Review of Watchmen (2009) by Thearchetypes — 09 Sep 2016

This was a very disappointing book-to-film portrayal. Not only do they include the only stupid element from the book (Jon's ability to see into the future which I fully expected them to keep) but they also changed some things for the worst.

For one, unlike in the book where there is some foreshadowing but the twist is still somewhat of a surprise, this movie gives away the identity of the villain pretty much from the beginning. Also, they give the characters superhuman abilities for some reason that, other than one minor glitch in the end of the book, never actually existed.

Rorschach can't leap 10 feet into the air at will, Adrian Veidt isn't a superhero, etc. This not only made a dark and realistic world silly but it also made the closing sequence of the film incredibly retarded.

And speaking of Veidt, this was by far the worst casting of all of the characters. In the book, Adrian Veidt appeared to be a "larger than life" person, not just in terms of his celebrity and persona but also in terms of his physical appearance.

The dude was a big, strong, and intimidating person but Matthew Goode looks like a dorky little twerp. Malin Akerman also wasn't a great selection but she at least pulled of the role of Laurie Jupiter decent enough.

The rest of the casting was fantastic and they nailed the style of the book spot on. The soundtrack was also really good. Honestly, other than the Adrian character in general, they really stayed very true to the book.

It's just that this story is so reliant, not on action and effects but rather on the development of the characters and the world itself. And while they developed the world really nicely, I think they failed to develop Dr.

Manhattan enough and his back story is really one of the key turns in the book. Overall I think they gave it a solid effort but it just doesn't have the same impact. I think people who read the book will at least find this movie intriguing and somewhat enjoyable but I think people who never read the book will find the movie mediocre at best.