First off, I don't condone its wantonness, which was way too much even for an R-rated film. But I knew the source material and thus knew when to avert my eyes.
Second, as good as the film was (as an artistic re-creation of the graphic novel), I'm not sure that anyone would understand or enjoy this film without reading the book first and having a real solid grasp of 20th Century American history and pop culture.
Mr. Beaks from Ain't It Cool News says it perfectly:
And that's what's most peculiar about Snyder's achievement: his film is aimed almost exclusively at those who've read the graphic novel. Starting with the opening credits sequence (a cleverly modified walkthrough of Hollis Mason's [book] UNDER THE HOOD), he dispenses with backstory at a dizzying clip, and doesn't seem to be worried that the uninitiated might not be able to keep up. Perhaps he thinks it'll be more mindblowing for the newcomers this way. Or maybe it'll just be utterly confusing. Again, that's something I can't answer. I just know that, as a fan, I love that the first knife flung in The Comedian's defense embeds itself in a framed pin-up of Sally Jupiter… These scenes reward familiarity, and, I can only assume, confound everyone else. Regardless, it gets the film off to a rousing start.
I just don't think the uninitiated could possibly understand the nuance and ephemera employed here. From the countless (altered) historical references to the soundtrack itself, the viewer is practically required to know Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon, the Vietnam war, the lyrics of "All Along the Watchtower," and the war room from the movie Dr. Strangelove, among numerous other cultural references and allusions,
That might be too much work for the average movie-goer. Watchmen felt inaccessible, in contrast to the Lord of the Rings movies which presented more obscure material in a friendlier way.
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