Watchmen, the Movie - my take

I caught a (slightly) advance screening of Watchmen on Thursday - it was a benefit for the Cartoon Art Museum. Just wanted to share my thoughts after seeing this movie, hopefully not too many spoilers in here. First of all - I'm a huge fan of the book, I've been eagerly anticipating/quietly dreading the movie adaptation... When I heard Zack Snyder was adapting it (after over a decade of it changing hands, and even starting pre-pro with other helmers), I was encouraged - "300" faithfully adhered to the graphic novel, and had good action (though too much frame-speed ramping). Then, I read interviews where he had such intense respect for the work, and all the trailers, art, etc. seemed fair to awesome. Anyway, when this movie came up, I delightedly threw myself into the fray.
Oh my god, what a ride. Yes, it stuck very very closely to the story (omitting many scenes for time and redundancy - and the movie was still 2.5 hours). And the action was "bone-breakingly" brutal, and deftly executed. The stunts & VFX were amazing, especially Dr. Manhattan (OK, a few mentions i'll say at the end of ths post, since I'm in the biz and must be critical). Performances and casting were all spot-on (especially pleased with Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian, and how Jackie Earl Haley *IS* Rorschach here, on the level of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine or Heath Ledger as The Joker).
As I watched, I was probably WAY too connected to the comic - nearly every scene I could envision each page, and analyzed how it all looked. And that is perhaps the movie's biggest downfall. The comic jumps around regularly , which is perfectly acceptable for the more non-linear printed work. In the film, this comes across as rather disjointed and distracting. And some scenes play out too long, and have an odd rhythm compared to the book (especially Dr. Manhattan's flashbacks).
But in my overall experience - wow. I realized even more how dark, brutal, and misanthropic this story is. It's quite a depressing and hopeless treatise on human nature, and their capacity for violence and arrogance. The ending is changed slightly (in the contrivance, but basically with the same plot outcome) - with all due respect to Alan Moore, the climactic event in the movie makes more sense than in the book. Anyway, I found myself 'enjoying' this movie far less than I expected, but I coming away with a lot more thoughtfulness than I expected. It is a difficult movie to experience, but highly rewarding and offers a depth very few movies at this level can.
NOTE: I'd be very interested in hearing back from people who saw this without knowing the comic. What did you expect, how were those expectations met, how it compares to the Superhero genre, and what your ultimate opinion is.
OK - a few critiques. I said, amazing FX & the way syn-thespian Dr. Manhattan holds up is shocking (in closeups, and even down to the subtle cloud of particulate which follows him around). Not perfect - some of the longer tracking shots don't hold up, and I disagree with how they treated his interactive glow/arcing. And the compositing was inconsistent - how the scenes were layered with elements/fog/smoke & fire/snow. And goddammit, Zack Snyder - give up your love affair with the slo-mo!! But kudos to him & all involved.