Top Twelve Reasons Watchmen Fails at Adaptation

I previously made a post ranting about how disappointed I was in the Watchmen film. Here I am going to justify that opinion. A few things to keep in mind: These are based off of the theatrical release, not any 'director's cut' that may follow. Also, there will be very heavy spoilers and I suggest not reading if you haven't at least seen the movie, but ideally you will have read the graphic novel and seen the film.

Top 12, as in 12 chapters of the graphic novel, after the cut.

12. Removal of Nite Owl's Hoverscooters

After Archie crashes in Antarctica, originally in the comic Nite Owl gets out two Hoverscooters to make it the rest of the distance to Veidt's fort. This was funny, especially because the scooters were also owl-themed. In the film, however, they land close and just walk. Very lame.

11. Veidt Poisoning His Assistants with their Toast

In the original graphic novel, Veidt gets rids of his assistants by, while they are in effectively a greenhouse, he opens it and mountains of snow pour in, killing them. This is a hundred times cooler than the cliche of putting poison in the champagne and Veidt himself simply not drinking it.

10. Removal of Dr. Manhattan Saying He Knows He Kills Someone, But Doesn't Know Who

The clouding of Dr. Manhattan's vision is in both versions, but in the graphic novel Manhattan tells Laurie that he knows he kills someone, but not who. This is fantastic because we assume he will kill Veidt, the "bad guy," and it is completely shocking when he actually kills Rorschach, who, oddly, Manhattan sees as the "bad guy" then. This curve ball being removed, again for no reason, is disappointing.

9. No Explanation of Rorschach's Mask

The mask Rorschach wears is a custom one from the remnants of a dress a girl left at a place he worked. She thought it was ugly, but he thought it was beautiful the way the black and white never merged into gray (which, obviously, mirrors his theory on right and wrong--no gray area). This also deeply affects Rorschach because the girl who left the dress is murdered in front of a whole group of people and none of them do anything. Add in the fact that Rorschach's history is merely glanced over, and I sense lots of failure.

8. In the Beginning, It Is Obviously Veidt

The scene with the Comedian being killed in the beginning was drawn out, but I could deal with that. What I could not deal with is the fact that part of the killer's face is revealed, and also his build is clearly Veidt's. Add that to the fact that the marketing for the film clearly points out how Veidt is willing to make sacrifices, and we have any surprise ruined.

7. Nite Owl Attacking Veidt After Rorschach's Death

Really? This is so dumb I can't even explain it. Nite Owl accepted Veidt's plan as making sense, as did everyone except Rorschach. Originally, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre II go get it on after they find out Veidt's plan. Nite Owl seeing Rorschach killed and going back and beating up Veidt was just corny and Hollywood and bad.

6. Veidt Is a Wimp

Transitioning from my last point, in the graphic novel not only is Veidt super smart, but he is amazingly well-built. He is always working out, either on the TV specials or during interviews (one interviewer says he never had a girlfriend who didn't want to bang the guy). Yet in the film, while Veidt beats plenty of people up, it seems fairly obvious he is scrawny. Huge casting error.

5. Nite Owl Warning Veidt Instead of Rorschach

In the graphic novel Rorschach is the one who goes around and warns everyone about a 'mask killer.' I may be remembering this incorrectly, but Rorschach doesn't warn Veidt at all, does he? Nite Owl does. This makes no sense. Especially because later Veidt stages his own attack (which was horribly done in the film, with all the extra political people for no reason) to further Rorschach's theory and throw him off the real motive. Shame.

4. Laurie Has the Last Name 'Jupiter'

This small detail really bugs me. In the graphic novel Laurie specifically used the last name Juspeczyk because she strongly disliked her mom and being associated with her publicity as the risque original Silk Spectre. This furthered the mother/daughter arc, and it being removed says a lot (by not saying it).

3. Almost No New Frontiersman or Newsstand

Sure, there are newspapers all around, but the New Frontiersman doesn't show up until Rorschach drops off his journal at the end and we miss the whole dynamic of the media at the time. Also, the newsstand is such a huge part of the story because almost all of the characters go there at some point, and their small interactions are very interesting. Plus this is a transition to the Tales of the Black Freighter, which is going to be a cheap marketing ploy on straight-to-DVD. Fail.

2. Not Enough Hollis Mason

Hollis Mason, as I've said, is almost like a moral center to Watchmen. He was in the original Minutemen, was a guide for Dan, familiarized the world with the Minutemen through his book (which in itself is very interesting and perfect, I would buy just that as a standalone), paved the way for Veidt's success in marketing, and his mugging on Halloween, where the kids come to visit him and find his body, is one of the saddest points in the graphic novel. Yet in the film, he has two terribly brief scenes and then just disappears. It doesn't even show him dying when the city explodes. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

1. No Alien Explosion / Substitution of Framing Dr. Manhattan

Dear God, why? I don't know what to address first--how great the original idea of the alien was, or how stupid framing Dr. Manhattan was. Originally, Veidt's plan was to captures a large amount of scientists and artists (which the fact that they are missing is a mystery build through the whole book, and in itself is interesting, and also ties in with The Black Freighter), and on an island they designed a super huge alien. The Comedian found this alien, and that's why Veidt killed him, so he wouldn't talk (this is vaguely skimmed over in the film). Also, Veidt has the boat with all these artists and scientists explode, which is the along the lines of what he did with his assistants when he flooded them in the snow. Then he teleports the alien to the city, which explodes, and there is mass carnage and remnants of it everywhere. Very creepy. And under the idea that the aliens are attacking, the world unites.

In the film, there is just an explosion, where we don't see the carnage. We don't get missing artists or scientists, and now Dr. Manhattan is framed. Seriously, I think this was just a way to get Dr. Manhattan more visible. This change hurts the movie in so many ways. They might as well have had Rorschach live and Dr. Manhattan stop the explosion and everything in the original comic thrown away.

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And there are more things. Many more. But these are the worst changes. There were some good things in the film, I will admit, but I will post about those later. I guarantee, though, that that list won't have 12 items on it. Maybe three.