In Anticipation

I am currently in the midst of reading Watchmen. You know the greatest graphic of all time that will soon be released as a movie that will possibly be the greatest superhero movie of all time. Usually I wouldn’t do that. If a book is being translated into a movie, if I read the book fine but if I haven’t I just wait for the movie. It is shorter and I get the gist of the story. But this time I chose to prepare for it because I really don’t know much about the Watchmen.

I read a lot of comics growing up (I have a pretty vast collect) and I had seen the book many times but nothing ever drew me to it. It never seemed to foster any kind of interest for me to say “yes I want to read this.” Then there was buzz that there was going to be a movie and I thought I would just wait and watch it. But when I saw the first images from the film I was just awed.

I still tried not to read the book however. I wanted my mind to be free and clear when it was blown. But the more I saw from the film, the teasers, trailers, still shots, and the viral videos, the more I was confused and wanted to know more. I have to say I held out for a long time. It was only about 2 weeks ago when I finally picked up the book. But then it was still another week before I even picked it up.

I am now about 4/5 done and am impressed by it. It is filled with interesting characters, a complex story line, and more. It is a great read but it is intense, depressing, and violently graphic. It really wasn’t what I was expecting at all and unless you know the story it won’t be what most people will be expecting. I am now even more curious how they will be pulling this off in a film.

The problem is that the story is so complex. There are a lot of flashbacks and shifting between time periods. As well there is a completely separate story being told about a man who was lost at sea at the same time (that is being release as an animated straight to DVD film) that parallels what is happening in the main story. There are also a lot of characters involved, 2 generations of crime fighters living their life behind a mask of normalcy. The story also takes place in 1985. It was a completely different time and even in the story it is an altered history. Nixon is president trying to get a third term in office, the US won the Vietnam War because of these masked heroes, and the world is on the brink of world war 3.

The images I have seen indicate that the film makers did not tinker with any of it. It doesn’t seem to have been updated, the costumes look like they are right out of the comic with minor adjustments, and the cast visually fit the characters. And Zack Snyder has pulled panels from the comic and made them real. It just all looks amazing.

I really, really, hope this movie turns out to be as amazing as it looks cuz I am going to be the first in line to see it. And I may go and see it in IMAX as well, to get the full experience. I’ve only got to wait one more week.

Tra

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Tra

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