Watchmen Trailer
I’ve watched this maybe 6 times. That Pumpkins song is snug in my brain now, and forever eradicated from the Batman & Robin soundtrack. WATCH!
I’ve watched this maybe 6 times. That Pumpkins song is snug in my brain now, and forever eradicated from the Batman & Robin soundtrack. WATCH!
OpenCritic
I thought the song choice was brilliant – use a song from the soundtrack to what is universally recognized as one of the worst superhero movies ever made for the trailer to a film based on a comic that entirely deconstructed the idea of superheroes. It just added another little layer for those who knew where it came from.
That said, I am both excited by and made a little wary by this trailer. On one hand, it certainly looks faithful, right down to shots that mimic panels from the book. On the other hand, “From the visionary director of 300” only serves to remind me how much I’ve disliked what Zack Snyder has done to date. And I just don’t like the whole CGI-background thing. Everything just looks too…clean. Like it was just built. Shoot something outside, damnit.
Was that a conscious choice? I hope so; you have to imagine it is, no?
If you had asked me a few years ago if “Watchmen” could work as a 2-hour movie, I’d have said “poppycock!” So I’ve long let go of the completely faithful adaptation… but what I’ve seen so far does, as you say, look “ripped straight from the comics” and also with a lot of flare/flavor that Snyder’s so good at. I like the boy a lot, and can buy into his way of filming, so I have high hopes!
Of the CG crew, he does it well. I think this looks leaps and bounds better than The Spirit.
According to EW, Snyder’s current cut is three hours and the studio wants it at 2:25 but he’s complaining. I hope the huge success of Dark Knight at 2:40 convinces them that the longer, the better.
Three things wrong with this preview.
1)Alternate realities and period pieces (yes, I’m calling 1985 a period piece, sue me) need explanation. The general public needs to know when it’s not set in the present, and using 2009 so prominently messes up expectations. The preview could easily have been done by setting up background info: news snippets about the minutemen, the crimebusters, the watchmen, and the police strike riots (good that a there’s a few shots of the riots in preview, but to Joe America, it’s just any old riot scene).
2) Despite it looking like an ensemble, Watchmen is Rorschach’s story, not Dr. Manhattan’s. Too much screen time for the doctor (in the preview) and not enough of our favorite journaling freak in the mask. At least he does the voice over, but it should have covered the whole preview, not just the end. The only thing I get out of this preview is that there’s lots of superheroes I’ve never heard of posing like the bad guys in Elektra Assassin. Oh, and its source material got great reviews. The preview fell dead flat in the theater I saw it in. I mean silence. I’m not sure if that was a good thing.
3) Geek properties with hot chicks can’t skimp on the hotness. This hot chick just ain’t hot enough. It’s what killed Firefly. Imagine Sin City with Tori Spelling in Jessica Alba’s role: not the same. I’ve seen girls in “LA ink” who could have done the job better.
So, to sum up: Key missing facts:
it’s 1985 and Nixon just won his 5th election. (why? gotta see the movie to find out!)
Rorschach is investigating murder. (who’s murder, why is he investigating, what happens? gotta see the movie to find out!)
Who watches the Watchmen? (How can you miss this tagline?)
Where’s the 80’s music? (When is this set?)
Good points:
Mentioned the awards of source material.
Doc Manhattan explained.
Smiley face has proper emphasis.
Every main character has screen time.
Blah, Here’s hoping it rocks like Sin City and 300 and not flops like Spawn. (all of which were very true to their source material.)
I’m only at San Diego on friday, but if I could have an experience like this guy, who posted his experience on Aint It Cool News, I’d never leave. Check out how his day ended:
/Then came the kicker. The moment I knew couldn’t be topped, so I just left the con after. I came out from the Paramount booth, and directly across is a booth that has an elevated, second-story platform for autograph signings. I look up, and there’s that guy who’s playing Rorschach in Watchmen. He’s having his picture taken on the balcony, away from the signing. I tell my lady to snap some shots, she does. Then I pause, and realize, the fates have aligned me and Rorschach perfectly. He’s up there, I’m down here. I couldn’t resist.
I yell “Rorschach! Save us!”
He looks down at me, smiles, and whispers, “No.”
Best Comic-con day ever.