The first trailer gave me hope. In fact, I thought it was one of 2008's best, thanks in part to the oddly appropriate Smashing Pumpkins song it's set to:
Then I saw the newest trailer, and my sneaking suspicion that 300 director Zack Snyder wouldn't do right by the legendary graphic novel -- well, it seems a lot more justified now. No surprise, but still disappointing:
What worries me: the instrumental music, which makes the movie seem like a fairly typical superhero flick; the frequent use of slow motion; and the sight of Matthew Goode in his Ozymandias outfit. (Masked-avenger costumes don't always make a dignified transition from page to screen, as Batman & Robin's George Clooney can tell you.) Also, Muse? I have nothing in particular against the band, but the choice of "Take a Bow" is so much more obvious than the apocalyptic Pumpkins B-side that helped make the first trailer so memorable.
I'll be in Vancouver on March 6, when Watchmen opens, so I'm not likely to see it with the most ardent fanboys, but I'll get around to it once I'm back in Seattle. After all, 2009's biggest event movie thus far has been... what? He's Just Not That Into You? Give me crime-fighting freaks over tepid rom-com fluff anytime. Well, not anytime, but certainly this time. Also, however the script and direction shake out, Little Children's Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach (who narrates the second trailer) is a brilliant bit of casting. No doubt about that.
One last note: I hadn't yet read Tad Friend's wonky piece on movie marketing when Cloverfield smashed January box-office records last year, but I've read it now, and I'll be eager to see how Snyder's final product compares to what the ads have been selling us for the last six months or so.
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