Nearly 40 years after Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ iconic 1985 graphic novel Watchmen, audiences can finally see the conclusion of its first animated adaptation. DC is fully in on the Watchmen train following Zack Snyder’s nearly picture-perfect 2009 adaptation Watchmen, HBO’s excellent follow-up series Watchmen, and DC has since integrated Doctor Manhattan into the mainstream DC universe as one of its most powerful entities (among a slew of other media adaptations). It’s a big deal that the classic original is finally getting an animated finale, here finishing the tale begun in Watchmen: Chapter 1 earlier in 2024. Written by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, it’s a faithful adaptation. Chapter 2 improves on some of the limitations of Chapter 1 while retaining most of its strengths, but shortcomings remain.

What is ‘Watchmen: Chapter 2’ About?

Watchmen takes place in an alternate version of 1980s America where costumed villains and vigilantes had been prominent enough to become outlawed. Under the new order, costumed heroes are faced with the choice to either formally join the government or retire. Watchmen begins when The Comedian (Rick D. Wasserman), an old guard hero, is found murdered. Rorschach (Titus Welliver), an uncompromising vigilante who never retired, sets about finding answers and reactivating allies like Nite Owl (Matthew Rhys). Chapter 1 sets up the narrative alongside developing the global suspicion that Doctor Manhattan (Michael Cerveris), the only actually superpowered individual here, is a global cancer threat, along with establishing the arrest of Rorschach, while Chapter 2 sets off to finish the story as the threat of nuclear war between the United States and Russia builds to a crescendo and our heroes get ever closer to finding out who killed The Comedian and why.

‘Watchmen: Chapter 2′ Works Better Than Chapter 1, but Problems Remain
Image via Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Among the adaptation’s biggest virtues is its talented cast of top-shelf voice actors. Titus Welliver is an exceptional Rorschach, capturing the masked detective’s driven intensity. Matthew Rhys is a similarly strong Nite Owl, while Troy Baker captures Ozymandias’ monomaniacal personality well. Katee Sackhoff gave perhaps the most emotionally layered performance in Chapter 1 as Laurie Juspeczyk/Silk Spectre, grounding some of the film’s most important reveals. Finally, Michael Cerveris dials in a strong performance as Doctor Manhattan, a man so powerful he loses all grounding to the human species. It’s a fine set of vocal performances overall, all anchoring the narrative as a whole.

Chapter 2 does retain the cell-shaded animation style of Chapter 1, a major visual difference from the source material. The style works well with some of the series’ larger set-pieces: Nite Owl’s ship sailing through the city, Doctor Manhattan’s crystalline ship on Mars, or the finale’s brilliant conclusion (vague here to avoid spoiling the surprise if one hasn’t read the graphic novel) are all rendered beautifully. That said, close-ups of talking humans look distractingly like early-era CGI rather than the graphic novel’s realistic, gorgeous art style. Like Chapter 1, this is in most cases a genuine downgrade from the source material, and it doesn’t fit the decidedly adult moments of Chapter 2 (such as the terrible investigatory experience that creates Rorschach). It works a little better here than in Chapter 1 thanks to the finale boasting big, bold moments, but the limitations otherwise remain.

Related ‘Watchmen: Chapter 1’ Review: DC’s Animated Adaptation Can’t Justify Its Existence Brandon Vietti’s take on Alan Moore’s story can’t match the tone that this dark comic book story requires.

In terms of performances and adaptation choices, it’s a fine option for audiences who want to experience a faithful adaptation of the graphic novel onscreen (whereas Zack Snyder’s otherwise excellent Watchmen changes significant elements of the graphic novel’s conclusion). That said, the superiority of the original artwork and the lack of real expansion or alteration do create a situation where new fans would be better off reading the excellent source material. Catch the original in the medium it’s intended for, then there’s still the option of seeing its animated adaptation. The limitations of the animation style don’t quite translate the tone and gravitas of the source material in the way that Moore and Gibbons intended, however good the voice cast is.

Chapter 2 Partially Improves On Chapter 1’s Limitations
Image via Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

This particular Watchmen adaptation is a mixed bag versus the outing in Chapter 1. The voice cast is still excellent at their respective interpretations of these classic characters. The animation style remains a largely unwelcome difference versus the graphic novel source material, though Chapter 2’s large set-pieces and iconic finale do showcase its stylistic potential. On the other hand, Chapter 2 has quite a few decidedly adult moments that would be better served in tone by a style closer to the original material, and close-up, unmasked conversations continue to look off in key moments. It’s a good adaptation that stays true to the source material, but Chapter 2 still falls short of adaptational greatness.

Watchmen: Chapter 2 is available to stream on VOD in the U.S.

A talented voice cast anchors Chapter 2, which largely excels in the larger set-pieces and finale but still fails to capture the source material’s tone.ProsTitus Welliver, Matthew Rhys, and Katee Sackhoff give strong performances that successfully adapt their characters to the screen.The animation works beautifully in some of the original material’s biggest, boldest moments. ConsThe style is still an odd deviation in an otherwise faithful adaptation, failing to match the dark tone of the material and looking odd in moments when maskless characters are talking.

Watchmen: Chapter II, directed by Brandon Vietti, follows Nite Owl and Silk Spectre as they come out of retirement to investigate the complex events surrounding their former colleagues. Confronting personal challenges and shifting societal perceptions, they uncover a plot with the potential to trigger global nuclear conflict.Release Date November 26, 2024 Director Brandon Vietti Cast Troy Baker , Adrienne Barbeau , Michael Cerveris , Zehra Fazal , Phil Fondacaro , grey delisle , John Marshall Jones , Max Koch , Phil LaMarr , Yuri Lowenthal , Long Nguyen , Geoff Pierson , Matthew Rhys , Katee Sackhoff , jason spisak , kari wahlgren , Rick D. Wasserman , Titus Welliver Runtime 89 Minutes Expand

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