Watching Watchmen in 2009

So I get back from Guadalajara, where I procured some of the delicious handmade granada ponche from a lovely little unnamed village somewhere in the state of Jalisco, and finally go see The Dark Knight (fantastically awesome), and what preview should be showcased prior to the Caped Crusader doing his dark deeds? 'Watchmen'.

If you've never heard of it, that's probably because you're not a graphic novel fan, or dork variant of some kind. I'm fortunately both, and therefore was terribly animated. Luckily for me, there was a dude who shared my enthusiasm sitting next to me and Fil (my father-in-law) in the theater.

Watchmen was written in the 80s by Alan Moore, who also penned 'V for Vendetta', 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen', 'Hellblazer' (think of the movie 'Constantine'), 'From Hell', and other such gems, and details the plight of ordinary men (save Dr. Manhattan) and women who fight crime as 'superheroes'. Eventually, the populace forces them to go into retirement (I'm guessing that the screenwriters for Pixar's 'The Incredibles' borrowed this theme from Watchmen) and then someone mysteriously murders one of the 'masks' who accepted governmental sponsorship (working for the man, and still being allowed to practice their arts). Wikipedia, of course, is a decent source of detailed info on the plot. Suffice it to say, this is rich humanistic story. Characters are flawed, and compelling and complementing subplots abound. There's also going to be additional web matierial rounding out some of the back story, and reportedly a companion DVD containing 'The Black Freighter' content, in addition to an uber Lord of the Rings length director's cut.

It'll undoubtedly be updated for the 90s. Instead of the looming nuclear war with the Russians, it'll probably be 'splinter organizations' or 'regimes' that are the antagonistic mechanism. Zach Snyder, who directed '300', is heading this one. Dave Gibbons, the original novel's illustrator is on board.

It looks like it'll be a real treat. It opens March 6, 2009.