How Does the Film Adaptation Measure Up Against the Watchmen Graphic Novel?
Watchmen is a 12-issue comic book series in graphic novel format. The Watchmen comic book was written by Alan Moore and published in the late 1980s. Its sophisticated and elaborate storyline is part of the reason it took more than two decades before the novel reached the big screen. In March 2009, the film adaptation of Watchmen was welcomed by hordes of eagerly waiting fans.
So how does the film adaptation compare against the Watchmen comic book? Most adaptations of famous novels are usually criticized for failing to stack up against the original story. The Watchmen movie is not an exception, but it would be unfair to say that the movie does not give any justice to Moore’s masterpiece.
The Watchmen graphic novel uses a lot of flashbacks, foreshadowing, and subplots, as well as a huge ensemble of characters. That’s an enormous challenge for someone who will create a two- to three-hour film out of a 12-chapter comic book. But the movie’s director, to his credit, has done a lot of praise-worthy things for the film adaptation.
The movie is set in America (after winning the Vietnam War) under Richard Nixon’s leadership in 1985, when superheroes have been declared illegal. Moore’s story, on the other hand, is a different historical period based on the various outcomes during the Vietnam War. So there’s not much difference in the plot.
The casting of the movie also deserves commendation because it consists of less popular actors, making audience identify more with the characters than the actors. Commendable as well is the movie’s opening credits sequence that uses interesting visuals to tell the background story.
Watchmen may be far from perfect especially for die-hard Watchmen fans, but it’s still worth watching for its great entertainment value.