Let me go ahead and point out: being overly cynical sucks. I wish I wasn't, but I have seen so many movies in my lifetime that I have a super-refined taste, and I enjoy a small percentage of the movies released. Also before I begin, I'd also like to point out that I have not read the Watchmen series, nor do I have the intention to. This is judged solely on Zack Snyder's movie's merits.

I didn't like The Watchmen for a number of reasons. One of the biggest is the music. It all seems so disjointed from the scenes it accompanies and, while I know it was there for comedic effect, it wasn't funny. It make every scene with a soundtrack awkward. Ninety-Nine Red Balloons when two people are about to meet at a restaurant? Hallelujah during an already awkward sex scene? Why don't they go ahead and toss in 'Devil Went Down to Georgia' during the credits. It would make as much sense as the rest of the selections.

They would have just been better off getting their own soundtrack rather than licensing out someone else's. You never see Spider-Man swinging through the city, set to Bon Jovi. It had a full orchestral soundtrack, and that was one of the aspects that really enhanced the movie.

Secondly, the action. Wow. You know, when you go to a superhero movie, you expect there to be a lot of really cool fighting scenes. The movies are based around conflicts between major characters, and they're always action-packed. The action in this movie was mediocre at best. More than half of the THREE HOURS this movie ran felt like just straight narration; detective work trying to figure out who killed a character I didn't care about to begin with. Which brings about another point.

I cared about one character. Just one. Rorschach. The character was very well crafted and the actor portraying him was magnificent. Truly the highlight of the movie. Second place comes to the big blue guy with the batmobile hanging out of the batcave. Honestly, was it really necessary to show that much...you know...every other scene?

Speaking of Dr. Manhattan, whoever played him was a horrible choice. The voice wasn't what you'd expect AT ALL and, from what I hear, Dr. Manhattan was supposed to be basically a drone-so smart and good at what he does, that he almost exhibits no emotion at all. Why does he sound so compassionate every time he says something then? This could have been a VERY cool character, and I feel that casting Crudup was a poor choice.

And speaking about poor casting choices, major wow at the lead. Patrick Wilson as the lead? This guy couldn't act his way out of a paper bag and you cast him in your 'epic retelling of the most epic graphic novel ever' as your lead? And whoever played the Silk Specter was wooden as anything. My cat can emote better than she can.

Negatives aside, this movie is far from the bottom of my list of movies that I've seen. If you love superhero movies, you're not guaranteed to like it, thats for sure. There are some very nice special effects(aside from the lame acting, Dr. Manhattan was VERY well done...blue penis and all). If you feel like you can afford the $8-10 and three hours, go see Watchmen. For those not as enthused about seeing it, its a safe bet to rent when it comes out on dvd.

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