Who Will Watch the Watchmen?

Alright. So Zack Snyder has brought the most famous graphic novel, Watchmen, to the big screen. It opens this coming Friday, March 6th.

Zack Snyder is the director who brought us the visually stunning (and substance lacking) epic 300 (which was based off the graphic novel by Frank Miller).

I first read the Watchmen when I was 18, after a friend gave it to me for my birthday. He told me, "You read comics, so you'll probably love this one. I heard it was one of the best graphic novels of all time."

That was quite the hype. Usually with an introduction like that, the subject at hand often has a hard time living up to it. And sometimes it hits the nail on the head. This, was Watchmen.

Most people view comic books as a child/adolescent/guy-who-doesn’t-see-sunlight thing. But those stereotypers need to read Watchmen. Alan Moore is a phenomenal writer, and Dave Gibbons can tell a very vivid story using only images. Put those two fellas together and you have comic book gold.

I don’t know if I can say the same thing for Zack Snyder and the cast of the movie version, but I will pay $9.25 to find out.

I can safely say Watchmen is the most complex and dynamic comic I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. It has multiple subplots which completely intertwine, incredibly panel lay out, it’s politically conscience, and has a climax I NEVER saw coming. Plus it could loosely be described as a super hero comic. But it would be more accurately described as the death of the super hero.

So, do me (and other comic readers) favor and read this graphic novel before you see the movie. This isn’t just some action packed blockbuster with cool special effects, regardless of what the trailers make it out to be. In fact, the comic has close to no action. And I heard they changed the ending even though that was the best part. So, as you can imagine, I’ll be going into the theater with low expectations on Friday (which is exactly how I felt when I went to see V for Vendetta, another Alan Moore comic adaptation).

But – I will definitely be there.

- Cristina
(Yes, I am a lady. Shocking I know.)