Film Review: WATCHMEN blew me away!

Watchmen was my most anticipated film of 2009. When they showed the first footage of the film at comic-con I was blown away. And since that time we have been bombarded with tons of posters, different trailers, awesome vintage viral marketing, and film clips. It seemed like everyday we had some more Watchmen news to share with everyone, and I have loved everything that has come to us, except that one badly photo shopped poster.

My expectations for Watchmen were through the roof, I don't think I have ever had expectations this high for any movie before. I am a huge fan of the comic book, and there was a heavy burden on Zack Snyder's shoulders to do it justice. This is a film every fanboy and fangirl has been waiting to see with heavy anticipation, and I am here to yell you that your waiting has not been in vain. Zack Snyder delivers the goods and develops a Watchmen film that could not have been done any better anywhere or by anyone.

As a fan of the graphic novel I thought Watchmen was absolutely incredible! The movie nailed exactly what my expectations for it were. Everything that was put in the movie was perfect and spot on. It really is a Watchmen fan's wet dream. This supposedly unmakeable film was made incredibly well, and with an awesome amount of detail that in my opinion no other director would have brought to the movie. Snyder fought the studio system to bring the audience the most faithful adaptation of Watchmen that could have been made. I truly enjoyed every second of the film. It was two hours and forty-five minutes of balls out awesomeness.  For me the movie didn't feel that long at all, the time just flew by.

Once the opening title sequence begins to role for the film you just get sucked right into the movie, it takes you by the hand and leads you into this alternate universe; it brought a big smile to my face. When it was over I instantly wished I could have rewound it and watch it again.

The action in the film was freakin breathtaking, the fight scenes were choreographed extremely well and brutal as all hell. You know exactly what you have in store when the Comedian gets his ass kicked and thrown out the window. That scene was amazing. When I found out later that Warner Bros made Snyder edit down the violence I was surprised because of how hardcore the final cut ended up being. Snyder really knows how to direct fight sequences, and takes you right into the action, and you get a chance to see and feel the hurt that is brought on. He does not hold out on the violence and he makes it crazy fun to watch.

The music and sound effects for the film were perfect. I couldn't ask for anything better than what the creative team developed. The soundtrack is great, and all the songs they chose to put in the movie were just right.

The acting in the film was marvelous! These actors did such a surprising job playing their characters, and taking them seriously. The dialogue for the film is right out of the graphic novel and you would think it would be unnatural for people to talk the way the characters do in the comic. But it doesn't come off unnatural at all! These actors really became these characters and found the right way to play them and deliver the dialogue, in such a way that it didn't come off as being cheesy. This amazing cast includes: Malin Akerman as Silk Spectra II(She gets Naked), Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan (He shows his blue balls off), Matthew Goode as Ozymandias (Way better than I thought he would be), Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian (Evil son of a bitch), Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl (Kicks total ass), and Carla Gugino as Sally Jupiter (gets the crap beat out of her bad). But the performance that literally blew me away was that of Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach. I know he has a mask on the majority of the time, but in the scenes where he does not have it on mostly while he is in prison, his performance is award winning worthy. The intensity and emotions are heavy and strong. He got me all choked up at one point.

Two of my favorite scenes in the movie are when Nite Owl and Silk Spectra II get cornered in the ally and are compelled to fight back for the first time in a long time. And the whole Rorschach prison experience was fantastic! I don't want to go into detail, and ruin it for some people, but if you've read the novel you know what I'm talking about.

I think fans of the graphic novel are going to appreciate the film more than those that have not read it yet for the fact that the movie is packed with so many little details that only the fans of the comic book will be able to pick out. For the fanboy's or girl's that have not read the graphic novel, they are still going to enjoy the hell out of this film. The movie is visually stimulating with an intense story that revolves around really dysfunctional superheroes. I think the regular movie goer is going to have a hard time excepting this world and the characters in it. I don't think it will go over their heads, but they wont get what they are expecting and that may turn them off. Regardless of who you are if you can handle crazy mature content such as violence, blood, nudity and sex I highly recommend this movie.

Now that you know how much I loved the film I will get into a few details. I warn you that if you read ahead and you have not read the graphic novel there will be SPOILERS from here on out but not many. Lets talk about the ending.

It's not what is at the end of the graphic novel. There is no giant squid that comes down and destroys New York. There is something else, a device developed by Ozymandias with the help of Dr. Manhattan, which ends up causing the carnage at the end of the story. There is however a nod to the squid, if you look closely you will notice that the weapon that was created is called S.Q.U.I.D. which is an acronym for something, but I can't remember what it was, I do know the Q stands for quantum. I don't feel the change at the end ruined anything in the story, in fact it made a great deal of sense. Everything leading up to this point flowed exceptionally well. I was not disappointed in the ending at all like I thought I would be.

There are a few things that did not make it into the theatrical cut, such as the News Stand guys and there relationship. You get glimpses of them from time to time but no dialogue. They do show the classic scene at the end when they embrace as they disintegrate. It would have been much more powerful had you got to know the characters though. Also missing is the crazy murder scene of the old school Nite Owl that is in the graphic novel. But! These scenes will be included in the directors cut which runs three hours and ten minutes long and will be released in July theatrically in Los Angeles and New York. Zack also said there is more violence, blood, and sexiness in it. So we have that to look forward too in the future. There is a diffinative edition we will get to see, so don't write the theatrical version off just because the studio made Snyder cut the time down in the theatrical cut. He did film these scenes, and you will get to see them.

I also want to note that the Hoverbikes used at the end of the comic book did not make it in the movie.

I am sure there are going to be those die hard Watchmen fans out there that are not going to like the movie. Fact of the matter is whether they like it or not the movie was going to get made. Had it not been Zack Snyder it would have been someone else, some one like Brett Ratner who would have made a mockery out of this story. So I would be grateful that the film was made by a Watchmen fan. Snyder had to fight for a lot of the story and darkness from the novel to be in the film. Just as an example he said that in the original script he was given Ozymandias is killed at the end of the movie when the Nite Owl's ship crashes through his artic fortress. Are you kidding!? No. He had to do some smooth talking to get that back to the source material.

I could not have asked for a better adaptation of 'Watchmen'. The spirit of the graphic novel lives in this movie. What more can you ask for.

Honestly. This is just my opinion, and by saying this I put it this film on a completely high pedestal, and from a complete fanboy point of view I liked it more than 'The Dark Knight'. There I said it. Let the ranting begin.