No, it is not as nuanced and layered as the wonderful Comic that inspired it. No, there is no Black Freighter comic in a comic. Ok, now that’s out of the way, Watchmen, the movie is superb. It’s an amazingly rich experience that stays very close to the comic and just looks terrific. Snyder holds nothing back as he faithfully (more or less) tells the Watchmen story proper. For those who have never read the book, it might be a bit confusing, but really not that much. The two in our group who never read the book seemed to grasp everything that was on the screen. The background of the Watchmen is quickly shown as a slick montage during the opening credits.  He certainly holds nothing back in the blood, gore and nudity department either and delivers one hell of perfect action scene after another. The cast does a very good job especially the in the roles of the uncompromising sociopath Rorschach and the fascinating Dr. Manhattan. I am hoping to see this again in IMAX. One more thing, the ending in the film is actually better than the one in the book. I always thought that one, with the mutant squid scenario, was a bit too cheesy.