The animated adaptation of Watchmen exists in this weird void between the highly accurate motion-graphic adaptation and the thematically adrift movie by Zack Snyder. There are some clear strengths this direct-to-video version has over the other versions, and yet, it doesn’t seem to vary much from the comic book. It’s an adaptation so faithful that it lacks any flavor. For as bad as Snyder’s Watchmen was, it still tried something new with the material. The motion comic felt more like a technical alternative akin to an audiobook. While this two-part animated production doesn’t stray far from the book, it doesn’t innovate either, feeling more like a book review than an invigorating transition into animation.

The story remains the same as the comic, complete with the side story of the Black Freighter comic book. It’s 1985, and superheroes have become so prominent that they’ve distorted the Cold War of the era. Doctor Manhattan’s omnipresent powers of time perception and element rearranging have placed deep uncertainty in geopolitics. Rorschach has become a deranged vigilante who gobbles right-wing propaganda and believes himself to be a gritty detective of the streets, despite his brutal methods often being unwarranted. The second iteration of Silk Spectre is fearful of the future, while the second iteration of Night Owl views it with hopelessness. Ozymandius looks down on humanity while The Comedian laughs at the decay. So, when The Comedian is murdered, the mystery is on for who killed the superhero and who is aiming to create a catastrophic event that will change the planet.

The animation is a mixed-bag for this version of the story. Assembled in CGI, the textures of the characters is highly reflective of the book, but their movement feels off. The limitations are revealed in how awkwardly the characters move through sluggish frames, as though the animators were trying to replicate the similar comic book style of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse but couldn’t get the formula right. Most of the film feels like watching cinematics from a video game adaptation. That said, the devotion to maintaining the same shots from the comics is admirable, and it is sure to garner praise for the side-by-side comparisons that’ll no doubt pop up on YouTube soon.

But does it even matter? True, this is a far more faithful version, considering it doesn’t shy away from the sex or violence or try to reformat the story to be as gritty as modern superhero productions. Yet I still feel this is more like a comic book review than a unique take on the story. There are no major surprises regarding the key events, but also no attempt to further evoke the 1980s Cold War paranoia, the criticism of superhero tropes, or the nihilism that comes from existence being reduced by superpowers. It’s all played up so straight that it’s more of a pointless retelling for those who haven’t read the comic book (which you should).

But even on the level of being a faithful adaptation, this take on Watchmen still fumbles. In the final moments of the last chapter, Rorshach is murdered by Manhattan to ensure Ozymandius’s scheme for peace is not disrupted. Rather than frame this scene as it is in the book, with Rorshach dying alone in the snow, Night Owl witnesses this event and shouts “No” loudly through the snow. That’s a scene straight out of Snyder’s version, making this animated adaptation feel more like it’s only drawing from other adaptations and not peppering in any of its own ingredients.

WB’s animated Watchmen movies are the most faithful retellings of Moore’s book and also the most pointless. I still recommend the graphic novel, though, and not just because the original writer, Alan Moore, despises any adaptation of his work. The comic book felt like it was drawing from the era’s issues and was pivotal for how it reshaped the landscape of the 1980s. This animated adaptation feels like it’s trying so hard to stick to that original story that it forgets to have a voice of its own, where the most it can do is shout a stumbling “NO” at a character’s death, the least profound of dialogue additions.