LITERAL REMAINS

First of all let me say I liked this movie.  I thought it was good.   As a fan of the graphic novel, I recommend it.   Also, as a fan of the graphic novel, the movie was better than I thought it would be.   With all of that out of the way, the film version of Watchmen is lacking in something, and I can’t quite put my finger on it.  It troubles me.  Maybe it’s just that it is not the source material.

Watchmen has a great cast that brings these complex characters to life.  I think Ozymandias was miscast, but they didn’t ask me, so there you go.  The characters have personal demons and dilemmas which average action/superhero movie-going audiences will yawn at, be bored by.  The heroes that populate Watchmen feel real, and the world they inhabit feels real.  This is not just a comic book movie, but a film overall, for people who want something to chew their minds on after the final credits.  It’s all owed to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, and the filmmakers, for the most part, honor them.

For as much as I liked this movie, to me it still seems to be a little aimless.  It really feels like it’s on rails and can’t breath on its own.  It has no vision outside of its origins.  It’s nice to see the Watchmen and their world on the screen, but it feels forced onto the silver screen.  The movie is not the novel; it should have found a little of its own life.

But, like I said, I did like it.  I thought it well made, though some scenes reminded me too much of director Zack Snyder’s previous hit 300.  It feels like Mr. Snyder is copying himself.  Watchmen’s substance just barely outweighs its style.

4 out of 5

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