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Usually, I write my blog every week about movies I would recommend to you based on a genre of choice, but honestly, I have nothing. But, I did see “Watchmen” twice last weekend and have read and heard many complaints about it that I would like to address.

I’ll do all of this without giving away any spoilers because I know the person who has to edit this before it goes online is in the process of reading the graphic novel. Luke, I hope you’re enjoying the read.

First of all, let me state this: Do not criticize the movie for implausible actions or things if you do not know the source material. Of course you can have your opinion on why the movie was good or bad, but faulting it for things and actions that are out of the ordinary – most notably Dr. Manhattan going to Mars and constructing a glass fortress for him to rove the red planet on – is just ridiculous.

Tom Maurstad, a media critic for The Dallas Morning News, wrote: “Through a series of flashbacks, side stories and tangents as complicated as the spinning castle of glass Dr. Manhattan creates for himself on Mars (don't ask)…” Come on.

It’s points like this in his review where it seems he has not read the graphic novel, but at other times he writes as if he has done the required reading, so it’s hard for me to decide whether or not he’s a credible source. For all I know, he has read and has given “Watchmen” a C+ out of general dislike rather than a lack of understanding on why things happened.

Then there is the argument that director Zack Snyder made this movie to be bloodier than “300,” just because he wanted it and was allowed to rather than because he was staying true to the source material and included key scenes he would have been scrutinized by fans for if he did not put them in there.

Maurstad (you can tell I really liked this guy’s review) writes again: “Also, Snyder's seeming love of hyperviolence results in some scenes that are disturbing and gratuitous, even in the context of Watchmen's dark view of man's inhumanity to man (and woman). We see dogs fighting over the limbs of a dead child and the beating of a woman during an attempted rape.”

He criticizes points in the movie that are vital to the development to both the story and various characters involved as if they were Snyder’s brainchild. Those were great moments in the graphic novel that gave us a better understanding about each character. Again, it makes me wonder if he read the graphic novel.

I was talking to a friend who said he didn’t care for “Watchmen” because it was full of “awkward moments.” As most friends do, we discussed and argued this point (via text messages because he was in Irving, Texas), and all that I got out of him was that it was slow to develop, but the last 20 minutes really picked things up, seeing Dr. Manhattan’s penis so many times was unnecessary, the sex scene came out of the blue (no pun intended) and not telling us where Ozymandias’s pet lynx Bubastis coming out of nowhere and being seen at the end was generally confusing.

Wow, really. Faulting Snyder because he did not know exactly where Bubastis came from makes me cringe just because that is what bothered him. Doing a beautiful job developing the human characters was not enough because knowing that Ozymandias synthetically made Bubastis and other animals/organisms to help society while making a profit (Spoiler. Sorry, Luke) is the most important thing in the movie. Just pay attention to the key details of the movie rather than be knit-picky about minute features.

Oh, hang on. I told Luke I’d say something about the music and the score. Snyder’s selection (which was really the graphic novel’s creator Alan Moore’s selection because those songs were referenced in the original work of art) and timing of each song was great because they helped develop the mood and setting of each scene. Come on, he was able to fit "99 Red Balloons" beautifully. As for the score, Tyler Bates did a good job with it, but because the movie was not driven by the score like his “300” score drove that movie, the score was not exactly relevant. The score was basically just there and at times helped create and expand upon the mood.

So, overall, my review would go like this: “Watchmen” was a really good movie that for the most part stayed true to the source material (granted not all of the themes were touched upon as much as the graphic novel did), was visually stunning and was complimented by great acting. It is a must see for both those who read the graphic novel and those who just want to enjoy themselves.

Again, I suggest you read the graphic novel or at least get some thorough lesson about it before seeing this movie. I do know people who did neither and still loved it, but it will answer any questions on why certain things happened.

Jono Greco is a journalism sophomore.