'The Watchmen', will the movie live up to the comic?

Directed by Zack Snyder, the man behind the blockbuster hit '300', 'The Watchmen' is expected to become the latest box-office sensation as it hits US cinemas on Friday. But this widely-anticipated 100-million-dollar movie adaptation of a popular graphic novel from the 80s has left its fan base with mixed feelings.

Tension is rising among fans of the popular graphic novel 'The Watchmen' on the eve of the worldwide release of its highly anticipated movie adaptation. Since the comic book’s first appearance in 1987, movie studios have relentlessly competed to adapt it to the big screen. Last year, just as the project was nearing completion, Fox sued Warner Bros for copyright violation, triggering anger among some fan groups who threatened to boycott Fox films if the project was cancelled. A financial compromise was finally reached, yet a divide remains between the fans who are excited about the movie’s release and those who think 'The Watchmen' should have remained a graphic novel.

The film vs the comic book

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"The Watchmen isn’t suited for a big screen adaptation"

Brent Smith works as an illustrator and founded a Facebook group to boycott the movie.

I have no doubt that the movie adaptation of 'The Watchmen' will be well done and that it will be fair to the graphic novel but I still wish it hadn’t become a film. Contrary to a lot of comic books such as 'Spiderman', 'The Fantastic 4' or 'Batman', 'The Watchmen' isn’t suited for a big screen adaptation. The trademark structured artwork and specific colour theme are impossible to reproduce on the screen. Besides, the characters are much more subtle than in most comic books, which is hard to show in just one film. Alan Moore, the author of the comic book, repeatedly said he didn’t like the movie adaptations of things he made including 'V for Vendetta' and 'The Watchmen' and refused to have his name associated to them. I’m on the same page as him, I feel like these big blockbusters make comic books look like an illegitimate art form because they are less successful."

Brent Smith's picture

Brent Smith

  • United States
  • Illustrator

Fans dress up

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Posté sur Flickr par Geekanerd 

'It's even better than the Dark Knight'

Michael Wihl, a fan of 'The Watchmen', saw the cinema adaptation in an advanced screening.

I managed to get a ticket for an advance screening and saw the film last night in a jam-packed cinema. It was such a great film that I’m seriously debating whether it’s the best movie I’ve ever seen. The audience was totally in shock because of the level of violence displayed and some very disturbing scenes including an attempted rape. It’s also surprisingly erotic: straight, homo… everything! But the movie isn’t just incredibly entertaining; it’s filled with deep thoughts and political and religious overtones. It shows the weak sides of superheroes and how society turned against them. At the end of the screening, everybody was frenetically clapping hands. It’s a hell of a movie; even better than 'The Dark Knight' and if it doesn’t beat it in the box office, it will be right up there."

Michael Wihl's picture

Michael Wihl

  • United States
  • Poll worker recruiter

The trailer - real and dubbed

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Comments

Come on Michael, if you like

Come on Michael, if you like the comic, you just can't say the movie is good. It's just hollywood. Black and white stuff.

Unregistered user

The comic ist even better

The comic ist even better then the movie, bacause the Movie bring few informations. But the effekts are very nice.

Unregistered user

Watchmen

I never knew anything about this movie or comic book until a week before i saw it.

Unregistered user