Also, I am still not convinced by the costumes - I think saying that they are an 'updated deconstruction' of modern superhero films is just an easy 'out'. I think they have been done this way in order to lure in the 'casual' superhero film lover - something familiar for the uninitiated to latch onto.

Plus - going by the trailer, I don't think the film looks 'grimy' enough - it all looks too vibrant and pristine. I would have preferred an almost documentary-style look to the film.

All that said; Beaks' report does fill my hole with soap.

Sorry - soul with hope.

I just hope the movie isn't as endlessly melancholy as the comic. It works for literature, but personally I don't want to be depressed when I step out of the movie theater.

I'm probably in the minority on that, however.

"A further word on the subject of issuing instructions on how the world ought to be: philosophy, at any rate, always comes too late to perform this function. As the thought of the world, it appears only at a time when actuality has gone through its formative process and attained its completed state. This lesson of the concept is necessarily also apparent from history, namely that it is only when actuality has reached maturity that the ideal appears opposite the real and reconstructs this real world, which it has grasped in its substance, in the shape of the intellectual realm. When philosophy paints its grey in grey, a shape of life has grown old, and it cannot be rejuvenated, but only recognized, by the grey in grey of philosophy; the owl of Minerva begins its flight only with the onset of dusk."

Especially now, with growing tendencies to proclaim the 'end of capitalism,' and that "Marx was right" (Marxism, mind you, was itself based on a messianic view of history, itself a distortion of Hegel's ideas), it is time to reveal the limits of modern thought. Otherwise we risk falling for the same sort of decisionistic trap that Schmitt and Heidegger fell for, and which lead them to side with National Socialism. Allow me to quote once more, this time from Leo Strauss:

"But precisely since the West is the culture in which culture reaches full self-consciousness, it is the final culture: the owl of Minerva begins its flight in the dusk; the decline of the West is identical with the exhaustion of the very possibility of high culture; the highest possibilities of man are exhausted. But man’s highest possibilities cannot be exhausted as long as there are still high human tasks—as long as the fundamental riddles which confront man, have not been solved to the extent to which they can be solved. We may therefore say that Spengler’s analysis and prediction is wrong: our highest authority, natural science, considers itself susceptible of infinite progress, there cannot be a meaningful end or completion of history; there can only be a brutal stopping of man’s onward march through natural forces acting by themselves or directed by human brains and hands."

And:

"[Hegel’s] system of philosophy, the final philosophy, the perfect solution of all philosophic problems belongs to the moment when mankind has solved in principle its political problem by establishing the post-revolutionary state, the first state to recognize the equal dignity of every human being as such. This absolute peak of history, being the end of history, is at the same time the beginning of the final decline. In this respect Spengler has merely brought out the ultimate conclusion of Hegel’s thought. No wonder therefore that almost everyone rebelled against Hegel."

And again, you're retarded.

As for your assertion that the material isn't deep - you either missed it or you haven't read it. Trust me - it's deep. There's a lot of visual tonality that you've probably missed. Rorschach's coat buttons for example: pay close attention to them. Look at the scenes of him with the Crimebusters - his dialogue balloon isn't Rorschach's, it's Walter Kovacs'. His coat buttons are all there. Note the scenes of him when he's describing himself as Kovacs in a mask, when he's hunting down the kidnappers of the little girl. Buttons all there. Note the moment when he becomes Rorschach, and every chronological point thereafter: he loses a coat button as he's butchering the dog's head, and he's fully unhinged - he's Rorschach. Do you even know what the Black Freighter represents? Why it's there? I'm guessing no.

If you don't think there's depth, buddy, it just flew over your head. Stop criticizing the material and get back on the short bus.

Whether or not you agree with Moore's central anti-American theme - and I certainly don't - he crafted a work of substantial depth, emotion, and with an elaborate plot. WATCHMAKER is one of the best single issues I've ever read of anything, ever. I can dig it if non-linear story, perfect continuity backstories for everyone, and realistic portrayals of the psychopaths that would become vigilantes is not your thing. But please, give *ME* a break with your "inch of depth." I'm not the only one that thinks it was more than superficial schlock, and there are an enormous amount of literary critics who would agree with me. Just because you don't like the anti-American themes (and again, I didn't), that doesn't make the work superficial. It actually makes *you* superficial if it's beyond you to enjoy something that doesn't fit exactly within your world view.

Frankly you have been laughably predicting certain Doom and that the public wouldn't get it for months so why the MASSIVE sales of the Trade paperback ? Odd ?

And Yeah, after Dark Knight it's pretty clear the public hates dark Comic book Movies and won't go out to see them in any great numbers.

Tell you what just paste "I HATE WATCHMEN!" repeatedly in a single post 50 times and save us all from the tedious repetition every time there's a Watchmen thread. Kay ? Kay.

Koyaanisqatsi scoring that's fucking Genius! Love that bit of Music. If only Snyder can keep it in a DVD cut.

This is looking more and more promising with every passing day. Squiddy or no.

Then again, what do you expect from an under-educated working class lad, who was suddenly hailled as the messiah of his chosen profession?

I think it's easy to make any work of art sound 'shallow' when you just boil it down to it's basic themes. I think what makes anything 'deep' is ambiguity, which Watchmen has plenty of no matter Moore's stated intentions. ColWTH's ranting made me think of a right-wing columnist in the UK who once said that anyone over the age of 21 should 'grow up' and only listen to classical music. He thought this made him sound cultured and intelligent but in reality it just revealed him as really, really dumb. I was 'grown up' enough to realise that comics were mostly schlock from a young age. Didn't stop me enjoying them for what they were nor did I dismiss the entire medium as incapable of 'depth' based on that. ColWTH probably thinks An American Carol has depth because it's, you know, pro-American.

Wow. For the record I don't think it looks bad. Its just that I can give a fuck about these characters and its not attractive enough for someone who is not a fan of the books, to go see.

Thanks for being so kind. Cunt.

Myself, I have a simple view on it all.

Don't judge the Art by the artist, nor the artist by his Art.

Which is why I can happily say I think Emin is shite, because you supposedly need to understand her to 'get her art'. Well fine, that just means it's shit art.

As for those of you debating about the box office potential of this movie - are you stupid? That's rhetorical, because you are. Just wait until it comes out, and then you'll see whether it's a flop or a smash. Until then, your prognostications are based on your own hunches, which no one (in their right mind) cares about. Myself, I don't care. This is a one-shot deal for me - for some movies, I'm pulling for it to be a hit because I want to see a sequel, but with this one, I specifically don't. It'd be great for comic book movies in general if it does well, but if not, as a fan of the work, I'm guessing I'll be happy regardless of the box office returns.