Watchmen: Chapter I: A Remarkably Faithful Adaptation of the Beloved Graphic Novel (Blu-ray)

The Film:

When Alan Moore's "Watchmen" was released back in 1986/87, it immediately stood as a groundbreaking work in the medium of graphic novels, and to this day many consider it to be one of the greatest of its kind. In 2009, director Zack Snyder and screenwriters David Hayter & Alex Tse delivered a phenomenal live-action adaptation of the novel, marvelously bringing the pages of the beloved work to life on the big screen. That brings us to present day, where "Watchmen" is once again being adapted for the screen, except this time the filmmakers have opted to bring it to life through animation. With the graphic novel being a rather complex piece of fiction, and an outstanding adaptation having already been made, could there possibly be room for another and could it pull it off nearly as well?

Set in an alternate 1985, where masked vigilantes used to roam the streets fighting crime before they were outlawed in 1977, the story starts with the murder of Edward Blake (Voice of Rick D. Wasserman), formerly known as one of these masks that worked for the government under the name "The Comedian." Rorschach (Voice of Titus Welliver), a masked vigilante who never retired, investigates, discovers his true identity, and decides to warn his fellow crime-fighters, most of whom had to quit after their activities became illegal.

This group of former costumed crusaders includes Dan Dreiberg (Voice of Matthew Rhys), aka Nite Owl, Adrian Veidt (Voice of Troy Baker), aka Ozymandias, Laurie Juspeczyk (Voice of Katee Sackhoff), aka Silk Spectre, and Dr. Jon Osterman (Voice of Michael Cerveris), aka Dr. Manhattan. As Rorschach digs further into the conspiracy, other events begin to occur that support his "mask killer" theory, while possibly hinting at something much larger that could effect a world that stands on the brink of World War III.

As mentioned, the 2009 live-action film had done an excellent job telling this story, though it did ultimately change the ending just a little bit, while still bringing it to the same conclusion. With this new animated version, what we have thus far is an extremely faithful adaptation (written for the screen by J. Michael Straczynski of "Babylon 5" fame) of Moore's story in which the first six chapters of the novel are presented, with much of it being word-for-word from the source material. On a sidenote, I took the liberty of re-reading the graphic novel right before viewing the film, and given the accuracy & frequency of direct quotes, it often became a fun little game of completing lines of dialogue as they were spoken.

That said, this new version isn't without its flaws. It is indeed a very faithful adaptation, but it's also fair to say that it's a little too faithful in some respects. The single biggest flaw in the original novel was the inclusion of a comic within the comic called "Tales of the Black Freighter," which interrupts the story several times as a kid reads it next to a news stand on the street. It ultimately ends up serving no real purpose to the story and is quite a distraction that should've easily been omitted (as it was from the live-action film), but unfortunately it is being included in this latest version. It's understandable that Straczynski would want to be as accurate in his screenplay as possible, but there wasn't really any reason to include something that was a flaw in the first place.

When it comes to the vocal performances, it's a mostly-decent collection overall. Matthew Rhys and Katee Sackhoff are particularly good in their roles of Dan & Laurie, while Titus Welliver sounds like he's trying far too hard to be Batman in his attempt to give us a mysterious, creepy voice for Rorschach (a voice which Jackie Earle Haley nailed in the 2009 film). Rick D. Wasserman also left a little to be desired as Edward Blake, giving the character a rather gravelly voice that didn't come off quite right. Still, most of the vocal talent does a fine job of fitting their characters and bringing this eclectic group of crime-fighters to life.

Looking at the animation itself, it's a slightly mixed bag. It looks pretty good for the most part, bringing to life this strange, alternate version of 1985, filled with unusual characters. There are times where it does look a little blockier than usual, as though it hadn't been fully rendered, but you could say that it adds a little charm to its look. After all, it's supposed to be taking place nearly 40 years ago, so it shouldn't look too perfect. In terms of breathing life into this odd little world, the animators did a fine job, even if there is a blemish here and there.

Overall, what we get with "Watchmen: Chapter I" is a remarkably faithful adaptation of the graphic novel that has a few flaws here and there, but which ends up being a pretty good rendition of the material. Thus far, I'd have to say that the 2009 film still has my vote for being the better iteration, but this new animated outing certainly provides a fascinating alternative for those wanting to see the story in a different medium. Now all that remains to be seen is if they're able to stick the landing when "Chapter II" arrives later this year.

Video/Audio:

"Watchmen: Chapter I" comes to Blu-ray in a 2.39:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of outstanding quality. The animation itself may be a bit blocky at times, but it's presented beautifully with a crisp, clear picture throughout its brief runtime. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, Warner Bros. has done a marvelous job on the film's debut home release.

Special Features:

Dave Gibbons and Watchmen: Worldbuilding (9 Minutes): A fascinating exploration of the world of Watchmen, featuring interviews with illustrator Dave Gibbons and others who worked on the graphic novel.

The Art of Adaptation: Introducing the Story (10 Minutes): A featurette that focuses on adapting the graphic novel, featuring interviews with the filmmakers.

Conclusion:

"Watchmen: Chapter I" offers up an extremely faithful adaptation of the first half of Alan Moore's groundbreaking graphic novel, and even though there may be some weak spots in the vocal cast & the choice of what material to include, it remains an easily recommendable iteration of a fascinating story.

Score: 3.5/5

Now available on Blu-ray.

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