I won't get into to the plot details, because most of you know what it's about, but let me state that Watchmen, as a movie, really works! The consensus on RottenTomatoes.com states: "Gritty and visually striking, Watchmen is a faithful adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel, but its complex narrative structure may make it difficult for it to appeal to viewers not already familiar with the source material." Complex narrative structure?? I admit, there's a lot to take in, but audiences aren't that stupid. I'm willing to bet if the average Joe watched Watchmen, he would understand the plot, as long as, you know, he looked at the screen and listened while he was there. The plot is laid out for us, very plainly, and the storytelling structure of the film educates unfamiliar viewers in and even a bit before THE OPENING CREDITS.
The only people who seem to be complaining about this brilliant Watchmen movie are the graphic novel fans, who expected or, at least wanted the film to be JUST LIKE THE BOOK. You can't do that with a two and a half hour film, or a three and a half hour film. As far as I understand, if you were to be completely faithful to every page of the Watchmen novel, you would need a trilogy of two hour films, or a miniseries to pull it off. I can see an epic television miniseries in the future that is faithful to every page, but considering the current adaptation, they made a great film from what is one of the most popular graphic novel amongst comic book fans.