Rorschach discovers the iconic Smiley button in WATCHMEN
© Warner Bros.

Related Links

1

Watching the WATCHMEN

Director Zack Snyder and comic co-creator Dave Gibbons were on hand Monday (check out my interview here) at the Time Warner Building in New York City for the screening of twenty minutes of 'Watchmen'. Again Snyder stated that the film is currently two hours and forty-two minutes long and he would love to keep the cut where it is. Whether or not that will be the final running time still remains to be seen.

A long cut of the film was being promised but only for DVD release. Many people know that the 'Watchmen' graphic novel is long. Over the last twenty plus years that it has been said to be un-filmable. After seeing the opening title sequence and two scenes, fans should continue to get pumped up. It looks as if Snyder has found a way to tell the tale and keep much of Alan Moore’s rich story intact.

Editors Note: Possible Spoilers Ahead

Snyder’s telling of the origin of Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) proved to be true to the original story. In the 'Watchmen' comic (Chapter 4) his origin takes place over twenty-eight pages, tying him to several other characters and introducing him to his first love, Janey Slater (Laura Mennell). Snyder crafted the story and scenes in such a way that nothing felt left out. It was all there; Dr. Manhattan in Vietnam, meeting the second Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman), John F. Kennedy and Snyder’s own touch on Moloch’s (Matt Frewer) underground vice-den. More importantly there was a great sense of understanding why and how Dr. Manhattan is the way he is. His detachment from humanity was ever present and the final moment only added to the anticipation as Dr. Manhattan sat there, legs crossed, hovering over the Martian landscape.

The next scene shown was the prison break. Nothing really new here because some of it has been shown in the trailer and pictures of Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl 2 and Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre 2 have been all over the internet. The action was great but this isn’t an action movie. It is a thinking man’s superhero tale. This scene and a few others will help to satisfy the action junkie that steps into the theatre to see the Watchmen. The essence of the characters, not the action, is what really stood out. Nite Owl and Silk Spectre have that emotional tie to one another but it was seeing that sexual hunger to go out and kick some ass that really made the scene work.

Another key to fully appreciating what Snyder is putting into the film lies within the excerpts from “Under the Hood” and from “Dr. Manhattan: Super-Powers and the Superpowers”. His opening title sequence is both an introduction to this alternate version of 1985 and an homage to the American Dream of the 1950’s. It will take multiple viewings to identify everything taken from Moore’s fake autobiography of the original Nite Owl, Hollis Mason (Stephen McHattie). Yet, it is this introduction that will help the non fan understand the world in which these “superheroes” live. Snyder doesn’t forget the fans and answers a few questions that are only hinted at in the graphic novel. He also highlights a few heroes and villains that barely got more than a comic panel of fame.

Check out Rob Vaux’s account of the footage from the Los Angeles screening.

'Watchmen' is still slated for a March 6, 2009 release date.