Who Will Watch the Watchmen?

This is the question that is on my mind today. I for one am very excited about the film adaptation of Alan Moore's epic masterpiece. However, the average moviegoer has never heard of the source material, which could be a problem come opening day. While most critics and journalists have labeled Watchmen a "comic book movie," I find it difficult (although I of course haven't seen it yet) to lump it in with the various superhero movies that have come out over the last 10 years or so, starting with X-Men and Spider-Man. In reality, Watchmen the graphic novel became a complete reversal from standard comic books, shedding many of the stereotypical motifs and themes that ran rampant throughout the industry before its publication in 1986 (along with Frank Miller's equally groundbreaking The Dark Knight Returns). Since that is the case, I wonder if people who enjoy the standard and normally simple-minded "comic book movie" will enjoy something with more of an adult-oriented narrative, focusing on character development over action. At least, that is what the movie SHOULD have, if director Zack Snyder is faithful to the graphic novel.

I'm interested to see how the movie does, both critically and commercially. So far, early reviews have been mixed, citing a few awkward line readings from Malin Akerman (Silk Spectre) and Matthew Goode (Ozymandias). Also, critics seem torn concerning the level of violence, which is supposedly quite high, and also that Snyder does not quite live up to the narrative mastery of Moore's original work. Commercially, its length, relative unknown status among non-hardcore fans, and R rating seems to suggest that it will be a modest success at best. Still, it has benefited from an amazing marketing campaign and there is a lot of hype surrounding the movie's release. Hopefully it can live up to it.

Personally, I think I'm going to love it. I already know that there will be differences from the graphic novel and I accept them. I only read the book last year and am therefore not as attached to it as, say, Lord of the Rings, something I grew up loving and cherishing. In the case of LotR, I enjoyed the movies, but continuously found flaws related to things that Peter Jackson either omitted, changed, or added (the elves coming to the rescue at Helm's Deep in The Two Towers comes to mind). I am a little more willing to give Snyder some license in what he changes from Watchmen, even though I think he will be pretty true to the work.

I can't wait to check it out and will immediately report my thoughts once I see it sometime this weekend!