FILM ADAPTATIONS of action comic books have become the hitmaking trend to beat these days, with the Batman sequel, ?The Dark Knight,? grossing a billion dollars worldwide and ?Iron Man? hitting the $500 million mark. So, the release of the new comic-book adaptation, ?Watchmen,? has elicited special attention and extra excitement. But, how does it pan out as a film?

Megged by Zack Snyder, whose ?300? some seasons ago was celebrated for its original and dramatic visuals, ?Watchmen? is similarly viewable for its great images.

Serial murders

In its uniquely imagined universe, set in 1985 in the United States, nuclear war appears to be imminent between the US and the Soviet Union. But, the movie?s main focus is on the mysterious serial murders of the world?s superheroes.

That?s right, in this movie?s universe, superheroes inhabit the planet as casually as more ordinary folks, helping set things right when the need arises. Mystifyingly, however, somebody is bumping them off one by one, so some of them unite to put a stop to the serial murder of their superhuman colleagues and friends.

Eventually, they discover that the killings are part of a bigger plot that involves one of their former cohorts. Before that discovery is arrived at, however, viewers have to contend with slow and occasionally repetitive storytelling that stretches the movie?s duration to two and a half hours.

Personally, we didn?t switch off despite the film?s length and slow progression, because the visuals kept us interested and occasionally entranced. Granted, some of the superheroes in the movie come off as rather tacky and lacking in grandeur, but others help make up of this lack.

Leading all of them is the all-powerful Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), who has become a virtual energy field all by himself, can exterminate entire armies, teleport himself to Mars at a moment?s notice, etc.

Far-out images

Interestingly, even this super-duper-hero has endearingly human needs, like wanting to be loved. Thus does the film present a more accessible view of some superheroes, even as its far-out images provide the escape and fantasy that action comics buffs crave.

It?s too bad that the movie?s thin plotting and excessive length eventually sap its energy, verve and creativity. And, the story?s finale is a relative botch, predictably set in a futuristic rendition of a pharaoh?s pyramid, and reducing the dueling superheroes to some decidedly unheroic moves and antics.

Still, we choose to end this appreciation on an upbeat note, because our long journey with the movie gave us enough visual delights to make it worth the occasionally tedious trip.