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Watchmen: A Movie Made for its Fan Base
by Larson Hill
 What can I say? There are a cajillion websites already saying the exact same things about Watchmen, all hungry to keep up with each other and play follow the leader. As much as I love the Watchmen saga, honestly, I'm tired of reading movie reviews that follow the exact same thoughtless template - set up, synopsis, surprisingly good but sadly bad format - with weekly carbon copy jargon. In the case of Watchmen, with so much online promo over the past year, is it really necessary to give you all of that? I mean, given the thousands of websites that are featuring tons upon tons of the exact same Watchmen content, do I really need to tell you who the characters are and the actors that inhabit them? In reality, yes, I do. But more on that later ...
By now I'm sure most of you online have made up your mind on whether you're going to see it. Have I seen Watchmen? Yes. Did I like it? Yes. It was fun and exactly what I expected it would be. Most of all it was thought provoking, but there was no way the film was going to capture the darkness, intellect and gripping reality underneath the masks of the Watchmen heroes in the same way as writer/creator Alan Moore wrote them in the original graphic novel two decades ago. At the same time, however, there's no way it could have. So I wasn't going into Watchmen naively thinking the film was going to be the exact same experience. They're two different mediums so there's more of an essence that needs to be upheld along with details. And given its cavernous sociological and psychological density, Watchmen is very confined and restrained for its intellect and scope. But comic book geeks should already know that going in. For casual fans, that restraint will stick out. But hats off to director Zack Snyder for putting his head on the comic chopping block and getting it done.
 Although Watchmen offers a lot of stunning visuals, larger than life thrills and complexities not usually found in conventional comic book adaptations (in reality, almost never on a safe mainstream theatrical level), the fact that Warner Bros. and Snyder took on Watchmen may be the most impressive aspect of the entire project. After all, given the popularity and literary legacy of the original Alan Moore - Dave Gibbons collaboration, Watchmen was easily a project that could have turned Snyder's directorial name to mud with one movie. And to make such a revered film without the favorable blessings of Alan Moore made it all the more difficult a project to bring to fruition.
Is Watchmen worth the trip to the theater? Absolutely. I mean, film critics are telling you to see a lot worse while also telling you to stay away from some decent movies. Me, I'm not going to tell you to stay away from anything. That's your choice. But those steeped in the literary legacy of Watchmen should walk away fulfilled since Zack Snyder sticks almost religiously to the source material. At first watch Watchmen delivers in the way it should if you're familiar with the 12-part graphic novel series. Comic book geeks will definitely love the enormity and complexity of Watchmen as a big screen apocalyptic spectacle. In the coming weeks, however, don't be surprised if Watchmen gets dissected and picked apart until, perhaps, some people say it should never have been made at all.
I hate to say it, but that may be the reality among comics-to-film fans. And don't be surprised if after all of this time the love and hype turns a bit sour after the fact. Zack Snyder did what he had to do and did it well in my opinion. The only direction Monday morning quarterbacking can go in terms of fan reaction is down since Snyder was "Watchmen faithful" almost to a fault. And to large degree, Watchmen is a movie made for ... well ... fans of the Watchmen series of graphic novels.
 Back to who the characters are and the actors that inhabit them. Watchmen stars the acting collective of Patrick Wilson, Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman, and Matthew Goode who respectively play heroes Night Owl (Dan Dreiberg), Dr. Manhattan (Jon Osterman), The Comedian (Edward Blake), Rorschach (Walter Kovacs), Silk Spectre (Laurie Jupter), and Ozymandias (Adian Veidt); to name the larger but only a few of the intricate and integral players within the Watchmen story. Actually, there's more to the characters but I'm not getting into it. That would take me another couple of pages. But those are the major players. And this is where it gets complicated, including not only the characters but also the layers of the story for those completely virgin to the Watchmen saga.
Although I've spent a lot of time with the Watchmen saga over the years, in the past few months I've been trying to look at Watchmen as if I've never even heard of it while also trying to picture how my best friend's girlfriend or her non-comic geek brother would view the film. Having now seen the final goods, the only answer I have is that it's not as accessible and profound unless you have familiarity of the graphic novel series and the complexities within. I mean, Watchmen isn't your typical super hero movie. It's a super hero Death Wish with a brain. It’s the Harvard and MIT of super hero movies rolled into one. And given its socio-political layers, the intellect of Watchmen makes you think about life at large and the heroes underneath the masks, which you may not like at all. And we all know, especially with the explosion of super hero movies in recent years, the mainstream masses don't go to the movies to think or truly confront the harsh realities of the past present, or the future.
 As a caveat, however, the darkness and gritty complexities of The Dark Knight certainly prepared moviegoers for a comic based movie like Watchmen. For the average super hero movie fan, much of the impact of the graphic novel and why its so revered won't be easily decipherable for some. Instead, some will simply see it as an ambitious, complex, entertaining and highly original super hero movie on a "super hero movie" level alone, nothing more and nothing less, that they may not fully understand.
My main concern with Watchmen has always been a question of familiarity beyond the comic book fan base. I mean, even my grandmother, mother, and sister know Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman. I could even show them a picture of Iron Man and one of them might peg his identity. But Night Owl, Dr. Manhattan, Rorschach, Silk Spectre, Comedian and Ozymandias? In the past week alone I've had five people ask me how you pronounce Rorschach and Ozymandias. There's been so much hype and anticipation for Watchmen among comic book fans that I'm not quite sure if hardcore fans have stopped to realize that financially, the odds are against Watchmen doing anything close to the box-office take of some of the much more well-known recently released super hero movies. And with an "R" rating, its box-office potential is limited even further.
But on the day of release, this is the million dollar question a lot of people have on their minds - How much will Watchmen make after so much hype and promo? I hope I'm pleasantly surprised after opening weekend. It's definitely the movie to see and many people will see it simply because they don't want to feel unpopular by not seeing it, so there will be an organic "unfamiliar" audience boost in that regard. If you're a hardcore comic book geek, you're probably standing in line at this very moment. If you're on the fence, definitely check it out. Better yet, if you have some free time go and read the graphic novel as fast as you can. Trust me, it will be a much better experience. Thankfully the movie doesn’t destroy my love for the original saga in the pages and panels. Both the movie and the graphic novels co-exist on two different levels. I loved it for what it was on film but I’m dying to know your thoughts after the fact.
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