Rating of
4/4
The best graphic novel brought to life
patjohnson76 - wrote on 03/07/09
One of the most brilliant novels of the last 25 years finally makes it's way to the screen. Zack Snyder has been extremely faithful to the "most celebrated graphic novel of all time" with one big exception, but more on that in a minute.
Having read the novel many years ago and refreshing myself with it last year, I can say that all actors are well cast (something I was worried about) and that they all bring the characters to life very close to I envisioned them in the book. It was such a thrill seeing the novel's parts brought to life, particularly Rorshach's prison break and Dr. Manhattan's exile on Mars. The ending has been altered to fit into something more realistic and timely, but this change flows just fine with the rest of the film.
If you're going in expecting a comic book movie, leave. This is based on a graphic novel and yes, there's a difference. If you're expecting a silly Joker or lots and lots of action sequences, you won't find them here. There's a reason this is one of the most celebrated works of all time - it treats its audience as adults rather than children looking for something to dazzle them for 2 hours. It examines the fact that human superheroes are just that - human. From Nite Owl's yearning to find his new role in a society without masks and Ozymandias' quest for a world of peace, the characters are more human than any superhero we've seen on screen. Definitely not to be missed.
