Who Watches the Watchmen?
Posted by Eddy in News, Web News, film on Mar.03, 2009.
I started reading The Watchmen this week in preparation for the movie’s release, and also because I’ve been putting it off forever. I understand that it is a notch in the contemporary geek’s bedpost to say he’s read Watchmen, but I really have just never gotten around to it.
I’m trying not to get my hopes up about the movie too much. For one, I’m not sure how they are going to pull off the story, which in the graphic novel meanders on a slowly unraveling thread all around a generational mystery. Beyond that, there’s no way they could possibly cram everything into even a 161 minute outing.
And while the Watchmen trailers are actually shirt rippingly awesome, I do worry that it’s one of those trailers that will end up being better than the movie. Because yes, sometimes this happens. And I have quite a few examples where this has happened in recent years, Sin City being the most notable of the bunch, whose trailer pulled off something much more interesting than the end product:
Hit the other examples after the jump.
- X-Men 3- even though the movie is a jumbled mess with too many things going on, this trailer really makes it look like one awesome epic fest.
- Garden State- to quote JJ, our webmaster, “a beautiful little piece of art”.
- Superman Returns- totally captures the essence of what is so fascinating about Superman.
- Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace- the ultimate geek-out trailer. People freaked when this thing released.
While I like a few of the movies on the list (and even Sin City), I just felt the trailers did a better job at doing what their counterparts tried to do. The Superman Returns trailer still gives me chills, even though the movie itself is kind of boring and a bit anti-climactic.
Anywho, I’m hoping The Watchmen doesn’t join the ranks of these cinematic brethren. The hard thing about trying to nail down something that so many people love is that the slightest of changes can turn a crowd against you. However, even if the movie is awful, it won’t change the fact that the original is a powerful, groundbreaking tale.
So- who’s planning on seeing it this weekend?
I’ve been here since episode 5 or 6 came out. I’m...” on
March 3rd, 2009 on 12:26 am
The movie Hot Fuzz had way better trailers than the actual movie. The trailers advertised a hilarious, high-paced shootemup. What you got was a funny, slow-paced whodunit with the big shootout at the end. So deceptive. It wasn’t a bad movie, it was just not what I was expecting.
As for Watchmen, I hadn’t even heard of the franchise until I saw a trailer for the movie. Call me whatever you want, but I don’t think it would be a movie I’d like. I’ll wait until it comes out on Blu-Ray.
March 3rd, 2009 on 12:42 am
Im not really into Superhero movies, i prefer realistic action movies
March 3rd, 2009 on 1:24 am
Wish we could have seen David Hayter’s version. Ah well, maybe he’ll write the Metal Gear movie.
I’ve already got my tickets for this Friday. Of all the graphic novels in the world, this is probably the most tricky to translate onto the silver screen, so I’m excited to see what Mr. 300 has managed to pull off.
March 3rd, 2009 on 2:01 am
Trogador, while I still really enjoyed Hot Fuzz, you’re totally right about the trailers. I didn’t mind the movie I ended up seeing in the slightest, but the previews really did paint a different picture. Most of the action didn’t happen until the final 10 minutes.
March 3rd, 2009 on 5:35 am
Still, once it got to that action, they exploited every joke in the film and made it one of the best action sequences ever…even though it’s a comedy.
Also, I read Watchmen as it was in our school library, but I had no idea of the history behind it until I looked it up on wikipedia, so I still need to buy it.
March 3rd, 2009 on 7:52 am
Got to say, I really don’t feel Garden State should be on that list.
The trailer was good, but the film itself was just fantastic. I would agree the trailer set high expectations, but personally I disagree if you think the film failed to meet them.
March 3rd, 2009 on 9:44 am
Well, part of our discussion was that even good movies can have trailers better than the final result. I think the Garden State teaser boils down some of the best moments of the movie and uses that amazing song to make something that stands alone just because of its atmosphere and stylistic touches.
Also, I think I’m the only one of our little group that actually likes the movie, probably because I saw it before every single hipster/film student decided it was the best movie ever and raved about it incessantly.
I’m actually kind of wondering when Zach Braff will get around to making another movie, especially now that Scrubs has wrapped shooting and his commitment to the show is complete.
March 3rd, 2009 on 12:49 pm
If anyone say Stuart Little they will remember that the trailer was better than the film, because the film straight out lied. Scenes viewed in the trailer were shown in the film, during the credits as a “what life was like latter”.
Kung Pow enter the fist did the same thing with cool scences from the trailers being seen a hypothetical sequel. But Kung Pow was awsome so I forgive it.
Speaking of trailers, who loves it when other shows are played with the trailer as the sound. (See Narutrix, or a ton of 300 examples)
I have not been to the movies in a long time so I probably will not see the film, even though it looks kick ass.
March 3rd, 2009 on 2:21 pm
I recently read Watchmen and I’ve become a huge fanboy, as you can tell by my username. I’m quite excited anout the upcoming film, since its the reason I read the graphic novel. I do have faith in Zack Snyder, although the recent mixed reviews that film has been getting from its premiere do worry me a bit. The score on metacritic also doesn’t comfort me much, but time will have to tell. BTW, its great to be part The Leet World community now. I’ve been watching your films since nealry the beginning of last year and I just want to tell you that you guys are awesome.
March 3rd, 2009 on 4:44 pm
i too have noticed that the trailers can sometimes be better than the actual movie
March 3rd, 2009 on 11:06 pm
And now we just wait for the purchase brothers to finish their rendition of Half Life and life would be perfect. (because we all miss Dr. Freeman)
March 4th, 2009 on 11:26 am
The Dark Knight was one of the films that was even more epic than its mega epic trailer. The trailer even won an award.