Watchmen

So I finished the graphic novel (okay, the comic book) the Watchmen in preparation for the movie release later this spring (thank you competing movie companies for agreeing to something).
My take: not sure.
I have accidentally read some of Alan Moore's work (I really liked the League of Extraordinarily Gentlemen) and get the whole world is full of pain and hurt and sometimes we have to find love where it might exist.
I liked the world end of the world thing going on, but what I really loved was the dated references of the book (written in 1986 and to the students I teach here at UND, it would be ancient history). Some of the references were to many terms of Presidency for Nixon, the murders of Woodward and Bernstein, and little changes in time that make people who know a little of history laugh (like near the end when the mention a person who is running for president as 'RR" at first and then it is later revealed to be Robert Reford, ha ha).
I plowed through the book and enjoyed it but I viewed it like I was reading it so that I could understand the movie better (I have done this in the past, like Lord of the Rings and the Star Wars books). It helps me understand the movie but not always enjoy it more (I turn into one of those "you know, that book....." you know one of those dopes who thinks they are smarted then I really am, ha ha).
It will be interesting to see how they update the whole story while keeping the same characters and under lining plots.
Whatever.