With the Dark Knight getting Oscar worthy reviews and passing Star Wars for the no.2 spot on highest grossing domestic movies of all time list it's official: comic book movies are no longer guilty pleasures. The Dark Knight took the adult themes and serious minded outlook on super-heroes to a new level, Watchmen might be the one to take things one more step in that direction. With a pedigree that includes accolades as far ranging as a Hugo Award win and recognition from Time magazine as one of the 100 best English language novels of all-time, writer and critics darling Alan Moore(V for Vendetta, Marvelman, From Hell, Swamp thing) behind the original story , add one of the hottest directors Zak Snyder coming of a huge hit( 300) and it's fair to say expectations are high.
So I guess your asking "Who are the Watchmen"? If not, you should be. Heres a very brief spoiler free peek.
The basic premise is that masked crime fighting heroes are real and exist in a Nixon era America. Due to political pressures and public outcry almost all have retired or gone underground . One critical character changes the balance of power between the Soviet Union and the United States due to his almost godlike powers as the only truly "super" powered hero.He maintains the status quo.
Observing all this from their own vantage point are the other now retired or disenfranchised crime fighters. Most of them battle their own more personal demons, feeling impotent and unable to effect the world around them in their civilian guises. Things begin to change when ex "masks" start dying. Is it a elaborate plot to reshape the world or merely random coincidences in a sick decaying world order? You'll have to watch the Watchmen to find out.
Written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons and released by DC comics 1986, Watchman was a highly successful 12 issue mini series. The main characters were originally based on almost forgotten characters from the now defunct Charlton Comics company. DC having paid for the writes to these character decided to "use them" in a different capacity. Simply put Moore and Gibbons replaced the Charlton characters Captain Atom, Peacemaker, Blue Beetle, The Question, and The Thunderbolt ( and others) with their own super heroes ( Doctor Manhattan, The Comedian, Nite Owl, Rorschach, and Ozymandias). The results speak for themselves. Love it or hate it, no modern comic book has generated the critical acclaim that Moore and Gibbon's Watchmen has.
Will Watchmen work as a movie? I honestly don't know. I would say that the trailer and casting of the movie have left me feeling very optimistic so far but the pro's and con's are these:
Pros
So I guess your asking "Who are the Watchmen"? If not, you should be. Heres a very brief spoiler free peek.
The basic premise is that masked crime fighting heroes are real and exist in a Nixon era America. Due to political pressures and public outcry almost all have retired or gone underground . One critical character changes the balance of power between the Soviet Union and the United States due to his almost godlike powers as the only truly "super" powered hero.He maintains the status quo.
Observing all this from their own vantage point are the other now retired or disenfranchised crime fighters. Most of them battle their own more personal demons, feeling impotent and unable to effect the world around them in their civilian guises. Things begin to change when ex "masks" start dying. Is it a elaborate plot to reshape the world or merely random coincidences in a sick decaying world order? You'll have to watch the Watchmen to find out.
Written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons and released by DC comics 1986, Watchman was a highly successful 12 issue mini series. The main characters were originally based on almost forgotten characters from the now defunct Charlton Comics company. DC having paid for the writes to these character decided to "use them" in a different capacity. Simply put Moore and Gibbons replaced the Charlton characters Captain Atom, Peacemaker, Blue Beetle, The Question, and The Thunderbolt ( and others) with their own super heroes ( Doctor Manhattan, The Comedian, Nite Owl, Rorschach, and Ozymandias). The results speak for themselves. Love it or hate it, no modern comic book has generated the critical acclaim that Moore and Gibbon's Watchmen has.
Will Watchmen work as a movie? I honestly don't know. I would say that the trailer and casting of the movie have left me feeling very optimistic so far but the pro's and con's are these:
Pros
- The subject matter is fascinating and unlike anything else yet brought to film in the super-hero genre
- The effects so far look spot on amazing. Some of the scenes look exactly like pages from the comic.
- I have been tremendously impressed with the look and feel of Snyder's last two films 300 and Dawn of the dead. 300 especially showed that he understands his target audience and how to translate static images to moving film.
- This movie ain't Spider-Man! The story is not forced forward by action scenes and is very wordy in many places. How this translates to film is anyones guess but I'll be surprised if Moore's prose can hold up under the medium change.
- The books is loooooong. I'm praying that the studio is willing to give Snyder the cut and running time he will need to include all the small moments that make the sum so much greater than the parts of this project. I ( and many others) always felt this movie would work better as a mini series. We'll see.
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