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Comparing a big-budget adventure film to a more complicated dramatic novel may not be fair to the film, which has at its heart a desire to entertain with sweeping, epic energy. To this end, the fight sequences have been extended from comic book to film. In theory, this makes the film much more exciting to watch on a gut level, but the actual effect is just the opposite. With the amount of physical action extended, the intensity of each instance of action becomes less dynamic. The fight between Veidt, Rorschach and Nite Owl at the end of the book was far more impressive due to its brevity than the drawn-out sequence the film attempts. As in so many other instances, the film makes so much less of an impact than the novel.

The Verdict

While far from being perfect, the book is quite a bit more accomplished than the film. Packed with details formed far from the traditional Hollywood three-act plot structure, the film does attempt to challenge traditional film the way the book challenged traditional comics, but it comes across a bit too dependent on its source material to be to film what Watchmen was to comics. Anybody can enjoy the film, but only those who read the novel will be able to decipher much of it. In this respect, the film seems like a really good way to market the graphic novel, which has already seen increased sales prior to the movie even being released. With any luck, people will be interested enough in Moore to check out his more substantial work.

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