History Film / WatchMen

* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler:As opposed to the EldritchAbomination from the comic, UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity here has a [[IncrediblyLamePun much brighter]] fate]].

* LudicrousGibs: What happens when Dr. Manhattan uses his [[IncrediblyLamePun explosive]] powers against gangsters, Viet Cong, and [[spoiler:Rorschach]].

The story follows the comic really closely, with dialogue and scenes lifted shot-for-shot at times. There are only a handful of alterations, much of it removing excess backstory and subplots to streamline the story, with the primary change being key elements of the villains' plan at the end. That makes it probably the most ''accurate'' adaptation of an Creator/AlanMoore comic (with the possible exception of the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything") and one of the most comics-accurate adaptations ever made overall.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Ozymandias's superhuman-like intellectual abilities are surprisingly matched by his physical ones.

** The deleted scene of Hollis Mason's last stand against the Knot-Top Gang is scored to the Intermezzo of Pietro Mascagni's ''Cavalleria Rusticana'', a nod to the two most prominent uses of this piece in a film score: ''Film/RagingBull'' (for the fist fight) and ''Film/TheGodfatherPartIII'' (for the flashbacks to the old times).

** One of the screens of Veidt's TV wall in his Antarctic base shows a clip of Lord Humungous from ''Film/MadMax2TheRoadWarrior''.

After almost 20 years in development limbo (including a script by Creator/DavidHayter, a.k.a. [[Franchise/MetalGear Solid Snake]], and not one, but ''two'' attempts by Creator/TerryGilliam), the movie was [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell eventually made and released]], using a script by Alex Tse which preserves some of Hayter's elements.

** In the opening sequence, Nite Owl I appears to save the Waynes in front of a wall of ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' posters outside the Gotham Opera House.

* GenreDeconstruction: Snyder said his intention wasn't to translate the comics deconstruction of comic book conventions to comic book movies, but by its nature elements of this certainly crept in. Rorschach's voice is about the most extreme PrivateEyeMonologue you can imagine, especially as this movie was made in the wake of ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' and talk of Christian Bale's [[GutturalGrowler absurdly low and scratchy]] Batman voice. The costumes of the 1940s heroes are generally made of cloth and leather while the 1980s heroes wear latex and rubber suits, which reflects the changing pattern of Hollywood superhero costumes. Ozymandias outfit in particular has [[FormFittingWardrobe sculpted nipples]], a reference to the infamous designs in ''Film/BatmanAndRobin''. The violence level is also ramped up.

!!''Watchmen'' provides examples of:

->''"Who watches the Watchmen?"''

** In the graphic novel, Rorschach killed the kidnapper by handcuffing him in his house and set it on fire, leaving him a hacksaw. This was felt to be too similar to ''Film/{{Saw}}'', so it was changed to Rorschach blugeoning him to death with a meat cleaver.

* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Silhouette's unpleasantness is nonexistent. She and her female lover become tragic hate crime victims. Ozymandias is also supposed to affect a very pleasant and charming exterior whereas Matthew Goode comes off as too cold and stand-offish.

* LetsGetDangerous: Dr. Manhattan doing something akin to a PowerWalk when he finally goes after [[spoiler:Ozymandias.]]

* FictionalizedDeathAccount: Lee Iacocca is among various executives meeting with Veidt/Ozymandius during the 80s when an assassin arrives and makes an attempt on Veidt's life. Iacocca is killed in the ensuing chaos, a full 30+ years before his actual death in 2017.

* PlayingGertrude: Creator/CarlaGugino and [[spoiler:Jeffrey Dean Morgan]] are only 7 and 12 years older than Creator/MalinAkerman. In fact, pretty much most everyone were this, justified by having the characters in flashbacks between their mid-20s or 40s, with the exception of Rorschach (actor only a year older) and Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup was 39 during filming, while Jon Osterman was 30 in the flashbacks), all actors are younger than their roles (Creator/MalinAkerman was 29, Laurie is 36; Creator/PatrickWilson was 34, Dan is 41; Matthew Goode was 27, Adrian was 47; 36-year-old Creator/CarlaGugino and 42-year-old Jeffrey Dean Morgan play two characters in their sixties during 1986).

The story follows the comic really closely, with dialogue and scenes lifted shot-for-shot at times. There are only a handful of alterations, much of it removing excess backstory and subplots to streamline the story, with the primary change being key elements of the villains plan at the end. That makes it probably the most ''accurate'' adaptation of an Creator/AlanMoore comic (with the possible exception of the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything") and one of the most comics-accurate adaptations ever made overall.

* AllThereInTheManual: The ''Under the Hood'' featurette included in home media releases shows some information about the setting one wouldn't know just from watching the film (which is rather appropriate, as excerpts from Hollis Mason's book served a similar purpose as back-up material in the original comic).

** Dr. Malcolm Long has his given name changed to William.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Completely and utterly averted. Among others, we see UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy, UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, Leonid Brezhnev, UsefulNotes/FidelCastro, Henry Kissinger, Lee Iacocca, Music/DavidBowie, [[Music/TheRollingStones Mick Jagger]], Creator/AndyWarhol, the Music/VillagePeople, and John [=McLaughlin=]. This all works to demonstrate the AlternateUniverse setting.