In just a few days, Watchmen will be released to the general public. Here's another cherished geek codeword going out to the masses. Even with all the hype, I still find myself explaining the plot to the norms. It's not easy to sum it up in even a couple of sentences, so it makes sense that this movie will be a difficult fit for the non-initiated. Zack Snyder has to be self-medicating himself like Rush Limbaugh right about now.
Wired magazine insists that it's a good thing that the movie will be different from the famous graphic novel, but all evidence indicates that they're counting on a lot of us old skool geeks to expect adherence to the holy manuscript as much as possible. When you're banking on support from the people who made it popular while aiming for the norms who have no clue, it's a potential recipe for disaster. Again, I imagine Zack Snyder awake at night, bathed in a cold sweat.
As for myself, I've already bought tickets for two showings of the movie, one at the premier Midnight showing on Thursday with the girlfriend and one on the following Sunday with two of my geek brethren. I'll need to see it at least one more time with at least one more group of geek friends, so I'm hoping it doesn't suck. From all indications, the look of the movie will be worth a couple of viewings. I pray that the actors are working at 110%. How Snyder handled the cuts and modifications that the bean counters forced on him remains to be seen, but at this point I'm just ready to see the damn movie and get it over with!
