In which LOST writer Damon Lindelof looks to do justice to Alan Moore’s acclaimed graphic novel…
It’s fair to say that Zack Synder’s 2009 attempt at bringing Watchmen to live action life didn’t quite go as well as fans had hoped for.
Sure, it has a lot going for it – memorable opening credits, Dr. Manhattan’s origin story, and some smart casting here and there – but, overall, it felt like an awkward mess that was tonally all over the shop.
And let’s not get into the music choices.
For those unaware, Watchmen was a comic series that ran in the late 1980s, eventually combined into one best-selling and highly acclaimed graphic novel.
The story deals with a bunch of costumed vigilantes who mill around trying to solve a conspiracy as World War III threatens to break out at any moment. It’s all very stylised and serves as both political commentary and a thesis on the superhero genre itself.
It’s also very, very good. And so we live in hope that HBO’s upcoming TV adaptation can finally do the thing justice, even if, from what we’ve seen so far, the show appears to be very much doing its own thing for the most part.
Damon Lindelof (LOST, Prometheus, The Leftovers) is heading Watchmen 2019 up, and it all kicks off on HBO in just a few days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-33JCGEGzwU
Clip via HBO
The first reviews have landed and… it sounds pretty good?
With critics in America sent the first six episodes to review, the current aggregator scores are as follows:
Rotten Tomatoes:Â 88%
Metacritic:Â 80%
As for a rough consensus:
“The series’ scope is astonishing given its subject matter, and even more so given its relentless entertainment value.” – Indiewire
“The end result is destined to be one of the year’s most compelling shows.” – Slashfilm
“Not all of it works, but it’s a fascinating — and frequently thrilling — attempt to rebottle some of the same lightning that Moore and Gibbons unleashed back in the Eighties.” – Rolling Stone
“As it continues to dig up the past, Watchmen could provide a real reckoning—the will is certainly there, as is the talent.” – AV Club
“Provocative and challenging, posing hard questions with no easy answers, and the conversation around the series is probably going to get pretty… intense.” – Collider
Watchmen premieres on HBO on Sunday 20 October.
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