This remains an iconic comic book adaptation, despite Zack Snyder's best efforts to scrub away any nuance or critique of the genre from Alan Moore's original. I find my rating of the film continues to drop down over the years — I still like it, but the creative flaws become more prominent over time.
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3.5 stars of 5 (with a heart)
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The opening credits did a great job of setting the tone of the world and were a great nod to the comics.
From the hue and cry on the internet about Dr. Manhattan's nudity, I half expected to see some sort of Bloomberg News-type crawl of blue anatomy filling the bottom of every scene.
I think this was much like Dune, where getting the images to screen seemed to come at the cost of character scripting.
It should have been a six part mini-series. And yet, the motion comic version fell VERY flat. In think perhaps the biggest loss in film is the loss of subtext.
Also, another thing that got to me, was how in the film there wasn't much difference between Rorschach and the others. He killed, but they maimed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stKh-TQxHLw
And in the film especially, also the loss of subplots and minor characters.
Still enjoy it, and some of the parts I enjoy the most are the ones where the camera shot lines up perfectly with the way Alan Moore drew it.
+Lorne Lehrer Yes, I love the opening shots (repeated repetition of "The Times They Are A-Changing" notwithstanding.
While Dr Manhattan's dangly bits make an appearance, frankly I have to force my attention over to them; it's just part of what's there, not focus of the scenes.
It's definitely more about the spectacle than anything else. And Moore is not necessary a humanistic dialog writer. The cost of bringing the lines as written (for the most part) to the screen is that they often sound pretty dorky when spoken aloud, even by solid talent.
+Laura Ess Zack Snyder does like his spraying blood and broken bones.
+Stan Pedzick (David Gibbons was the artist. Alan Moore was the writer.)
(But, yes, those are some of the squeeful moments, as a fan.)
+Dave Hill
Just to be clear, the dialogue in the Dune books was a bit stilted like a parody of a Noir novel. Arrakis is a desert planet- everyone tries to swallow in a dry throat.
"But that would mean…"
"You mean…"
And the book was so good.