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Watchmen (2009)

Adaptations are always a sticky subject. When, if ever is it alright to deviate or change the source material you are working from? Do we just want to see a moving version of a book/comic or do we want to see a visual interpretation of it? There are some adaptations like starship troopers which have pretty weak links to their source material but there are others where the new medium and changes made end up having greater depth than their source material such as The Guns of Navarone. I am not sure there is any real answer to this other than you have to judge the finished product and see if it retains the feeling and themes of the source material and is an entertaining film or not.

Various people have labelled Watchmen as unfilmable and original creator Alan Moore is especially hostile to adaptations that take liberties with his work following past run ins with Hollywood. In this instance the film makers have stayed largely faithful to Moore's original work but have made some slight changes to make the film more "contemporary" with energy issues being included as a motivator for the "bad" guys. I am not really sure this is either necessary or improves the film in anyway, if anything maybe it makes the plot a little more specific than general in allegory which is not a good thing in my opinion. What the adaptation does do well is retain the moral ambiguity of the original when I am sure there was a temptation by some people to turn complex anti heroes into heroes.

Going with a largely unknown cast is definitely a bold step but pays off well with good performances all round. The direction is solid, even if it owes a lot to the original art of the comic. Special effects in the film are good and the sets and costumes retain the atmosphere of the comic well. Action and plot keep the movie ticking along nicely and it does not run into pacing problems with a 3 hour run time.

Over all everything fits together very nicely (especially the soundtrack) but nothing is overwhelmingly good so I give Watchmen a 4/5.