It survived development hell.

It survived adamant rejection from Alan Moore, the creator of the graphic novel it is based on.

It survived a grueling legal battle that threatened its release.

But would it hold up to the expectations and anticipations of longtime fanboys and moviegoers alike?

It took more than 22 years, but “Watchmen” finally made it to the silver screen Friday, jam-packed with eye-catching visual effects and action sequences, but ultimately only looking a lot like the graphic novel without truly capturing its heart and soul.

Set in a gritty 1985 alternate history where superheroes are part of everyday society and a Doomsday Clock charts the United State’s imminent nuclear war with the Soviet Union, “Watchmen” opens with the brutal murder of retired superhero The Comedian (Jeffery Dean Morgan, “P.S. I Love You”). Suspecting foul play, the masked vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley, “Semi-Pro”) sets out to uncover a conspiracy to kill all past and present superheroes with the help of his former crime-fighting team, a loosely strewn group of retired superheroes.

If one thing is certain, this is not your run-of-the-mill superhero movie. This film is loaded with exceptionally graphic violence, steamy sex scenes and even rape — and that is just among the superheroes themselves. Keeping true to Moore’s design of deconstructing the superhero concept, the movie delves into the dangers of what can happen when superheroes watch over humanity but no one watches over them. This unique concept results in a remarkably creative, entertaining movie, though the storyline does not always look as good on film as it did on the paper of Moore’s graphic novel.

Taking on what had been dubbed the unfilmable novel, Zack Snyder (“300”) threw his director’s cap into the ring in 2006. Having already adapted the graphic novel “300” into a successful movie, Snyder certainly has shown he has the ability to remain faithful to a film’s original source. The problem is Snyder, in an attempt not to upset fans of the comic, tries to remain almost entirely faithful to all 12 issues of Moore’s series when creating this overlong film. The result is a movie that lacks a compelling, flowing storyline on account of frequent choppy endings throughout the film where it is obvious that one issue of the novel is ending and the next is beginning.

As a matter of fact, this film suffers the same fate as “Spider-Man 3” and “X-Men: The Last Stand.” Not to say the overlying concept in “Watchmen” is anything like that in “Spider-Man” or “X-Men,” because it certainly is not. It is more along the line that the latter also tried to pack too much material into one film, losing the engaging story that dominated not only the comics, but also the previous two movies. The thing is, when you base your film on a comic book — or any book for that matter — it has to be more than just an adaptation. It has to be a freestanding film with an identity of its own, not just a soulless receptacle to absentmindedly toss characters, plots and themes into.

What Snyder does have down, however, is assaulting the audience’s eyes with heart-racing action. An effective mix of special effects and good old-fashioned ass-kicking will keep audiences glued to the screen — minus the weak-stomached members who may want turn away during some of the more gory scenes. One of the film’s greatest achievements, though, is authentically capturing Moore’s iconic Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup, “The Good Shepherd”), a glowing blue superhero with the ability to control all matter. What is even better is watching Dr. Manhattan reduce people to an ultra-bloody pulp thanks to some stellar visual effects.

With the exception of Haley’s convincing portrayal of Rorschach, the film’s ensemble cast, which also includes Patrick Wilson (“Lakeview Terrace”) as Nite Owl II, Malin Akerman (“27 Dresses”) as Silk Spectre II and Matthew Goode (“Brideshead Revisited”) as Ozymandias, does not provide any extraordinary performances but at the same time does more than enough to fill the boots of Moore’s superheroes and keep the movie rolling.

So who will watch the “Watchmen”? Obviously fans of the graphic novel will come out in hoards. But those not familiar with the series will also have an enjoyable time taking in this film’s original concept, superhero-laden action and visual effects, despite the overlong running time and flawed screenplay.

3 stars out of 5.