Thursday, July 24, 2008

Who Watches the Watchmen Trailer?


I saw the Watchmen trailer as soon as it became available on Trailer Addict and, of course, saw it in front of The Dark Knight. It is now available on Apple.com in several different versions.

Like most devoted comic book fans, I count "Watchmen" among my favorite comics of all time. Indeed, I wrote a paper on determinism for one of my philosophy classes based on the character of Dr. Manhattan. It is easily the finest super-hero comic series that has ever been created; its influence cannot be overstated.

I am also a devoted movie fan, which puts me in an interesting predicament when it comes to the prospect of the movie. The comic geek in me is instantly cynical; there is no way that a movie version of such a fantastic comic book could possibly live up to the original, especially because "Watchmen" was conceived specifically as a comic book. There are far too many aspects of the original work (such as the "Black Freighter" comics that intertwine with the main storyline, the fictional newspaper, magazine, and novel excerpts at the end of each issue, and the specific elements of the panel layout and pacing) that simply cannot be replicated in a film. The movie is guaranteed to do the original a disservice.

At the same time, the movie geek in me reacts with unbridled excitement. The potential for fantastic visuals, intriguing performances, and for the story to reach a wider audience makes me giddy with excitement. A look at the cast list reveals a bevy of talent without any big stars; I cannot fault the casting of any of the characters except, unfortunately, with Matthew Goode as Ozymandius. With the small caveat that I have never seen him in any of his films, I think that he is simply the wrong man for the role.

I am basing this opinion entirely on superficial grounds; visually, he doesn't work as Ozymandius. In the comic, he is friendly-looking, always cheerful, an all-American hero kind of guy. Goode, in the promotional shot that was released (as seen on the left) and in the trailer looks brooding, mysterious, and imposing. Rather than appearing as the affable businessman with some peculiar habits, he comes across as a scheming, well...supervillain. And that's the main issue; Ozymandius must be likeable and trustworthy for the story to work.

I'm also surprised and annoyed that they chose to include the infamous bat-nipples on his costume. The fake muscles are also an annoyance; I understand that tights don't work on-screen, but surely they don't need fake muscles. Also, and I assure you this is the last comment on his costume, I am dismayed that they went with a dark colour-scheme for Ozymandius. We're talking about someone who markets his own image to children in the form of toys and an animated series. There's a reason his costume is bright and cheerful looking in the comic.

The trailer itself is a hodge-podge of scenes in the infuriating slow-motion style that destroyed 300 for me; I'm hoping that Zach Snyder does not consider this his signature style and that those shots were slow-motion only for the trailer. If not, it will show that he has no understanding of pacing and how panels control pacing within a comic book. The most egregious example is the opening scene of the trailer showing the death of Dr. Osterman in the intrinsic field generator. In the comic, this moment when Osterman is torn apart is shown in one splash page. When reading the comic, the eye absorbs the scene in an instant; it's a sudden jump, which means that the action on the page is instantaneous. Snyder, on the other hand, drags the action out in slow-motion, showing every detail.

Snyder seems to think that when he is making a movie based on a comic book, he should do his very best to imitate the still-images on the page, right down to the "still." With 300, he could essentially get away with it because the source material was short enough. Watchmen won't let him get away with that. There is simply too much material to cover; at least, that's my hope. I'm praying that he's using the slow-motion specifically for the trailer.

In regards to the trailer, Snyder did an interview with Wizard Magazine exactly one year ago and had this to say: "With 'Watchmen,' from a marketing standpoint and as a filmmaker - the movie and the marketing are the same thing to me - I think, 'Okay, what shots are going to be in the trailer?What images can tell people to come see the movie? If you don't look at your movie that way, you're naive to the process." It's clear to see why the trailer looks the way it does: there's little in terms of actual story being shared, simply a series of random images that are meant to be compelling.

Unfortunately, this strategy likely will not work for Watchmen the same way that it did for 300. The latter has a simple, easy-to-grasp premise that is easy to communicate: any one of a dozen shots of badass Spartan soldiers will solidify the concept in the mind of the audience. Watchmen, on the other hand, has a complex storyline that isn't even remotely hinted at in the trailer. Those unfamiliar with the storyline will be unlikely to understand any of the images shown in the trailer and will be confused rather than intrigued. The disingenuous "In 2009, everything we know will change" near the beginning doesn't help matters either.

On the plus side, the attention to detail is impressive and Snyder certainly delivers the pretty visuals and it's clear that he is remaining very close to the comics for many of the shots. There's an extensive comparison of the scenes in the trailer to their corresponding scenes in the comic over at Rope of Silicon. I love how Rorschach looks and the rest of the characters look about right as well, excepting, of course, Ozymandius. I can't get over how menacing he looks against his bank of TV screens; I really think they made a mistake with his character and it concerns me.

As a final note, I did think that the use of "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning" by The Smashing Pumpkins was a solid choice. The song, of course, was on the Batman and Robin soundtrack, so it's a subtle comic book movie reference. If Watchmen pulls references from comic book movies in the same way that the comic referenced classic comic book archetypes and tropes, I will be very excited. For the moment, I am still skeptical; I will undoubtedly see Watchmen when it comes out, but I am entirely uncertain whether I will enjoy it or not.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hee hee. Nice title.

I agree about Ozymandius. Heck, I'm reading it for a second time and I still like him at the beginning.