Dun dun dun

Detty did it wrong.

guess so

I HAVE TO WAIT TILL TONIGHT!!!!

watched it here first. more impressive on the big screen i must say.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/watchmen/

if folks haven't found it already.

I said on the Batman thread I wasn't really impressed... but I think it's grown on me a little bit.

The art style seems inconsistent, or something like that.

That said, I'm rereading Watchmen today because I can barely remember the storyline.

They seem to have made some of it look too slick or 'cool' and also not quite 80's, but that may have just been how the trailer was crafted, because it did look pretty close to the source in a lot of ways. We'll see how it turns out.

Some people say this is one of the best comics ever. What about it makes it so great? Fans say it's due to its realistic interpretation of superheroes, but can anyone elaborate on that?

With the exception of one character (and the presence of "psychics" in the world, which honestly is one of my gripes), all the main characters do not have any special powers -- they are simply "masked vigilantes." They are not even necessarily like Batman or Tony Stark in being absurdly rich or smart (though one character does fit this bill). They're depicted as normal people who just dreamed of doing heroics and took up this questionable and somewhat embarrassing (but fulfilling/fun) method of fighting crime. Most of the problems they face are more personal, they have difficulties with issues that would just be "dramatic" at best for most comic book heroes, the comic was (I believe) the first to introduce the idea of a law requiring hero registration/banning (and this was because they were putting cops out of business I believe), and the overall "evil plot" (while containing some issues IMO), is mostly an intelligent one that is literally questionable in its ethics and...well, I don't want to give it away.

Suffice to say, though, it just makes the "comic book hero" genre into something more concrete -- it isn't a "bwahaha destroy/control the world" story or otherwise a work of escapism. Comics and such these days are likely highly influenced by the Watchmen.

It has a lot to do with the era in which it was released. This is during capes and cowls, when none of the characters were even close to realistically drawn/written. The level of maturity and reality in the comics paved the way for the style we read today.

It also used devices that were limited to film at the time. Perspective, flashback, montage, and superimpose being the major ones. It was also a preplanned 12 issue comic, as opposed to a series or a serial. The self-containment of the story, along with the rich world-development done at the end of comics through the supplemental metaworld backstory solidified watchmen as a genre-defining work. In mine and several others' opinion, it shows why comic books are a art in their own right, and that some of the things that the comic does are simply ineffective or simply impossible in film or novels.

Also, this is kind of trivial, but I'm glad they didn't try to put some sort of costume on Dr Manhattan to get around the fact that he's entirely naked. I still feel he's a little too CG-ed out though.

This is going to be a great movie if not the greatest.

!

I didn't know they were this far in production. Neat!

The (arguably) main character died before the first comic took place.

A quick thing after rewatching the trailer (to see the "easter egg" where they censored out a gun with a radio), they get the quote wrong:

"The whores and politicians will look up and shout 'Save us!' And I'll look down, and whisper 'no.'"

Hmm the concept does sound interesting. I originally thought all of the characters had super powers like the X-Men or something.

Did you notice the part of the trailer where it said it was approved for all audiences? I don't think "whores" is exactly G-Rated. I have a feeling that a couple of the character shots where simply promo shots, so I wouldn't surprised if they recorded a G-rated version of that line as well.

Good point.

So I reread it, and having originally read it when I was like 12, I didn't really remember much beyond Mr. Manhattan, and the flying owl car. I am really really glad I went back and reread it.

This book is fantastic and I suggest anyone remotely interested in this film pick up the book before the film breaks. I find it difficult to imagine they'll be able to do absolutely every scene that's in the comics, and because of that, it's my opinion that it will be a lesser film.

And honestly, the only other comic that I've enjoyed even remotely as much as The Watchmen is The Filth. They're not really comparable in any way, but the point is that there are few comics that I consider on this tier of excellence. Maybe a few miller batman comics, but that's about where it ends.

Some of the adults-only Punisher books were damn good too.

Last I heard, Snyder was fighting with producers over his 3-hour-long cut, so I'm hoping 95% of the comic will be present.

Oh, you should know that The Black Freighter will NOT be in the film. However they *are* making it, as a straight-to-video production, starring Gerard Butler.

...of course making it separate kind of defeats the point of it, but it'll still be fun to see.

That really detracts from it, in my opinion. Superimpose is part of what made the book so great. Are they leaving out the full storyline of the psychoanalyst? What about the news stand? In my opinion, that part of the book was my absolute favorite part, as it gave reality, and grounding to anything that happened with the heroes. When the end comes around, we don't just see what happened, we feel what happened because we got to know real life people who are effected by the choices of the heroes. Gives weight to the last line said by Veidt about seeing faces (this is also reinforced by the black freighter). What about the people out on the island and the boat?

I don't know, I'm sure it'll be a good film, but I don't know if it'll be half as good of a story without absolutely every element from the book.

It's better to adapt to something that will work better as a film rather than recklessly stick to the source material which primarily works because it's a comic.

Also, Dave Gibbons writes on my friend's facebook wall. I'm jealous of my friend.

It's so impressive that this entire shot is on a set, not an actual street corner.

Yay!

Heh, that New Issue poster is for the Black Freighter.

Anyone know the song that plays in the background?

"The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning" - Smashing Pumpkins

Reborn!

Does anyone think Moore is kind of a crabass?

Also, My Chemical Romance might do a cover of a Bob Dylan song for the credits. I think I'm crying.