History Film / WatchMen

* PragmaticAdaptation: The original comic passed through generations of filmmakers, including the likes of Creator/TerryGilliam, trying to make it into a comprehensible movie. It became famous for being impossible to adapt to the screen. Among the reasons listed is the constantly switching narrative (the first chapter is mostly the perspective of the police investigating Comedian's death, never seen again), the page layout being too intricately crafted to replicate in a film (the chapter "Fearful Symmetry" mirrors itself in color and layout) and the [[AnachronicOrder non-linear order]] (Dr. Manhattan alone sees time as omni-present, leading to his chapter being about him experiencing all major events of his life at once). The film's solution was to replicate the story as closely as possible, using the comic itself as a storyboard (much like Snyder's adaptation of ''Film/ThreeHundred''), and streamline the narrative to keep the focus on the principle characters. The antagonist's plot is simplified to reduce the number of new concepts needing to be explained to the audience: [[spoiler: instead of Veidt sending a genetically engineered squid upon a major city to scare the world into fearing an alien invasion, he detonates Dr. Manhattan inspired bombs (of comparable strength to a nuke) around the world to make them fear Dr. Manhattan personally, achieving the same effect of distracting the world from nuclear war and being more open to world peace]]. This has caused some debate as to its value compared to the original comic, while it may have lost that visceral reaction to such a devastating event, many said it possibly improves upon the original by being simpler and better {{foreshadowed}}.

''Watchmen'' is the 2009 film adaptation of Creator/AlanMoore and Dave Gibbons' ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', directed by Creator/ZackSnyder.

** MrFanservice: If anything there is A LOT of male nudity in this movie, A LOT!
* FriendlyAddressPrivileges: Rorschach, to the psychiatrist after his arrest.
-->You keep calling me Walter. I don't like you.

The plot is almost exactly the same as the comic, save for a completely different explanation of the ending, with dialogue and scenes lifted almost shot-for-shot at times. 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.

* PragmaticAdaptation: The original comic passed through generations of filmmakers, including the likes of Creator/TerryGilliam, trying to make it into a comprehensible movie. It became famous for being impossible to adapt to the screen. Among the reasons listed is the constantly switching narrative (the first chapter is mostly the perspective of the police investigating Comedian's death, never seen again), the page layout being too intricately crafted to replicate in a film (the chapter "Fearful Symmetry" mirrors itself in color and layout) and the [[AnachronicOrder non-linear order]] (Dr. Manhattan alone sees time as omni-present, leading to his chapter being about him experiencing all major events of his life at once). The film's solution was to replicate the story as closely as possible, using the comic itself as a storyboard (much like Snyder's adaptation of ''Film/ThreeHundred''), and streamline the narrative to keep the focus on the principle characters. The antagonist's plot is streamlined to reduce the number of new concepts needing to be explained to the audience: [[spoiler: instead of Veidt sending a genetically engineered squid upon a major city to scare the world into fearing an alien invasion, he detonates Dr. Manhattan inspired bombs (of comparable strength to a nuke) around the world to make them fear Dr. Manhattan personally, achieving the same effect of distracting the world from nuclear war and being more open to world peace]]. This has caused some debate as to its value compared to the original comic, with many saying it possibly even improves upon the original by being simpler while offering similar depth and complexity to the original.

** "Unforgettable" over the Comedian's death scene.
** Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" during one of the sex scenes.
** The Comedian firing his shotgun at rioters, set to "I'm Your Boogie Man" by KC and the Sunshine Band.

The plot is almost exactly the same as the comic, save for a completely different explanation of the ending, with dialogue and scenes lifted almost shot-for-shot at times. 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. This in itself has been a point of debate among fans and critics: some like the fidelity; others would have preferred a more PragmaticAdaptation; others still don't think it's faithful enough. A textbook example of the phrase; "You Can't Please Everyone".

* SceneryPorn[=/=]SceneryGorn[=/=]SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: As per Zack Snyder's standard.

* AdaptationExpansion: The fight scenes in the comic were shown only in a few panels and very bluntly, which the film elaborates into extended fights, notably the opening which shows Eddie Blake battling the prowler who kills him, Nite Owl I fighting back the rioters which he didn't have time to do. [[spoiler:The film also provides Rorschach a more cathartic finish with Nite Owl getting to witness Rorschach's death scene and punching Adrian Veidt for his utopia.]]

* InPrisonWithTheRogues: Rorschach gets locked up in a prison full of criminals that he put behind bars. It does not go well... for the criminals.

* AlternateHistory: All of the U.S. flags in the film have 51 stars, because in the film's alternate history, Vietnam became the 51st state after America won the Vietnam War.

The plot is almost exactly the same as the comic, save for a completely different explanation of the ending, with dialogue and scenes lifted almost shot-for-shot at times. 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. This in itself has been a point of debate among fans and critics: some like the fidelity; others would have preferred a more PragmaticAdaptation; others still don't think it's faithful enough. A textbook example of the phrase; "You Can't Please Everyone".

The plot is almost exactly the same as the comic, save for a completely different explanation of the ending, with dialogue and scenes lifted almost shot-for-shot at times. That makes it probably the most ''correct'' adaptation of an Creator/AlanMoore comic (with the possible exception of the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything"). This in itself has been a point of debate among fans and critics: some like the fidelity; others would have preferred a more PragmaticAdaptation; others still don't think it's faithful enough. A textbook example of the phrase; "You Can't Please Everyone".

** Veidt's disk has a folder titled "Boys". Veidt's TV wall is full of easter eggs, including "[[Film/ThreeHundred 300 Spartans]]", a ''porn movie'', Apple's famous '1984' commercial, a [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Marvin the Martian]] cartoon (possibly a reference to Dr. Manhattan's fate), ''Film/MadMax2TheRoadWarrior''and a ''Series/MacGyver1985'' episode (the man climbing the parachute, [=MacGyver=] possibly referring to Ozy himself).

* CoolMask: Rorschach's moving inkblot mask.

** Dr. Milton Glass and the assistant Wally Weaver were merged into one character, "Professor Wally Weaver". His death is also shown on-screen, and directly references the panel where Jon Osterman's father died.
** Ozymandias is combined with Captain Metropolis, who's AdaptedOut. In this version, ''he's'' the one who proposes the creation of the Watchmen ([[AdaptationNameChange "The Crimebusters" in the comic book]]), and ''he's'' the one who presents an ambitious plan for {{saving the world}} to the other heroes--only to get mocked by the Comedian.

* CompositeCharacter: Dr. Milton Glass and the assistant Wally Weaver were merged into one character, "Professor Wally Weaver". His death is also shown on-screen, and directly references the panel where Jon Osterman's father died.

This page is for movie-only tropes -- most will be on the main ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'' page. Similarly, tropes specific to the movie's versions of the characters go [[Characters/Watchmen2009 here]].

This page is for movie-only tropes -- most will be on the main ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'' page.

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Several of the trailers show scenes that tip off the reveal for anyone with even a passing familiarity with the characters. The fans of the ''comic'' also have no compunction about dropping major plot points. Said fans include ''[[PvP a major webcomic]]''. This is because a lot of the comic's power came from the fact that the plot points were stupidly obvious. Like, if you missed the fact that [[spoiler:Ozymandias]] was going to be the main villain you just weren't paying attention. And it worked anyway.

** Creator/CarlaGugino as the elderly Sally Jupiter is ''far'' prettier and healthy looking than how the character was drawn, as she originally looked frail and IWasOnceALooker is a major part of her personality.

** Creator/CarlaGugino as Sally Jupiter is ''far'' prettier than how the character was drawn, but Sally is also supposed to have been a bombshell when she was younger.

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* PragmaticAdaptation: The original comic passed through generations of filmmakers, including the likes of Creator/TerryGilliam, trying to make it into a comprehensible movie. It became famous for being impossible to adapt to the screen. Among the reasons listed is the constantly switching narrative (the first chapter is mostly the perspective of the police investigating Comedian's death, never seen again), the page layout being too intricately crafted to replicate in a film (the chapter "Fearful Symmetry" mirrors itself in color and layout) and the [[AnachronicOrder non-linear order]] (Dr. Manhattan alone sees time as omni-present, leading to his chapter being about him experiencing all major events of his life at once). The film's solution was to replicate the story as closely as possible, using the comic itself as a storyboard (much like Snyder's adaptation of ''Film/ThreeHundred''), and streamline the narrative to keep the focus on the principle characters. The antagonist's plot is streamlined to reduce then number of new concepts needing to be explained to the audience: [[spoiler: instead of Veidt sending a genetically engineered squid upon a major city to scare the world into fearing an alien invasion, he detonates Dr. Manhattan inspired bombs (of comparable strength to a nuke) around the world to make them fear Dr. Manhattan personally, achieving the same effect of distracting the world from nuclear war and being more open to world peace]]. This has caused some debate as to its value compared to the original comic, with many saying it possibly even improves upon the original by being simpler while offering similar depth and complexity to the original.

* PragmaticAdaptation: The original comic passed through generations of filmmakers, including the likes of Creator/TerryGilliam, trying to make it into a comprehensible movie. It became famous for being impossible to adapt to the screen. Among the reasons listed is the constantly switching narrative (the first chapter is mostly the perspective of the police investigating Comedian's death, never seen again), the page layout being too intricately crafted to replicate in a film (the chapter "Fearful Symmetry" mirrors itself in color and layout) and the [[AnachronicOrder non-linear order]] (Dr. Manhattan alone sees time as omni-present, leading to his chapter being about him experiencing all major events of his life at once). The film's solution was to replicate the story as closely as possible, using the comic itself as a storyboard (much like Snyder's adaptation of ''Film/ThreeHundred''), and streamline the narrative to keep the focus on the principle characters.
** The RevisedEnding is the biggest direct change, [[spoiler: instead of Veidt sending a genetically engineered squid upon a major city to scare the world into fearing an alien invasion, he detonates Dr. Manhattan inspired bombs (of comparable strength to a nuke) around the world to make them fear Dr. Manhattan personally, achieving the same effect of distracting the world from nuclear war and being more open to world peace]]. This has caused some debate as to its value compared to the original comic, with many saying it possibly even improves upon the original by being simpler while offering similar depth and complexity to the original.

* RevisedEnding: [[spoiler: Long story short, no Giant Squid in this version. Instead, Dr. Manhattan is framed for the destruction of New York, Moscow, and several other major cities around the world. Everything else remains the same.]]

** Veidt's disk has a folder titled "Boys". Veidt's TV wall is full of easter eggs, including "[[Film/ThreeHundred 300 Spartans]]", a ''porn movie'', Apple's famous '1984' commercial, a [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Marvin the Martian]] cartoon (possibly a reference to Dr. Manhattan's fate), Film/MadMax2 and a Series/MacGyver episode (the man climbing the parachute, [=MacGyver=] possibly referring to Ozy himself).