The Times They Are A-Changin

Despite yet another horrible audience at the Navy Pier IMAX, I have to say I fully enjoyed Zack Snyder's Watchmen. After reading almost every take on the film I can find, and probably not having much to add to the discussion, I have to say that the film is a success as an adaptation, and not entirely a success as a freestanding film.

My big question after viewing it is, will anyone that hasn't read the book be at all interested in this slavish adaptation? The entire structure of the film follows the book almost to a T (despite some cuts) with long flashback sequences and changing focuses and narrators in a way that made me feel like "wow, they're really pulling this off" but in a way that I have to imagine will make the unfamiliar wonder, "where is this all going anyway?"

The long asides built into the book, like how Jon became Dr. Manhattan, Nite Owl II and The Comedian in Vietnam, and Rorschach's childhood all worked in adding depth to the characters, fleshing out the alternate history, and just as cool set pieces, but by the end of the film, the climax and resolution ends up feeling a little rushed. Unfortunately, the revelation that The Comedian is Laurie Jupiter's father seems to come out of nowhere rather than the emotional moment it should be.

At almost 3 hours, and I feel this actually speaks to the strengths of the film, it made me think that the director's cut with everything included will actually be stronger by making the film more sprawling and spacing things out, making the whole experience wash over someone, rather than making the end feel like some sort of rush to the finish line.