9) WATCHMEN (2009)

Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ celebrated superhero deconstruction gets a bad rap. Hardcore comics purists felt that putting the exhaustive graphic novel to film was a Quixotic endeavor to begin with and complained about the alterations to the climax. Neophytes couldn’t get a lock on the hyper-specific frame of reference required to fully appreciate the film’s style and substance. But open-minded fanboys (who understand the definition of the word, adaptation) appreciated “Watchmen” for honoring the meat and the minutiae of one of the greatest super-stories ever told.