We Watches the Watchmen Trailer

It's finally here! The moment we've all been waiting for! Well, by we, of course, I mean hard-core comic geeks, die-hard Zack Snyder fans and die-core timepiece enthusiasts. The trailer for Watchmen, described by Warner Bros. as "the most celebrated graphic novel of all time," premiered in front of The Dark Knight this weekend, and it's already up on Apple Trailers. And it is quite possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

Comic fans have been abuzz over the photos, behind-the-scenes footage and endless reports of director Snyder's high level of geekery for the source material. Apparently, he's not only re-creating shots directly from the comic book (which is confirmed in the trailer), he's trying to keep as much of the story intact as possible, which means the film has a running time of about three hours in its current incarnation. Can your bladder stand it? Add in the Behind the Mask documentary and the Black Freighter cartoon -- which will be released individually on DVD while the movie is still in theaters, but may make it into a final director's cut of the film -- and you're looking at a Magnum-sized opus. After watching this trailer, I want Snyder to make it as magnum as he possibly can.

The best parts? The Owlship rising from the East River. The Comedian getting thrown out his apartment window. Dr. Manhattan getting torn to pieces by the intrinsic field generator. The Comedian clinging to the outside of the Owlship above a riot. Three Manhattans merging into one. Ozymandias taking out an assassin with an ashtray. 100-foot-tall Dr. Manhattan striding through the rice paddies of Vietnam, setting people on fire. Silk Spectre simply walking down the stairs. Most of these scenes are straight out of the comic book -- some critics will debate the merits of a such a literal translation, but Snyder knows that the things that make it a great graphic novel will make it a great movie. If it ain't broken, why fix it?

And before anyone uses that argument to say "Why make it into a movie in the first place," think about how many people will read the graphic novel after seeing this, and find all of the great details that simply can't be captured on film. Then give me your ticket, because I'm seeing it at least twice.

BLOG ARCHIVES

The Moviefile

September 2008

4 Entries

August 2008

99 Entries

July 2008

116 Entries

June 2008

95 Entries

May 2008

86 Entries

April 2008

67 Entries

March 2008

14 Entries