What would our world be like if superheroes existed? “Watchmen”, Alan Moore’s masterpiece, arrived in 1986 to show us that reality would be much harsher than that seen in Marvel and DC. Through its 12 issues, the author undressed these extraordinary beings and their myth, gave them unprecedented complexity and humanity, blurred the simple border between good and evil, elevating comics as a major art. That day the genre grew as well as its readers and nothing was ever the same for the industry.
It was a matter of time before ‘the bible of the supergenre’ was brought to the big screen. Fans were dismayed by the disastrous chances of the outcome, because as we reflected earlier: comics don’t need to be cinema. Despite this, an inspired Zack Snyder decided to turn the mythical vignettes into frames in a movie that is less interesting, but that divided the fans. To this day, many wonder if it is a misunderstood masterpiece or a failed adaptation.
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“New York, 1985. The bloody murder of Edward Blake, the Comedian, mobilizes the few vigilantes who are still alive. One of the most relentless, Rorschach, embarks on an investigation that will lead him to reunite with Night Owl, the powerful Dr. Manhattan, the billionaire Ozymandias, and the Silk Specter. Together they will confront a terrible past and solve a gigantic mystery as the doomsday clock ticks ever closer to the apocalypse.”
The truth is that it doesn’t matter how badly you adapt a monument like “Watchmen”… it’s so good that, at least, something decent has to come out of it. Fortunately, Snyder’s well-intentioned work had more hits than misses. His great production brought the role to life with carefully crafted visuals, supplies of style and a lavish soundtrack. Even with its irregular narrative, stuffed action and extra effort to put together all the pieces – dense by themselves -, I consider it a worthy adaptation of a work that – in any case – could not be surpassed or equaled.
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The transition from comics to film was made with such devotion and understandable fear of failure that at times we witness the most respectful tracing. And it made us wonder: is the movie more faithful to its original comic? While many fans now complain about creative freedoms and lack of fidelity in adaptations, in 2009 more fans complained about seeing the same story twice without much input from screenwriters Alex Tse and David Hayter. The debate on this remains unresolved, but it is a discussion that deserves its own analysis later.
As for why we say that “Watchmen” is the most risky and complicated movie ever made from a comic book, the very idea of adapting it constituted heresy for the most purist readers. Though, of course, the prequel and crossover comics that expanded the story couldn’t escape the shadow of the original either. Now that the Zack Snyder tape has reached Star Plus, it is a good opportunity to rediscover it and find out if it deserved the rejection of Alan Moore himself or if it was indeed a misunderstood work.
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