I actually agree with much of what you say. The scene you mention as the best: totally. The inside joke of pairing it with the soundtrack of Koyan makes it all the sweeter.

But much of your criticism is true of any translation of print to visual medium. If all print were off limits on these terms, there would be even fewer good movies to choose from than there are today.

Maybe a better metaphor than Philip Glass put through the blender would be jazz takes of classical masterworks. Do I think Duke Ellington’s version of “The Nutcracker” does total justice to Tchaikovsky’s? Nope. Does he add something by taking it on and reinterpreting it? Absolutely.

Many elements of the comic book Watchmen were clumsy to begin with. A lot of disbelief has to be suspended. The gender and racial stereotypes are horrific. The love thing between Manhattan and SS II, maudlin (the movie was no better on this score).

What I thought the movie added, and what I thought the book did not do well, was add a little depth to the characters (with all the caveats that this is still a comic book). While, imho, David Gibbons did amazing (amazing, amazing, so don’t get the next partb twisted) things in the book, what he did not do well was draw believable faces that reflected the narrative and the characters’ actions. This is what I thought virtually all the actors in the movie were able to do. Rorschach is just a much more believable character on screen than in the comic where the visual portrayal is, um, cartoonish. Ditto on Owlman II, the Comedian, pretty much down the line (OK, not Owlman I or either of the SS’s)

I hope there is an expanded Director’s cut where they can pick up some of the subplots – especially the “pirate” comic – and various digressions and inserts in the book. But the movie held my attention, entertained me, and made me think, which means in my book I got my $14 (IMAX) money’s worth.

You may start throwing things now.