To be fair to director Zack Snyder, this is probably as close as we’re going to get to a faithful adaptation of Alan Moore’s graphic novel.
In terms of the surface narrative, everything’s in there: the Watchmen are group of costumed heroes in a world where Richard Nixon never lost the vote. It’s 1985 and the threat from communist Russia is bringing the inevitability of nuclear holocaust ever closer. But the USA has one ace up its sleeve—Dr. Manhattan, a blue-skinned god-like man who can transform matter and see into the future.
