first, a disclaimer: we read and enormously admired watchmen when it originally came out in print. no doubt by now you've read a bit of its history and the hows and whys of what it changed in the comic - now graphic novel - world, paving the way for the current batman incarnation, Y: the last man, and on and on. but does the movie do it justice?yes and no.
as a literal translation, the film hits most of the beats, but lacks the feeling that the ink & paper version engendered. this despite a good cast (and a fantastic bit of work by jackie earle haley as rorschach).
frankly, i think it's a question of style. zack snyder has a very definite shooting style. his fast cuts and textures tend to be distractions from the fact that his work lacks genuine emotion, even when presenting material as horrific and profound as some segments of watchmen are.
perhaps it's simply a matter of age. but the emotionless motion of modern film seems to be a growing trend: wooden acting over wooden words, with little or no genuine feeling anywhere. or are we just jaded?
it's competent, but not compelling. when all's said and done, at least he managed to get the 'unfilmable film' on celluloid, when so many others (including terry gilliam, whose version we would have liked to see) failed.
final verdict: good, but not great.