Watchmen: Chapter 1

(Reviewing in full in conjunction with Chapter 2) I have to live in the reality that maybe the uber-broody, "nothing matters" nature of this simply isn't for me - though I've appreciated this type of content before, so I don't know why it isn't quite hitting a home run with me now. All that to say, it's animated very well and is supremely dedicated to the tone that it wants to set. Chapter 2 I think helps in my personal appreciation of this, though as a mystery, it feels somewhat unfulfilling.

Dr. Manhattan: "A world grows up around me. Am I shaping it, or do its predetermined contours guide my hand? The world changed because of me. But what if I hadn’t left the watch in the test chamber? What if I had not gone back? Or waited, just a moment? Am I to blame, then? Or Janey? Or my father? Which of us is responsible? Who makes the world? Perhaps the world is not made. Perhaps nothing is made. Perhaps it simply is, has been, and will always be there. A clock without a craftsman."

One of the more watchable DC superhero things coming out from the Warner Bros. Animation department. It's a little on the one-mood sort of delivery, but it bitter cold and effectively implemented. Looking forward to the next installment.

What continues to impress me is just how good the Watchmen story is. I've read the comic, seen Snyder's version, and yet I'm still gripped. Chapter 1 nails it all. The animation works well for this, the way the Black Freighter is integrated is good, contrasting what's going on in the real world. Voice acting is solid all around. The themes and plot threads take shape nicely here. Yes, the comic will always be the best version, but people have to stop being snobs. This is an awesome adaption.