James, I agree with everything you said. Leaving out the subplots was a very wise decision, as was changing that one minor detail in the end (no robo-octopus). I think this was by far the most faithful comic to screen adaptation I have ever seen. You know The Black Freighter is coming out as an anime soon, right? I think this is a cool way of bringing that aspect of the story to life. I can't wait to see the extended version of the film. My only hope is that one of the scenes cut was the killing of Hollis Mason, as I think this is a very big piece of the story that was left out...
You all can read my full review here:
http://nfpgasmask.livejournal.com/67525.html
Rorschach was amazing to watch!
Bart