Film Talk: Looking Back – Who watches the Watchmen?

Directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay by David Hayter and Alex Tse, 2009's Watchmen was a phenomenal entry to the comic-book movie pantheon and remains perhaps the most delicious of its many dystopian delights.

Based on the 1986–1987 DC Comics series of the same name, this superhero psychological horror flick has its roots in the world's greatest ever work of comic-book literature, and the genius of writer and illustrator team Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

Showcasing dark deconstructions of the clichéd superhero image, Watchmen is set in an alternative 1985, where a group of largely retired American vigilantes investigate the murder of one of their own amidst the tension of the Cold War.

From the late 80s until 2005, a live-action film adaptation of Moore and Gibbons' masterpiece had in fact been stranded in development hell. Though when Snyder (who had also helmed comic-to-screen Spartan smash, 300) was attached to direct, the project finally moved forward.

Dave Gibbons became an adviser on Snyder's flick, though – relatively famously – Alan Moore has consistently refused to have his name attached to any film adaptations of his work (including 2005's V for Vendetta and 2003's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), and Watchmen was no exception.

Starring an ensemble cast including Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Malin Åkerman, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson, this one packed in the talent to the rafters. But would the hallowed comic-book classic make the transition to the big screen that it deserved, and would mainstream audiences of the late Naughties buy in to this caped Cold War thriller?

In 1985, during the extended administration of President Richard Nixon, tensions run high in the United States as the symbolic Doomsday Clock ticks closer to the inevitability of nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, when celebrated national hero The Comedian (Morgan) is murdered, masked vigilante Rorschach (Haley) begins an investigation that leads him to believe other caped crusaders will be targeted.

As he attempts to warn his former colleagues of the danger to their lives, the conspiracy begins to deepen and even masks cannot hide the secrets of all, or the threat they may pose to the world itself. Their job may be to watch over us, but who watches the Watchmen?

Released in the spring, Watchmen grossed $55 million on its opening weekend and over $185 million at the worldwide box office.

It's fair to say, however, that critics and audiences were somewhat polarised by it. The gritty and visually-striking style was praised, though it was felt by some that the film lacked the subtlety and wit of its source material.

Some critics who wrote negative reviews disliked the flick's use and depiction of the Cold War-period setting, stating that the film's attempt to use the 1980s fears that never came to pass felt dated. This, however, was a cornerstone of Snyder's attempt to preserve the majority of the comic series' core elements (though notably, details of the plot climax were altered significantly from the source material for the purpose of streamlining).

The truth about the silver screen version of Watchmen is that it was probably always destined to be a bit Marmite – and you can't adapt a tome that was so sacrosanct to the devoted minority and introduce that story to the previously unaware mainstream majority without getting huge 'yays' and 'nays' in both camps. For me – a chap who still keeps a collected copy of Moore and Gibbons' magnum opus under his pillow – it was a resounding and triumphant success, that where trimmed and re-shaped was done so intelligently and for the benefit of its new medium.

Who watches the Watchmen? Happily many did with delight, appreciating one of the 20th century's greatest pieces of cult intellectual property being given new and successful life.

Well done Mr Snyder – a brave job done brilliantly, and a fantastic flick from start to finish.