| Watchmen | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Zack Snyder |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on | Watchmen byDave Gibbons[a] |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Larry Fong |
| Edited by | William Hoy |
| Music by | Tyler Bates |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by |
|
Release dates |
|
Running time | 163 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States[2] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $130–150 million[b] |
| Box office | $187 million[3][7] |
Watchmen is a 2009 Americansuperhero film based on thecomic book limited series byDave Gibbons,[c] and published byDC Comics.[11] Directed byZack Snyder from a screenplay byDavid Hayter andAlex Tse, the film featuresMalin Åkerman,Billy Crudup,Matthew Goode,Carla Gugino,Jackie Earle Haley,Jeffrey Dean Morgan, andPatrick Wilson. A dark anddystopian deconstruction of the superhero genre, the film is set in analternate history in the year 1985 at the height of theCold War, as a group of mostly retired Americansuperheroes investigate the murder of one of their own before uncovering an elaborate and deadly conspiracy with which they are all connected.
For nearly two decades from October 1987 until October 2005, alive-action film adaptation of theWatchmen series became stranded indevelopment hell. ProducersLawrence Gordon andJoel Silver began developing the project at20th Century Fox, later moving it toWarner Bros. Pictures, the sister company ofWatchmen publisher DC Comics, and hiring directorTerry Gilliam, who eventually left the production and deemed the complex comic "unfilmable". During the 2000s, Gordon andLloyd Levin collaborated withUniversal Pictures,Revolution Studios andParamount Pictures to produce the film. DirectorsDavid Hayter,Darren Aronofsky, andPaul Greengrass were attached to the project before it was canceled over budget disputes. In October 2005, the project returned to Warner Bros., where 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 inVancouver, in September 2007. As with his previous film300 (2006), Snyder closely modeled hisstoryboards on the comic but chose not to shoot all ofWatchmen usinggreen screens and opted for real sets instead.
Following its world premiere atOdeon Leicester Square on February 23, 2009,[12] the film was released in both conventional andIMAX theatres on March 6, 2009. The film underperformed at the box office, grossing over $185.4 million worldwide against a production budget between $130–138 million; however, the film later found financial success at the home media markets.[13] Greg Silverman (former Warner Bros. executive) said that the film did later become profitable.[14]
The film received mixed to positive reviews from fans and critics; the style was praised, but Snyder was accused of making an action film that lacked the thematic depth and nuance of the comic.[15] Over the years, it gained acult following. ADVD based on elements of theWatchmen universe was released, including an animated adaptation of theTales of the Black Freightercomic within the story voiced byGerard Butler and afictional documentary titledUnder the Hood detailing the older generation of superheroes from the film's backstory.[16] A director's cut with 24 minutes of additional footage was released in July 2009. The "Ultimate Cut" edition incorporated the animated comicTales of the Black Freighter into the narrative as it was in the original graphic novel, lengthening the runtime to 3 hours and 35 minutes, and was released on November 10, 2009. The director's cut was better received than the theatrical release.[15]
In 1985, a man living in aManhattan apartment watches news about escalatingCold War tensions and the response from five-term PresidentRichard Nixon when an unknown assailant attacks and hurls him to the street below. Throughout the opening credits, a montage reviews the rise of costumed crime-fighters from 1939 to 1977, culminating in public backlash and the passage of an anti-vigilante act.
Rorschach, a vigilante detective who operates illegally, discovers that the dead man was Edward Blake, better known as "theComedian", a costumed hero who worked for the government. Suspecting that other vigilantes could be attacked, Rorschach warns members of his former team, the Watchmen.[17] Rorschach's former partnerDan Dreiberg believes he is paranoid, but relays his concerns toAdrian Veidt, a crime-fighter turned businessman, but he also dismisses the concerns. Rorschach later visitsDoctor Manhattan, a physicist whose accidental superpowers make him a national security asset, but Manhattan is preoccupied with energy research and ignores him.
At Blake's funeral, Manhattan, Veidt and Dreiberg each recall the Comedian's pessimism in his later years about the Watchmen's mission. After the service, a lone mourner pays his respects. Rorschach tracks down and questions the mourner, former supervillain Edgar Jacobi. Jacobi says that Blake had recently broken into his apartment while he was sleeping — tearful, unmasked, and incoherent. Rorschach is astonished but doubts that Jacobi would tell a lie so bizarre. During a press interview with Doctor Manhattan, an investigative journalist tells him that several people who had been in contact with Manhattan have developed cancer, including his former girlfriend. As other reporters mob Manhattan with questions, he snaps and exiles himself toMars. Alone, Manhattan reflects on his existence and his regrets at allowing himself to be turned into a weapon. In his absence, theWarsaw Pact countries make aggressive moves, and Nixon prepares for war.
Veidt survives an assassination attempt, suggesting that Rorschach's "mask-killer" theory is correct. Dreiberg takes inLaurie Jupiter, a second-generation vigilante and estranged lover of Manhattan, to whom Dreiberg is attracted. Rorschach's investigation of the assassin leads him back to Jacobi. Rorschach finds Jacobi dead and himself framed for Jacobi's murder. After a battle with police, Rorschach is arrested and unmasked as a low-born vagrant. In prison, Rorschach defends his vigilantism to a psychiatrist, saying he cannot ignore evil and the people who cause it. Dreiberg and Jupiter, after donning their costumes and saving multiple people from a burning building, have sex. Imprisoned crime boss Big Figure stages a riot as a cover for assassinating Rorschach. The attack fails, and Rorschach kills Big Figure and his accomplices before leaving the prison with Dreiberg and Jupiter who have arrived to break him out.
Manhattan teleports Jupiter to Mars while Dreiberg joins Rorschach's investigation of the Blake murder. Evidence points them to Veidt as the mastermind; they find him at an Antarctic hideout, where he has just overseen the activation of Doctor Manhattan's energy reactors inNew York City and other locations across the planet. On Mars, Jupiter tries to convince Manhattan that humanity is worth saving. She succeeds only when he learns that Jupiter is Blake's illegitimate daughter, a fact so unlikely (as Blake had once tried torape Jupiter's mother) that it restores his respect for life.
Veidt admits orchestrating Manhattan's exile, staging the assassination, framing Rorschach, and killing Blake, who was spying on his activities. He has also executed the final step of his plan: Turning the world against Manhattan by rigging his reactors to explode, killing 15 million people. Manhattan returns with Jupiter to a devastated New York, pieces together what has happened, and teleports to Veidt's hideout. After a brief struggle, Veidt shows him that the world's countries have put aside their rivalries to focus on a common enemy: Doctor Manhattan.
Realizing the logic of Veidt's plan, the Watchmen agree to keep his secret, except for Rorschach, whom Manhattan reluctantly kills to preserve the new global peace. Manhattan departs permanently for another galaxy while Dreiberg rebukes Veidt's moral sacrifice, and Jupiter finally comes to terms with her parentage. A New York tabloid editor, disgusted that there is no war to report on, tells a staff member to choose something from the "crank file", which contains Rorschach's journal.
Production forWatchmen began casting in July 2007 for actors to double historical figures of the era—something directorZack Snyder declared would give the film a "satirical quality" and "create this '80s vibe".[18][19][20] Snyder said he wanted younger actors because of the many flashback scenes, and it was easier to age actors with make-up rather than cast two actors in the same role.[21] Snyder's son appears as a young Rorschach,[22] while the director himself appears as an American soldier in Vietnam.[23] ActorThomas Jane was invited by Snyder, but declined to work in the film due to being too busy.[24]
Cameo roles includeJay Brazeau as a news vendor,Mark Acheson as a large man at Happy Harry's,Leah Gibson as Silhouette's girlfriend,Alessandro Juliani as a Rockefeller Military Base technician,Salli Saffioti asAnnie Leibovitz, andTed Cole asDick Cavett.
In 1986, producersLawrence Gordon andJoel Silver acquired film rights toWatchmen for20th Century Fox.[45] After authorAlan Moore declined to write a screenplay based on his story, Fox enlisted screenwriterSam Hamm. Hamm rewroteWatchmen's complicated ending, making a "more manageable" conclusion involving an assassination and a time paradox.[46] Fox put the project intoturnaround in 1991,[47] and the project was moved toWarner Bros. Pictures, whereTerry Gilliam was attached to direct andCharles McKeown to rewrite the script. Gilliam and Silver were only able to raise $25 million for the film, a quarter of the necessary budget, because their previous films had gone overbudget.[46] Gilliam eventually leftWatchmen, describing the comic as "unfilmable", and Warner Bros. dropped the project.[48]
.jpg)
In October 2001, Gordon partnered withLloyd Levin andUniversal Pictures, hiringDavid Hayter to write and direct.[49] Hayter and the producers left Universal due to creative differences,[50] and Gordon and Levin expressed interest in setting upWatchmen atRevolution Studios. The project did not hold together at Revolution Studios and subsequently fell apart.[51] In July 2004, it was announcedParamount Pictures would produceWatchmen, andMichael Bay was considered to direct. Eventually, they attachedDarren Aronofsky to direct Hayter's script. Producers Gordon and Levin remained attached, collaborating with Aronofsky's producing partner, Eric Watson.[52]Paul Greengrass replaced Aronofsky when he left to focus onThe Fountain.[53] Ultimately, Paramount placedWatchmen in turnaround.[54]
In October 2005, Gordon and Levin met with Warner Bros. once again to develop the project.[55]Tim Burton at one point expressed interest in directing the film, but ultimately turned it down. Impressed withZack Snyder's work on300, Warner Bros. approached him to direct an adaptation ofWatchmen.[56] ScreenwriterAlex Tse was hired to rewrite Hayter's script. He drew from his favorite elements of Hayter's script, and returned the story to the originalCold War setting of theWatchmen comic, in contrast to Hayter's script, which took place in modern times.[57][58] Similar to his approach to300, Snyder used the comic book as astoryboard.[59] Following negotiations, Paramount, which had already spent $7 million in their failed project, earned the rights for international distribution ofWatchmen and 25% of the film's ownership.[60]
The fight scenes were extended,[61] and a subplot about energy resources was added to make the film more topical.[62] Although he intended to stay faithful to the look of the characters in the comic, Snyder intended Nite Owl to look scarier[59] and made Ozymandias's armor into a parody of the rubber "muscle suits" from 1997'sBatman & Robin.[63] Production took place inVancouver, where a New York City back lot was built.Sound stages were used for apartments and offices,[64] while sequences onMars and inAntarctica were shot againstgreen screens.[65] Filming started on September 17, 2007,[66] and ended on February 19, 2008,[67] on an estimated $120 million budget.[68] To handle the 1,100 shots featuring visual effects, a quarter of them beingcomputer-generated imagery,[69] ten different effects companies were involved withWatchmen.[70] While 20th Century Fox filed a lawsuit to block the film's release, the studios eventually settled, and Fox received an upfront payment and a percentage of the worldwide gross from the film and all sequels and spin-offs in return.[71]
Dave Gibbons became an adviser on Snyder's film, but Moore has refused to have his name attached to any film adaptations of his work.[72] Moore has stated he has no interest in seeing Snyder's adaptation; he toldEntertainment Weekly in 2008, "There are things that we did withWatchmen that could only work in a comic, and were indeed designed to show off things that other media can't."[73] While Moore believes that David Hayter's screenplay was "as close as I could imagine anyone getting toWatchmen," he asserted he did not intend to see the film if it were made.[74]
Regarding the changed ending in which Dr. Manhattan is blamed for nuclear devastation instead of an extraterrestrialsquid, Snyder "figured it took about 15 minutes to explain [the squid's appearance] correctly; otherwise, it's pretty crazy."[75] By omitting the squid Snyder felt that he could give more time to explore and develop the existing characters.[75] Oscar Gonzalez ofCNET stated that "Because of this change, however, the movie is not canon in regards to theWatchmen TV series."[76] Earlier drafts had Veidt die, but Snyder reversed this change.[77]
Both a soundtrack and excerpts fromTyler Bates'film score were released as albums on March 3, 2009. The soundtrack features three songs written byBob Dylan—"Desolation Row", "All Along the Watchtower", and "The Times They Are a-Changin'"—with only the latter performed by Dylan on the soundtrack. It includes some songs mentioned in the comic, such as Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" andLeonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin'" and "All Along the Watchtower" are also quoted in the graphic novel. Music byPhilip Glass fromKoyaanisqatsi plays whenDoctor Manhattan is looking back on his life when he arrives on Mars.[78] TheIntroitus ofMozart'sRequiem appears at the end of the film. "Desolation Row" was covered byMy Chemical Romance specially for the film, and the song plays in the end credits. The music video was directed by Snyder and features several in-universe references toWatchmen.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment published an American-only episodicvideo game to be released alongside the film calledWatchmen: The End Is Nigh. Warner Bros. took this low-key approach to avoid rushing the game on such a tight schedule, as most games adapted from films are panned by critics and consumers.[79] The game is set in the 1970s and is written byLen Wein, the comic's editor; Dave Gibbons is also an advisor.[80] On March 4, 2009,Glu Mobile releasedWatchmen: The Mobile Game, abeat 'em upmobile game featuring Nite Owl and The Comedian fighting enemies in their respective settings of New York City and Vietnam.[81] On March 6, 2009, a game for theApple Inc.iPhone andiPod Touch platform was released, titledWatchmen: Justice is Coming. Though highly anticipated, thismobile title suffered from serious gameplay and network issues which have yet to be resolved.[82]
As a promotion for the film, Warner Bros. Entertainment releasedWatchmen: Motion Comic, a series of narrated animations of the original comic book. The first chapter was released for purchase in the summer of 2008 on digital video stores, such asiTunes Store andAmazon Video on Demand.[83]DC Direct released action figures based on the film in January 2009.[84] Director Zack Snyder set up aYouTube contest petitioningWatchmen fans to create faux commercials of products made by the fictional Veidt Enterprises.[85]
The producers released two short video pieces online, which were intended to beviral videos designed as fictionalbackstory pieces, with one being a 1970 newscast marking the tenth anniversary of the public appearance of Doctor Manhattan. The other was a short propaganda film promoting theKeene Act of 1977, which made it illegal to be a superhero without government support. An official viral marketing website, the New Frontiersman, is named after the tabloid magazine featured in the graphic novel and contains teasers styled as declassified documents.[86]
After the trailer for the film premiered in July 2008,DC Comics presidentPaul Levitz said that the company had had to print more than 900,000 copies ofWatchmen trade collection to meet the additional demand for the book that the advertising campaign had generated, with the total annual print run expected to be over one million copies.[87] DC Comics reissuedWatchmen #1 for the original cover price of $1.50 on December 10, 2008; no other issues are planned to be reprinted.[88]
The teaser trailer was attached in July 2008 and debuted in November 2008.
Tales of the Black Freighter, a fictional comic within theWatchmen limited series, was adapted as a 26-minute,direct-to-video animated feature directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio and Mike Smith fromWarner Premiere,Warner Bros. Animation, and Legendary titledWatchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter and released on March 24, 2009.[89] It was originally included in theWatchmen script,[65] but was changed from live-action footage to animation because of the $20 million it would have cost to film it in the stylized manner of300 that Snyder wanted.[89] This animated version, originally intended to be included in the final cut,[36] was then cut because the film was already approaching a three-hour running time.[89]Gerard Butler, who starred in300, voices the Captain in the animated feature, having been promised a role in the live-action film that never materialized.[90] Like the original live-action film itself, international rights to theBlack Freighter film are held byParamount Home Entertainment.[91]
TheBlack Freighter releases also includeUnder the Hood, a 38-minute, fictionalin-universe documentary detailing the characters' backstories, which takes its title from that of Hollis Mason's memoirs in the comic book.[89] Unlike the film andTales of the Black Freighter which were both R-rated,Under the Hood is PG-rated because it is meant to resemble a behind-the-scenes televisionnews magazine profile of the characters. The actors themselves were allowed to improvise during filming interviews in character.[92]Bolex cameras were even used to film faux archive footage of the Minutemen.[93]
In addition, the 325-minuteWatchmen: Motion Comic was released via Blu-ray, DVD, and digital video stores on March 3, 2009, as part of theWarner Premiere: Motion Comics series.
Warner released a 186-minute director's cut of the film, expanded from the 162-minute theatrical cut, on all formats on July 21, 2009. This was followed by the November 10, 2009, home video release of the 215-minute "Ultimate Cut". It comprises the director's cut withTales of the Black Freighter edited in throughout, along with additional newsstand framing sequences. The Ultimate Cut was released on 4K UHD Blu-ray on July 19, 2016.[94]
All DVD and Blu-ray editions of the three cuts come in various permutations, with varying quantities of extra features.[95][96][97]
Watchmen debuted at the top of the rental, DVD, and Blu-ray charts.[98] First week sales of the DVD stood at 1,232,725 copies, generating $24,597,425 in sales revenue. By November 1, 2009, the DVD had sold a total of 2,510,321 copies and made $46,766,383 in revenue.[99]
As of 2022, it has made $152,601,532 from domestic DVD and Blu-ray sales.[100]
Greg Silverman (former Warner Bros. executive) said that the film did eventually become profitable.[14]
Watchmen was released at midnight on March 5, 2009, and earned an estimated $4.6 million for the early showing,[101] approximately twice as much as300, Snyder's previous comic book adaptation, earned.[102] The film earned $24,515,772 in 3,611 theaters during its first day,[103] and later finished its opening weekend grossing $55,214,334.[104] At that point, it had the biggest number of screenings for an R-rated film, breaking the previous record held byThe Matrix Reloaded.[105]Watchmen's opening weekend is the highest of any Alan Moore adaptation to date, and the income was also greater than the entire box office take ofFrom Hell, which ended its theatrical run with $31,602,566.[106]
Although the film finished with $55 million for its opening, while Snyder's previous adaptation300 earned $70 million in its opening weekend, Warner Bros.' head of distribution, Dan Fellman, stated that the opening weekend success of the two films were not comparable becauseWatchmen's runtime was 45 minutes longer than300, allowing for fewer showings a night.[107]Watchmen pulled in $5.4 million at 124IMAX screens, the second-largest IMAX opening at that time.[108]
Following its first week at the box office,Watchmen saw a significant drop in attendance. By the end of its second weekend, the film brought in $17,817,301, finishing second on that weekend's box office chart. The 67.7% overall decrease was at the time of its release one of the highest for a major comic book film.[109] Losing two-thirds of its audience from its opening weekend, the film finished second for the weekend of March 13–15, 2009.[110] The film continued to drop about 60% in almost every subsequent weekend, leaving the top ten in its fifth weekend, and the top twenty in its seventh.[104]Watchmen crossed the $100 million mark on March 26, its twenty-first day at the box office,[103] and finished its theatrical run in the United States on May 28, having grossed $107,509,799 in 84 days. The film had grossed one fifth of its ultimate gross on its opening day, and more than half of that total by the end of its opening weekend.[103]
Watchmen was the 31st-highest-grossing film of 2009,[111] and the sixth-highest-grossing R-rated film of the year, behindThe Hangover,Inglourious Basterds,District 9,Paranormal Activity, andIt's Complicated.[112] At the North American box office,Watchmen currently sits in the lower half of the forty-six films based on a DC Comics comic book, narrowly ahead of 1997'sBatman & Robin.[113]
Watchmen earned $26.6 million in 45 territories overseas; of these, Britain and France had the highest box office with an estimated $4.6 million and $2.5 million, respectively.[114]Watchmen also took in approximately $2.3 million in Russia, $2.3 million in Australia, $1.6 million in Italy, and $1.4 million in South Korea.[115] The film collected $77,873,014 in other territories, bringing its worldwide total to $185,382,813.[7]
OnRotten Tomatoes,Watchmen has a 65% approval rating based on 311 reviews, and an average rating of 6.4/10. 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."[116] OnMetacritic, which assigns aweighted 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.[117] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale; the primary audience was older men.[118]
Patrick Kolan ofIGN Australia awarded it a perfect 10/10 and wrote, "It's theWatchmen film you always wanted to see, but never expected to get."[119]Roger Ebert gave it four out of four stars and wrote, "It's a compelling visceral film—sound, images and characters combined into a decidedly odd visual experience that evokes the feel of a graphic novel."[120]
Richard Corliss ofTime concluded, "this ambitious picture is a thing of bits and pieces," yet "the bits are glorious, the pieces magnificent."[121] Jonathan Crocker ofTotal Film awarded it 4/5 stars, writing, "It's hard to imagine anyone watching theWatchmen as faithfully as Zack Snyder's heartfelt, stylised adap. Uncompromising, uncommercial, and unique."[122] When comparing the film with the original source material, Ian Nathan ofEmpire felt that while "it isn't the graphic novel... Zack Snyder clearly gives a toss, creating a smart, stylish, decent adaptation."[123] Nick Dent ofTime Out Sydney gave the film 4 out of 5 in his review of February 25, praising the film's inventiveness but concluding:
WhileWatchmen is still as rich, daring, and intelligent an action film as there's ever been, it also proves Moore absolutely right [thatWatchmen is inherently un-filmable]. As a comic book,Watchmen is an extraordinary thing. As a movie, it's just another movie, awash with sound and fury.[124]
Some critics who wrote negative reviews disliked the film's use and depiction of theCold War-period setting, stating that the film's attempt to use the 1980s fears that never came to pass felt dated, and that Snyder's slavish devotion to faithfully adapting the source material as literally as possible did not allow his work to exhibit a creative distinctiveness of its own, and that as a result, the film and its characters lacked vitality and authenticity.[125][126][127][128][129][130] Philip Kennicott ofThe Washington Post, for example wrote, "Watchmen is a bore [...] It sinks under the weight of its reverence for the original."[125] Devin Gordon wrote forNewsweek, "That's the trouble with loyalty. Too little, and you alienate your core fans. Too much, and you lose everyone—and everything—else."[131]
Owen Gleiberman'sEntertainment Weekly review reads, "Snyder treats each image with the same stuffy hermetic reverence. He doesn't move the camera or let the scenes breathe. He crams the film with bits and pieces, trapping his actors like bugs wriggling in the frame."[130] "[Snyder] never pause[s] to develop a vision of his own. The result is oddly hollow and disjointed; the actors moving stiffly from one overdetermined tableau to another," saidNoah Berlatsky of theChicago Reader.[126]
David Edelstein ofNew York agrees: "They've made the most reverent adaptation of a graphic novel ever. But this kind of reverence kills what it seeks to preserve. The movie is embalmed."[127] Joe Morgenstern ofThe Wall Street Journal wrote, "Watching 'Watchmen' is the spiritual equivalent of being whacked on the skull for 163 minutes. The reverence is inert, the violence noxious, the mythology murky, the tone grandiose, the texture glutinous."[129] Donald Clarke ofThe Irish Times was similarly dismissive: "Snyder, director of the unsubtle300, has squinted hard at the source material and turned it into a colossal animated storyboard, augmented by indifferent performances and moronically obvious music cues."[132]
The trade magazinesVariety andThe Hollywood Reporter were even less taken with the film. Justin Chang ofVariety commented, "The movie is ultimately undone by its own reverence; there's simply no room for these characters and stories to breathe of their own accord, and even the most fastidiously replicated scenes can feel glib and truncated,"[128] and Kirk Honeycutt ofThe Hollywood Reporter writing, "The real disappointment is that the film does not transport an audience to another world, as300 did. Nor does the third-rateChandler-esque narration by Rorschach help...Looks like we have the first real flop of 2009."[5]
Analyzing the divided response, Geoff Boucher of theLos Angeles Times felt that, likeEyes Wide Shut,The Passion of the Christ, orFight Club,Watchmen would continue to be a talking point among those who liked or disliked the film. Boucher felt in spite of his own mixed feelings about the finished film, he was "oddly proud" that the director had made a faithful adaptation that was "nothing less than the boldest popcorn movie ever made. Snyder somehow managed to get a major studio to make a movie with no stars, no 'name' superheroes and a hard R-rating, thanks to all those broken bones, that oddly off-putting Owl Ship sex scene and, of course, the unforgettable glowing blue penis."[133]
In 2023, directorChristopher Nolan said that Snyder's version ofWatchmen was ahead of its time and that it should have been released "post-Avengers". He added that "The idea of a superhero team, which it brilliantly subverts, wasn't a thing yet in movies."[134]
Watchmen was nominated for one award at the2009 VES Awards, seven awards at the36th Saturn Awards, and 13 awards at the2009 Scream Awards. The film was also pre-nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Visual Effects, although it did not make the final shortlist.
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36th Saturn Awards | |||
| Best Fantasy Film | Won | ||
| Best Director | Zack Snyder | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Malin Åkerman | Nominated | |
| Best Writing | Alex Tse andDavid Hayter | Nominated | |
| Best Costume | Michael Wilkinson | Won | |
| Best Production Design | Nominated | ||
| Best Special Edition DVD Release | Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut | Won | |
| 2009 Scream Awards | |||
| Best Fantasy Film | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Carla Gugino | Nominated | |
| Breakout Performance-Female | Malin Åkerman | Nominated | |
| Best Ensemble | Nominated | ||
| Best F/X | Nominated | ||
| Scream Song of the Year | "Desolation Row" byMy Chemical Romance | Nominated | |
| Best Superhero | Jackie Earle Haley | Nominated | |
| Billy Crudup | Nominated | ||
| Malin Åkerman | Nominated | ||
| Most Memorable Mutilation | Arms Cut off by Rotary Saw | Nominated | |
| Fight Scene of the Year | Ozymandias v. The Comedian | Nominated | |
| Holy Sh!t! Scene of the Year | The Destruction of Manhattan | Nominated | |
| Best Comic Book Movie | Won | ||
| 2009 VES Awards | Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture | Doctor Manhattan | Nominated |
As those who've read the original series know, neither of the story's two superteams are actually called 'the Watchmen'—There are the original Minutemen, and then the more modern Crimebusters—[s]o why is someone in the trailer telling the audience that 'the Watchmen are... over'?
But Nite Owl should have been the kind of character who disables villains long enough to subdue them, not the kind that cripples them for life.
Watchmen | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
