she's in her tight latex costume (or immediately out of it), Akerman barely registers at all, which is a major disservice to one of the key emotional journeys of the book. Worse is Goode's one-note performance that telegraphs the film's ending when greater ambiguity was called for. And as much as it pains me to say it, Carla Gugino is hit and miss as the original Silk Spectre, although a lot of the misses can be blamed either on Akerman, whom she shares many scenes with, or the make-up department, whose attempted aging of Gugino was really poorly done, particularly when viewed on a 50-foot screen.

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.

Visit Andy Sayers's author page — Andy Sayers's Blog