Watchmen is a 2009 film made by Zack Snyder and it is an adaptation of the famous graphic novel created by Alan Moore.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about this film!
- Watchmen is a 2009 American superhero film
- It is directed by Zack Snyder
- It is based on the 1986–87 DC Comics limited series of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
- It stars an ensemble cast of Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson
- A dark satirical and dystopian take on the superhero genre
- The film is set in an alternate history in the year 1985 at the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union
- As a group of mostly retired American superheroes investigates the murder of one of their own before uncovering an elaborate and deadly conspiracy
- While their moral limitations are challenged by the complex nature of the circumstances
- From October 1987 until October 2005, a live-action film adaptation of the Watchmen series became stranded in development hell
- Producers Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver began developing the project at 20th Century Fox
- Later moving it to Warner Bros. Pictures
- The sister company of Watchmen publisher DC Comics
- And hiring director Terry Gillian
- He eventually left the production and deemed the complex comic “unfilmable”
- During the 2000s, Gordon and Lloyd Levin collaborated with Universal Pictures, Revolution Studios and Paramount Pictures to produce the film
- Directors David Hayter, Darren Aronofsky and Paul Greengrass were attached to the project before it was cancelled over budget disputes
- In October 2005, the project returned to Warner Bros.
- There Snyder was hired to direct
- Paramount remained as its international distributor
- Whereas Warner Bros. would distribute the film in the United States
- However, Fox sued Warner Bros. for copyright violation arising from Gordon’s failure to pay a buy-out in 1991
- Which enabled him to develop the film at the other studios
- Fox and Warner Bros. settled this before the film’s release
- With Fox receiving a portion of the gross
- Principal photography began in Vancouver, September 2007
- As with his previous film 300, Snyder closely modelled his storyboards on the comic
- But chose not to shoot all of Watchmen using green screens and opted for real sets instead
- It had its world premiere at Odeon Leicester Square on February 23, 2009
- The film was released in both conventional and IMAX theaters on March 6, 2009
- And grossed $55 million on its opening weekend
- And over $185 million at the worldwide box office
- The film polarized fans and critics
- The style was praised
- But Snyder was accused of making an action film that lacked the subtlety and wit of the comic
- A DVD based on elements of the Watchmen universe was released
- Including an animated adaptation of the comic Tales of the Black Freighter within the story voiced by Gerard Butler
- And a fictional documentary titled Under the Hood
- Detailing the older generation of superheroes from the film’s back-story
- A director’s cut with 24 minutes of additional footage was released in July 2009
- The “Ultimate Cut” edition incorporated the animated comic Tales of the Black Freighter into the narrative as it was in the original graphic novel
- Lengthening the runtime to 3 hours and 35 minutes
- It was released on November 3, 2009
- The directors cut was received better than the theatrical release
- Watchmen received a strongly polarized reception from both audiences and critics
- Some critics gave overwhelmingly positive reviews for the dark, cerebral and unique take on the superhero genre, faithfulness to the source material, the mature themes and storyline, the visual style and cinematography, the performances of the cast and the visual effects
- Others derided the film for the same reasons
- As well as for as the R-rating, the running time, and the complex narrative, for being too confusing and difficult to follow
- On Rotten Tomatoes, Watchmen has a 64% approval rating
- Based on 302 reviews
- With an average rating of 6.33/10
- The site’s critical consensus reads, “Gritty and visually striking, Watchmen is a faithful adaptation of Alan Moore’s graphic novel, but its complex narrative structure may make it difficult for it to appeal to viewers not already familiar with the source material”
- By comparison, on Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating reviews from mainstream critics, the film has a score of 56 out of 100
- Based on 39 critics
- Indicating “mixed or average reviews”
- CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade cinemagoers gave the film was B on an A+ to F scale
- And that the primary audience was older men
- Watchmen was nominated for one award at the 2009 VES Awards, seven awards at the 36th Saturn Awards, and 13 awards at the 2009 Scream Awards
- The film was also pre-nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
- Although it did not make the final shortlist
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