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"Unfilmable": an adjective often tossed around when referring to works of literature that are so detailed, so boundary-pushing and so unconventional that any sort of faithful cinema adaptation seems impossible. It's a word that has followed Watchmen for years. Ever since the graphic novel by Alan Moore (who, after some less than successful ventures, has now shunned Hollywood and refuses even a credit here) and Dave Gibbons was published in 1986-7 there has been someone wanting to make it, but few have really come close to achieving that. With the superhero genre riding a surprisingly long-lasting wave of popularity at present, now seems as suitable a time as ever for the project to finally reach fruition. It hasn't been an easy ride by any means - failed attempts (one by Bourne maestro Paul Greengrass) and the notorious rights issues have been just a couple of the hurdles - but at last, with Zack Snyder at the helm, Watchmen graces multiplex screens. Now that it has, the category of unfilmable source material has shrunk once again.
Unsurprisingly, in the marketing Watchmen has been dressed up to look like a dark superhero tale perfectly positioned to cash in on the Dark Knight box office bonanza, but it is more of a whodunnit, opening with the murder of a veteran vigilante/superhero and following the investigation into the motive and perpetrator. At the centre of the search is masked crimefighter/total psychopath Rorschach, whose journal entries narrate the film at numerous points. There's no sole central figure here, but Rorschach dominates the film thanks to Jackie Earle Haley's mesmerising performance. Also foregrounded are Dan Drieberg, whose alter-ego is the somewhat Batman-esque Nite Owl, and Laurie Jupiter, AKA Silk Spectre. The former is played by Patrick Wilson, who, though saddled with potentially the most bland good guy role makes his character identifiable and sympathetic. Silk Spectre's leave-nothing-to-the-imagination latex outfit is filled by Malin Akerman, who is given a tough arc and succeeds admirably.
Indeed, all of the central figures (there are six in total) are given a thorough backstory and complex roles, with only arguably Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) receiving slightly short shrift, but as a rich, handsome genius he's probably the least interesting character, through no fault of Goode. Perhaps the most contentious of the characters for those unfamiliar with the graphic novel will be Dr. Manhattan, the only one who actually possesses supernatural powers, thanks to, as is often the case, a science experiment gone wrong. He can see into the future, duplicate himself, grow to any size, teleport and rearrange physical matter in whatever way he likes (oh, and he's invulnerable). For some, his presence may tip the weirdness scale too far, but his storyline is handled with great care and sensitivity, and the CGI that transforms Billy Crudup into a bald, blue, frequently naked man-god is as good as anything yet seen in the field.
Snyder establishes the setting - an alternate 1985 where Nixon is still in power, the US won in Vietnam, nuclear war with the Soviets is imminent, and superheroes have been outlawed (a conceit borrowed by Brad Bird for The Incredibles) - absolutely brilliantly with an opening credit montage set to Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'". Throughout, the film is backed by era-specific songs, many of which are inspired choices, although some seem overly clichéd (Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" for a Vietnam flashback for example) or simply misjudged (Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" for a raunchy sex scene). There is occasionally a sense that the music supervisor has just raided a Greatest Hits collection rather than found anything truly original like a Quentin Tarantino or Wes Anderson might. Nevertheless, when the selections work - and they mostly do - they undoubtedly enhance the experience.
With so many bases to cover the film's 2-hour-43-minute length seems truly justified, even slightly skimpy. However, though a mega-super-deluxe-ultimate-director's cut edition is on its way to DVD and Blu-ray, there's no sense that this is a compromised, over-abridged version. The pacing is immaculate; it's measured for sure, but not erratic and always engrossing. The complexity of the source material is reflected in the sometimes non-linear narrative, which is excellently handled. The frequent flashbacks occur at well judged points, and they never feel like they are obstructing the forward momentum. Action scenes are relatively sparse but that is no flaw; when they do occur their bone-crunching intensity gives them considerable impact. Those who fear that Snyder has brought his passion for excessive slow-motion shots from 300 will be glad to find that the effect is used quite sparingly, and is most in evidence during the very first scene.
The lasting impression is that this is a simply superb adaptation. Snyder, and writers David Hayter and Alex Tse, have pulled off what Peter Jackson and co managed so wonderfully with The Lord of the Rings: crafting a film from dense, perhaps impenetrable source material while both retaining the essence of the original (the slightly altered ending works) and making it accessible to those who have not read the book. Like The Lord of the Rings, Watchmen had been deemed unfilmable, but what that really seems to mean is "too expensive to make". Now the only question is how many people will choose to see such an unflinching, brutal, and unique film, and whether the studios' commendable faith will be repaid. It deserves to be.
The summary
Quite unlike anything seen before, Zack Snyder's 18-rated epic defies a summary. Suffice to say, it's extraordinary, bold filmmaking. Memorable and magnificent.
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