TC: Disclaimer: I am a fan of the novel. It’s a layered story of costumed heroes with different philosophies, and how the choices they make affect an alternate 1985 on the brink of Nuclear War. The novel is long and involved with an imaginative visual aesthetic, memorable characters, and a foreboding mood throughout. A spectacle.

Getting the characters and story on the screen is an achievement. The film hits all the right notes, and creates the right mood. The stylish opening scenes and the brilliant title montage give the background of the world. The story and characters are slowly revealed from there. At the end all the stories converge in a satisfying climax, but the real joy is in the journey.

Performances are mixed, but Zack Snyder’s direction is confident and stylish. He keeps the pace slow and picks up the action when needed. The film is somewhat different from the source material, but the story and characters were translated from page to screen with respect. It’s amazing that Watchmen was made in the studio system, and the results are very impressive and definitely one of a kind.

LCD: Despite my penchant for comic-based action movies, I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Watchmen. It didn’t fail to disappoint.  From the loins of perhaps the most over-rated pieces of literature I have read came a film that will garner similar popularity despite not being very good at all.

First, the positive: the film is visually stunning and has a distinct style that was supremely enjoyable to watch.  Its direction was so brilliant that it could stand on its own as a silent film. It was like watching poetry.

However, good films must do more than look great.  Good films have all elements working together in concert - the visuals, the story, the acting and sound, in short the entire cinematic experience - to produce a work of art.  This is simply not the case in Watchmen.  The visuals, as stated, are great. They are not supported (indeed, the opposite) by the soundtrack which was emotionally jarring and counterproductive toward setting the proper mood for several scenes. They are not supported by the consistently lackluster acting. Worst of all, the strength of the visuals are certainly not supported in any way by the quasi-film noiresque storyline with the most ridiculous plan to save the world ever put to celluloid.

Many people will enjoy Watchmen.  They will all be wrong.