Most of you reading this really just want to know one thing: Did Zack Snyder make the perfect Watchmen film. The short answer is that it is not a perfect adaptation, but it is very close and is a terrific film in it’s own right. You should see it, you’ll greatly enjoy it. Ok, now that most of you have left to either go see it or have moved on to another article, I’m going to assume the rest of you are interested in what I have to say about the film. Look, the only way that a movie version of Watchmen could ever live up to expectations of the hardcore fans or it’s creator would be if they just showed each panel of the comic and had the words spoken by Alan Moore himself. I would actually pay to see that, mind you, but I don’t think it would have wide appeal. So, what do I think of the film and how it measures up? Keep reading, but first, some history is required.
Back in 1986 DC Comics was in the process of reinventing itself in the wake of its fiftieth anniversary. Crisis on Infinite Earths, a limited comic book series which essentially rebooted DC’s entire line of comics, was finishing up in the early part of the year. At the same time DC published the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns mini-series. That series was significant in that it turned Batman from a fairly happy crime fighting sleuth into the brooding, dark character he is today. This was also during the pinnacle of the Cold War where there was a common fear that nuclear annihilation was an almost certainty. The United States and what was then known as the Soviet Union both had escalated the nuclear arms race to ridiculous levels and both nations lived in a constant state of fear that the other side would be the first to push the button and start an all-out nuclear world war. The Cold War is one of those many eras of human history that is very difficult to understand unless you lived through it. It seems preposterous today to think that total annihilation of mankind could come from the simple push of a button or that anyone would be crazy enough to push said button, but it was a very real fear and possibility for many years. It may seem crazy to talk about the publishing practices of DC Comics and the geo-political world landscape of the Cold War in the same paragraph, but both are important in understanding the environment under which the Watchmen comic book series was not only published, but created.
Watchmen, published as twelve issues by DC Comics from 1986-1987, was perhaps the first comic book series to take a hard look at the whole super-hero genre. Writer Alan Moore, whose earlier works were leading him inevitably in this direction, took the whole idea of the costumed crimefighter, pulled it completely apart, examined all the individual parts and then carefully put it back together again. It is Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s aforementioned Dark Knight Returns that essentially started the whole “grim and gritty” and deconstructionist style that has dominated comic books ever since. But whereas Dark Knight redefined only one character, Watchmen made it so comic books as a whole could never be looked at, or written, the same way again. Over the course of twelve issues Moore dragged comic books out of early puberty and straight into adulthood and, for the most part, things have never been the same as far as comic book storytelling. Again, what does this have to do with the film? Well, since director Zack Snyder has wisely chosen to set the movie in the same year that the comic was set, I think it is important to understand the environment of the mid-80s as well as pointing out the non-exaggerated significance of the original work. Considering that the comic book movies of the last few years may make Watchmen seem like nothing new, just remember that the comic this film came from set the tone for those other movies. And the whole debate on whether or not Watchmen should have been made into a film is pretty irrelevant at this point; the film is here, that ship has sailed.
Are there things changed from the comic book to the film? Well, yes. Film and comic books are two different storytelling mediums so, yeah, things are going to be different. If you go into this thinking otherwise I can say you will be disappointed. There were some subplots trimmed. The two detectives trying to nail Rorschach are mostly gone, expect for a couple of brief appearances. The psychiatrist that Rorschach sees in prison is still there, but the impact of multiple sessions on the doctor’s mental well-being is gone. Rorschach doesn’t pop sugar cubes. The sequences with the kid reading the Tales of the Black Freighter comic have been pulled (although that is getting it’s own animated DVD and will, presumably, be edited into the main film for a future special edition release). And, as has been reported ad nauseum, the ending has been altered.
I’m going to state for the record right now that the original ending in the comic books was never really satisfying to me. The whole concept of the giant psychic squid was far too architeuthis dux ex machina for me and just seemed to sort of come out of left field. The ending in the film works much better, especially for the character development prior to it. One mistake I think that Snyder made is in reducing the secondary characters’ roles (the detectives, the psychiatrist, the newsstand operator) and shifting the “everyman” point of view over to the character of President Richard Nixon. At that point you absolutely have to make the ending have the biggest impact on your central characters, the Watchmen themselves. The end result is still the same, the world powers are brought together by a common threat and world peace is achieved. However, instead of the emotional impact being felt through the everyday characters it has been refocused through the main characters. While I think it was an error removing the ordinary characters I do understand why the choice was made and the end result is a resolution that I find more satisfying and logical than the original. The payoff, particularly within the character arc for Dr. Manhattan, is much more poignant, in my opinion.
Visually, this film is absolutely stunning. Apart from some costume changes, Snyder beautifully captures the iconic scenes from the comic book as well as really making you feel you are in an alternate 1985. You can see his love for the source material as he makes sure to give you all the scenes you would expect without making them feel forced or gratuitous. The cast look, act and sound just like the characters, most especially Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Comedian). I really felt like the pages of the comic book were given motion and truly came to life. There was nothing that pulled me out of the story or felt un-Watchmen-like. You’ve probably already read the complaints about the CG Dr. Manhattan and the lack of his mouth moving realistically. I did notice that, however, for me it added a depth to his continuous loss of humanity. Sort of, like the rest of his life, he was just going through the motions and not quite getting it right. He made his mouth move when he spoke as a courtesy to the humans, but lacked the connection with his own humanity to make it work correctly. In this instance, the imperfection of computer graphics made his detachment from humanity visually interesting.
In the end, much like Peter Jackson did with The Lord of the Rings, Zack Snyder has given us a film adaptation that does justice to the source material while also being an epic film with his own stamp on it. This is a dense movie as there is a lot of story packed into one film. Even with a two hour, forty minute running time it still feels like the movie is short and it never feels overwhelming. Every bit of story is necessary and is given it’s due. I look forward to getting even more enjoyment out of it on subsequent viewings. I applaud Zack Snyder and his cast and crew for making the unmakable film. I was grinning like a fool as the end credits rolled and I increasingly appreciate what has been accomplished here the more I think about it. Much like the original comic book set the standard for the comics that came after, Watchmen has now set the standard for comic book films going forward. I look forward to the upcoming director’s cut (hopefully it will be exactly as Snyder intended) and The Tales of the Black Freighter.
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