well looks like this thread is dead now, but i finally saw the film and thought i might as well record my first impressions.
overall i enjoyed it, the time just flew by, the plot remained (just about) coherent behind all the visual pizazz. as expected at least 50% of what made the book great had to be jettisoned and even the ending had to be adjusted to simplify things. some of it was incredibly faithful the book, not just dialogue but also a lot of Dave Gibbons' original visual ploys were successfully translated. i don't think it was a bad movie. i even thought that Rorschach's death scene was superior to the comic version. and the dr.manhattan origin sequence was nicely done as were the scenes on Mars. still not sure if i liked the altered ending, but the destruction of NYC was pretty powerful stuff nontheless.
didn't like the gratuitous, over-stylised violence. did we need to see limbs being broken in fight scenes or the little girl's foot dangling off the end of the bone? i guess these things have to be rammed home for the blood-thirsty adult movie-goer. also the Dreyburg/Jupiter relationship was clumsy (in completely the wrong way) just seemed like an excuse for a sex scene - tho i'll admit the lady playing Laurie Jupiter was fucking HOT. Nixon's nose was indeed ridiculous. wasn't especially impressed by dr. manhattan's CGI physique either.
the actors were all pretty good, apart from Rorschach's voice. i dunno it just seemed a bit corny. not the way i heard him in my head at any rate. wasn't especially keen on Veidt either. but these things are always open to interpretation i guess. Comedian and Night Owl both very well handled by the actors concerned. great to see Matt 'Max Headroom' Frewer playing Moloch.
i know i'm a bit late seeing this but the theatre was very sparcely attended. anyone know how its being doing at the box office? i've heard of people walking out mid-way thro too.