I will act like I’m 15 until the police ask me to stop

I will act like I’m 15 until the police ask me to stop

Posted on March 18th, 2009 by Steve Mazzeo

I went to the midnight IMAX showing of The Watchmen and felt like a kid again. Literally, the average age of a theater goer had to be 35, about ten years older than me — and it was awesome!

Everyone in the house was a serious fan, or at least not a screaming nine-year-old dragged out in the middle of the night by a suburban mom’s overzealous desire to be cool. A few people dressed up. But most of us were there for a glorious display of loyalty.

I don’t know anyone who’s read The Watchmen and hated it. Me, I love that book. Introduced to The Watchmen when I was an undergraduate at Drexel, it has tainted my view of the graphic novel. While there are plenty of good graphic reads, nothing compares to the depth and transcendence of The Watchmen. It’s a serious work of literary art in an emerging medium.

When I heard about the movie I groaned; they were finally going to go through with it. The idea seemed like suicide. The book was too broad, the concepts and themes too much for someone just looking for a superhero movie. Thankfully, I was wrong. The film is a startlingly close adaptation — an imperfect copy but as close as anyone is likely to get. I’m particularly pleased by Zack Snyder’s willingness to show grit. The movie has a lot of violence and nudity. Granted it was all in the book, but even with a graphic novel, seeing it on film is a different experience.

Rorschach was perfect.

Silk Specter was amazingly hot.

And thanks to Dr. Manhattan I’m no longer curious about smurfs.

Now I just have to wait for the DVD release to see if they pulled off the pirate scenes.