Watchmen

First the short review: Overall generally entertaining, not bad, not great, but okay. Falls below Dark Knight and well above Fantastic Four in the pantheon on super hero movies. You can all go back to watching Rock of Love now.

Five Points

1) Yes I did read the book and while I found the story to be interesting, I wasn't that impressed. Part of this probably has to do with the fact that I haven't been able to get completely on board with the graphic novel (pretentious for comic book) format, but my lack of hysteria surrounding the book meant that I went into the film with a fairly open mind and wasn't going to get apoplectic if the film didn't closely hue to the narrative. That said I think this was about as good of an adaptation that could have been done of the source material. While the film necessarily cuts significant portions of the book (including an entire subplot that they released as a separate animated DVD release) it captures the general feel of the book and does a good job distilling the main plot of an alternate 1985 where masked vigilantes have been outlawed, and the US and Russia sit on the brink of Nuclear war (hows that for a plot summary, fans of the book are getting ready to take out my knees as we speak). That said I can't say if the film is easier to follow if you've read the book (I would imagine it would be), my friend who went with me seemed to follow it okay so I don't think its a necessity.

2) The story really could have used a sense of humor. This is a problem with the book too, and I'm not saying that everything should be turned into late night at the apollo, but every character is taking every thing so seriously. The only two attempts that the film makes at humor (which involve the character Rorschach) generated the most positive audience response of the film. Just a hint of dark comedy (something the Dark Knight got out of the Joker character) adds a tremendous amount to a film like this.

3) Its always tough when a film uses recognizable songs as its cues. When it works (like in Goodfellas) it can add a nice sense of scope and hopefully enhance the viewing experience by incorporating the viewers feelings about the song. When it doesn't work though, its ends up being distracting. This film's use of music falls in the latter category. Most of the cues are a little too on the nose (Sounds of Silence for a funeral, really?) and I ended up getting pulled completely out of the scene involved whenever a song come on.
On a related note the sex scene is just as hilariously awful as you've heard, and as a result Jeff Buckley's 'Hallelujah' is forever ruined for me. Okay probably not, but still just bad choices all around.

4) Since this is getting a little negative here's what I liked: The acting was overall pretty good, and the film does a great job capturing the look of the book. Plus I think I only checked my watch once during the film's 2 hour 45 minute run time which is a good sign.

5) Be forewarned you'll get gypped if you pay to watch the IMAX experience. Yes the screen is bigger, and I'm sure the sounds system is superior, but the no part of the film is actually shot with an IMAX camera. I watched very closely and at no point did the aspect ratio change from the traditional format (you can tell by the film being letterboxed on the screen), so I demand that AMC Emeryville give me my five dollars back (Can you feel the outrage)

Anyway its worth checking out, but don't expect to be blown away. How's that for a pull quote?

Oh and really - is this necessary?: