Watchmen (Non-Spoiler Review)

and I saw the midnight premiere of Watchmen last night.

Without getting into spoilers — for those of you with any interest in seeing it, yet unfamiliar with the plot of the 22-year-old graphic novel — I can say that it was an immensely satisfying film.

Mind you, that’s me speaking as a fan of the graphic novel. I’m honestly not sure what general moviegoers will think. I suspect many will be confused. There’s an awful lot of the graphic novel up there on the screen, but there’s certainly some fairly large bits of background and expository material left on the cutting-room floor (which will no doubt be included in the 4-hour-plus extended DVD). For example, the fact that the heroes are officially outlawed is never made explicitly clear — nor its reasons. We get references made that the readers of the graphic novel will pick up, but will most likely pass unnoticed by the novice.

…and to be honest, I’m OK with that. This wasn’t ever going to be a franchise film, for obvious reasons — so I’m fine with them making a film primarily for the enjoyment of the fans. It was never going to be a franchise, so mainstream “Dark Knight”-level crossover success, while nice, was not a requirement.

Gotta say, though: Malin Akerman would make a helluva Wonder Woman. As and I noticed last night, she’s already got the magical boots that go from heels, to spike heels, to flats, depending on her Action needs. :)