Who Watches the Watchmen?

July 21, 2008 SoItGoes 4 comments

Judging from the results from this weekend’s box office numbers, many of you went and saw the newest Batman film… in fact probably all of you considering its record breaking weekend. If you were among the millions who did, you not only saw a great film, you had the chance to see for the first time on the big screen the preview trailer for next years film: Watchmen. To say that my excitement level in anticipation for this film is high is quite the understatement. I think the last time I was this excited about a film this far in advance was for the Lord of the Rings films. Watchmen hits theatres early next spring on 3/6/2009.

If you are not familiar with Watchmen it is thought of as the gold standard all other comics are held to. It came out in 1986/7 and paved the way for the future of comics that lead to more adult laden themes. It won every comic book award out there and went on to be named by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English novels since 1923…..

Let that sink in for a moment it is held in the same breath as Vonnegut’s Slaughter House Five, Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Orwell’s Animal Farm, Morrison’s Beloved, Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, Faulkner’s Sound and the Fury, Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby, Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, Golding’s Lord of the Flies, and many more books you read as classics going through High School and College.

That should give you an indication that this is not your run of the mill KAPOW and BOOM comic book.

The question begs when the doomsday clock reads five minutes to midnight: “Who Watches the Watchmen”. The quick answer to this question is not its creator Alan Moore. Alan the creative mastermind behind other Hollywood films such as From Hell, League of Extraordinary Gentleman, and V for Vendetta abhors Hollywood about as much as he does his former mainstream employers DC and Marvel. He is quoted recently as saying he is not a fan of the director of the movie (Zach Snyder “300”) and does not see how anyone can adapt the award winning graphic novel into a film. To put it simply he has seen his work destroyed previously by those in Hollywood trying to make his work more acceptable and marketable to target audiences. Because of this he has no plans to see the movie and wants his name to not be associated with it.

I must admit I have fears that this book is too dense and has too much going on to be made into a film, but I’ll give it a shot. The first trailer looks stunning and there is no one who can doubt Snyder’s ability to make a film look sensational, but I am among those who are concerned he may not have it in him to create a film that so heavily relies on the characters interpersonal relationships as well as his ability to maintain a hold on all the symbolic imagery utilized in the comic.

If you are interested in learning more about the plot, the creative process and an overview of the characters I highly recommend checking out Jeff Jensen’s article at Entertainment Weekly. He does a great job of summing everything up.Here is the trailer for those that missed it or just want to see it again. The clock is ticking and midnight is just around the corner……..