Review: Watchmen Chapter 1 – A faithful yet flawed animated adaptation

DC Studios recently released a highly anticipated fresh take on its fan-favorite Watchmen series. Part of a 2-chapter film series, Watchmen Chapter 1 follows a group of anti-heroes and retired superheroes as they attempt to investigate who is behind the murders of their former team members.

The Watchmen, a group of anti-heroes, appeared in the comics around 40 years ago. They were created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, who first came out with the idea of a parody that delves into the kind of impact unhinged superheroes can have on society.

The film has been directed by Brandon Vietti, and has a screenplay from Michael Straczynski, who has taken a rather subdued, almost conservative approach towards the characters, even though it generally sticks to the authenticity of the source material.

The movie was released recently on August 13, with Chapter 2 expected to release sometime in 2025. Chapter 1 has opened to mostly positive reviews, even though it comes with its share of negatives.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers and reflects the writer's opinion. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Watchmen Chapter 1: An ode to comic fans

The narrative itself takes inspiration from the original comics story, and largely stays true to its source material. However, there are times when fans might find that a more original approach might have been more suitable for the animation.

However, it seems as if Straczynski attempted to move past the kind of criticism of Zack Snyder’s 2009 film. The narrative itself is set in the 1980s, in a world where superheroes no longer exist. Most existing superheroes are either retired or working as vigilantes, which includes Rorschach, who has been portrayed by Titus Welliver in the animated movie.

When Rorschach discovers that some former members of his team, The Watchmen are being killed off, he approaches the likes of Nite Owl (Matthew Rhys), Ozymandias (Troy Baker), and Dr. Manhattan (Michael Cerveris), to get to the bottom of the matter. This kicks off another adventure as The Watchmen once again attempt to act as superheroes and protect the world.

The chapter has integrated the happenings of the Tales of the Black Freighter, which Zack Snyder moved away from. Furthermore, the animation style of the movie has also received criticism, most notably the fact that The Watchmen: Chapter 1 sticks to the same kind of style that was previously seen in the comics.

This brings forth an animated movie that appears straight out of the comic books and might catch viewers off guard, despite the dark, gritty tone that the narrative takes right from the beginning. That is also deliberate and gives the overall narrative an almost cartoonish feel.

When it comes to the actual content, fans will have little to complain about. The movie presents a crime-wrecked Manhattan that has struggled to hold its own in the aftermath of the era of superheroes. It presents the ever-pessimistic Rorschach effectively leading a life of crime to get by.

The kind of graphics used in the comics are evident, which makes this version one of the most source-consistent ones to have been created thus far. The retro-futuristic vibe of the city, coupled with the kind of decaying society portrayed in the background gives viewers plenty of reasons to watch Chapter 1, even if the animation may come as a hindrance.

The movie also stars Matthew Rhys as Nite-Owl and Katee Sackhoff as Silk Spectre II, and follows a chaotic narrative that relies on a lot of nuances to get the story across. Again, fans may argue that The Watchmen is perfectly suitable for a live-action remake considering the kind of success The Boys has received.

However, in its animated version, the creators have gone the extra mile to generate a level of realism that has not been seen before in The Watchmen iterations that have been produced thus far.

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Watchmen: Chapter 1 is available to watch on Prime Video.