But of course all of the forgettable sequels that followed kind of tarnished the film for me. So now they have a remake, which is pretty freaking inevitable these days, coming out soon. The remake, however, is promising to make some big changes to the franchise and things the audience knows. The trailer, as well as several reviesws out there for the script, suggest that Freddy Krueger may not always have been a supernatural serial killer. The film also changes Freddy’s makeup to look like a more realistic burn victim. I’m fine with that, because a little added realism goes a long way. Another reason I’m not entirely against this remake (yet, anyway) is because Jackie Earle Haley is playing Freddy. Haley is best known for playing Rorschach in last year’s Watchmen, which I was a big fan of. It remains to be seen whether or not the film will even come close to being as good as the original, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

If you want to pick up the original series, you can do so here! Granted, maybe only 3 of the movies in this set are worth watching, but it’ll save you the time and energy of hunting those three down.

The Nightmare on Elm Street Collection

I consider Watchmen to be ferociously close to the book. However, the moments where it does stray are hardly noticeable (minus the ending). The movie has some scenes that are panel by panel translations from the book, very similar to what Zack Snyder did with 300.  However, Snyder’s penchant for extreme stylism amps up some scenes, but it can also be distracting. He takes things that were only implied in the graphic novel and makes the audience see it. In this sense, it is very in your face.

The actors all do a great job, and that’s something to be desired, but easily the standout in the film is Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach.  Haley brings the psychotic superhero to believable life, and shows him for what he truly is.  Somehow, when translated into live action, Rorschach doesn’t feel like the hero he is in the book. Perhaps it’s the way that Haley performs as Rorchach, but he shows the character for what he truly is: a serial killer who hunts criminals. He believes he is right, criminals are wrong, and must be punished at any cost. He is handled believably.

Now, as I had previously said, this is NOT a movie for everyone. First of all, if you are squeamish then you should turn away from it. If yo haven’t read the book, and have no intentions of doing so, then you might as well not even bother with the movie because you will find it to be a chore to sit through.

If you’re a fan of the book, you’ll love the movie. That’s really all there is to it. It’s a movie that is Lord of the Rings sized, and with good reason. There’s a lot of ground to cover in the movie, so if it’s something you think is your thing, than give it a watch.

If you want to read the book before you see the movie, then you can grab it here.
Watchmen
And here’s the movie if you want to watch it.
Watchmen (Director’s Cut) (Two-Disc Special Edition + Amazon Digital Bundle + Digital Copy)