Watchmen: Chapter I

I know we're only one episode in and I know it's based on the comics but it's word for word, scene for scene an animated version of the Snyder film. They're obviously some artistic additions and perhaps more comic accurate scenes but I'm just curious as to why they blatantly copied Zack Snyder's version. Maybe it's a way to expand on what he had in mind? We all know what the executives at Warner bros are and aren't capable of. I like the animation and the voice actors, over all I don't have any complaints, I'm just sincerely confused as to why it's so similar to the live action theatrical version.

This is an excellent adaptation of the original comics & quite different from the various cuts of the film.

The reviews saying this is boring must be by very boring & bored viewers, because the basic story is intact & as exciting and enthralling as ever.

Various changes have been made , otherwise the length of this film would be several hours long as the older 'animated comic' version proved.

I've seen all the various versions so far & this is a more faithful variation on the original comics (which I read as they were being released & before collected into graphic novel format) .

I love ALL the versions, except the 'theatrical cut' of Snyder's film- I love the Directors cut even tho some serious liberties were made with the story later in the film.

I really enjoyed the several hour animated comic version , tho even that missed several moments from the comics, it was 97% there.

This version begins with a superb recreation of the actual comics pages (altered in Snyder's film versions) , tho starts changing the original flow of the comics by issue 2 (the funeral) , however it does it in an imaginative & creative way that doesn't spoil the overall story. Some of the intercutting works brilliantly & some not so, but it still works & manages to move the story on in a concise manner without disrespecting the source material.

The artwork/animation is fabulous, combining the superb original style with a more sleek & sometimes airbrushed glow, very like Dave Gibbons promotional art for the Graphic Novel Collection. I'm surprised others have criticised it, it really is well designed, devised & implemented. For several scenes I totally forgot I was viewing an animation & thought I was watching a well made CgI moment.

So why not 10/10 then you may wonder?

Well, the soundtrack, which is also excellent can be a bit too high in the mix & obscure some great lines of dialogue... and that is about it with my quibbles !

AND ONE BIG ISSUE- at the end of the credits after the film- a PREVIEW of Part2 is shown that in should really be avoided & never included, as it spoils some key moments later in the story.

Some may whinge that Laurie looks slightly different to the comic, but that is a minor issue. Others may complain that Ozymandias role is more explicit, but I imagine everyone watching this version is already familiar with the source material or Synders film.

Some may wonder what is the BEST version of Watchmen & that depends on the viewer..... but for me the COMICS were the best version (obviously!) .

The animated comic is the closest 'filmatic' version, while the Synder DIRECTORS CUT (with the Black Freighter parts included) is very well done but not as faithful to the source material as this version,.... ALL of them are are superb 'thoughtful entertainment ' that puts most modern writing to shame.

All the various versions are so different that they are all worth seeing if you love the original comics.

Note - I did not mention the HBO sequel series because I thought it was painfully bad & an insult to the original series (the comics).

I do not write many thing here anymore, mostly due to the imbecile politics and character limit.

But. But this thing is ... good. And I want people to know it.

I'm not a shill, I'm not a bot, nobody paid me to write it.

I read the comic in the last millenium. As in, in the 90's. Still Iron Curtain, that was one of my glimpses of "The West". And I was truly impressed.

Then, they made a movie. Unfortunately, with a wrong ending - but with Malin Akerman (here replaced by Katie Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica, super nice touch).

And this, this is more than good. It just follows the comic book almost to the letter. Very, very impressed. I'd give it 8, but I'm bumping it to 9 because of fidelity.

"I am not locked here with you. You are locked here with me". I truly hope next two chapters are going to be a masterpiece. Please keep following the comic to the letter, not the simplified Snyder movie.

So, Watchmen is one of the most famous, one of the best and one of the highest valued graphic novels in the world.

So, why would we get another adaptation of it with a relatively cheap animation? It basically gets no advertising push and with little information about it (it doesn't even have a wikipedia page at time of writing this!).

Just seems like they are devaluing the IP by releasing it this way!

But that's the why, now we move on to the what - the actual product!

And dammit, I thought it was pretty darn good. Clearly a straight adaptation, but they did it well. It engaged me, I thought the animation style captured the feel of the book well, and the voice acting was pretty good.

So why I don't think this should exist, given it does - I have to admit it could have been way worse.

I wasn't even aware this movie was out, but now that I'm watching it, I'm not sure why it was made. It's impossible not to compare it to the 2009 version-whether the theatrical or ultimate cut-since this feels like a shot-by-shot recreation. However, in comparison, the new version is pale and soulless.

The voice acting is mediocre and lacks emotion, while the generic music removes any edge the original had. Though this version is supposed to be a more faithful adaptation of the graphic novel, it feels rushed and leaves too many elements unexplored.

The animation is another disappointment. I've seen The Red Aim, the first animated adaptation, which used only one voice actor and simple motion effects from the original comics. That felt more compelling. Here, the directors and animators had all the creative freedom they could wish for, yet chose to create a PG adaptation that strips away everything that made the original story interesting.

Some reviews have called this fan service, but not every comic or graphic novel needs to adhere strictly to the source material, and taking creative liberties isn't always heresy.

The 2009 Watchmen was one of the best superhero films of its era. It arrived before superhero fatigue set in and before shows like The Boys redefined the genre. This new adaptation, unfortunately, serves as an example of how not to adapt a comic.