If you investigate the genre of graphic novels for about 5 seconds, you’ll find frequent mention of one title. A title combined in the same breath with the word “masterpiece.” And that title is Watchmen. Adaptations are tricky things at the best of times, but especially when the source material is so highly regarded. Watchmen: Chapter 1 is a version of the classic graphic novel that succeeds in many ways. And this is only the first half of the story.
Watchmen was written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. It was published by DC Comics in 1986. The story takes place in an alternate 1985 in which costumed heroes exist but have been outlawed. Only two of them are allowed to work under the oversight of the government. One of them is called the Comedian — and someone just murdered him. Other former masked crimefighters wonder if they might be next, and they face unsettling surprises as they unravel the truth behind the Comedian’s death. These characters and the world they must inhabit are unforgettable.
Watchmen: Chapter 1 is a faithful and visually strong adaptation. It retains most of what makes the graphic novel a masterpiece and does it in a style of animation that I like. And the voice cast is amazing.
“This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face.”
The brilliance of Watchmen is clear when you read it. The bones of the story may begin as a murder mystery, with superhero trappings, but the end result is so complex and multi-layered. This adaptation does the smart thing. It takes the attitude that if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Aside from small changes here and there, this film is extremely faithful to the comic. This applies to both the dialogue and images. That’s something that I like. Some source material may benefit from a lot of alterations when changing mediums, but Watchmen is not one of them.
The complexity of this work starts with the characters. These people may be fighting criminals, but they are flawed human beings themselves. Rorschach (voiced here by Titus Welliver) is the first to guess that someone may be targeting “masks” so he’s smart. But he’s also psychotic in his interpretation of morality and punishment. The Comedian, meanwhile, may be the murder victim, but he was a terrible person. He committed cold-blooded murder himself, and he’s an attempted rapist too. Even the best of the heroes come off as a bit ineffectual, but that just makes them feel more real and we root for them anyway. Especially when they are voiced by actors like Matthew Rhys and Katee Sackhoff.
“The past, even the grimy parts of it, keeps getting brighter all the time.”
If you haven’t read Watchmen, you can probably tell from all this that it is very adult. Not just in the violence and sexual content but in the maturity of its themes. This film keeps all that. Don’t let the animation fool you — this story is not for kids. It’s rated R for a reason. About that animation: I enjoy the look of it here. Its heavy outlines and mostly desaturated colors work with the story. Sure, you could say it’s just copying the graphic novel; but when the images are this memorable, that argument loses some steam.
However, the source material is not perfect. Watchmen does suffer from a touch of misogyny. Moore and Gibbons may have had the female main character complain about her objectifying costume, but she’s still in the d*mn thing a lot. That sort of thing has been toned down so far here, and I hope that continues in the adaptation of the second half. (The live-action version of Watchmen directed by Zack Snyder in 2009 is actually pretty good, but the same thing can NOT be said about it.)
This script is not perfect. I don’t know if including the pirate comic-within-the-comic works as well in this medium, for example. But I am happy with the vast majority of it, especially the emphasis placed on the interaction between the Nite Owl and Silk Spectre characters. It gives some heart to this adaptation, which is always an asset. If Chapter 2 is as sophisticated and entertaining as Watchmen: Chapter 1, then I am counting the days until I can see it.
4 stars out of 5
Watchmen: Chapter 1 is available for digital purchase now and is on Blu-ray on August 27 from DC Entertainment.
