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There have been very few certifiable comic book nerds with an established career as a box office giant as Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill. Both are among the most celebrated, if not incredibly controversial, names on the top 5 list. Even so, Snyder achieved something that has evaded directors for decades – a cult-like following as equally devoted to his work as trolls and dissenters are on tearing him down.
Despite the vitriolic mobs and “Snyder cultists” colonizing every corner of the comic book industry, the director has remained unapologetic about his love for heroes, villains, and the grimdark reality devoid of ethics and morality. It is this love of his that introduced him to the depraved world of Watchmen in his adolescence and that made him fit to adapt the comic as a Hollywood director.
Watchmenbrings all the boys to the yard
Alan Moore’sWatchmenwas a genius manifestation of all the elements that turn the world and the people living in it into an edgier, darker, and more honest iteration of their current selves. Embedded within the superhero narrative,Watchmendelivers a no-nonsense critique of pop culture and the obsession with the genre and challenges the reader’s perception of morality.
It’s no wonder, then, thatZack Snyderfelt more moved by the world ofWatchmenthan he did by the softcore genre presented by Marvel and DC. While speaking in an interview withEntertainment Weeklybefore the premiere of the film, Snyder revealed:
Watchmenis like the music you feel is written just for you. “That’s my song, no one else gets that but me.” That’s why the fan base is so rabid, because they feel personal about it. The difference betweenWatchmenand a normal comic book is this: With Batman’s Gotham City, you are transported to another world where that superhero makes sense;Watchmen… almost superimposes its heroes on your world, which then changes how you view your world through its prism. That’s the genius of this book.
Although he succeeded in adapting the unfilmable comic book to the big screen, Zack Snyder’sWatchmenremainsone of the most divisive works of his career, perhaps even more so than his controversialJustice Leaguemovie. With a rating of 65% onRotten Tomatoes, the film was deemed too dark, not coherent enough, an absolute masterpiece, or even ambitious and sublime.
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With a material as dark and swirling with metaphors as Moore’s comic book miniseries, it was a surprise that Snyder’sWatchmenmanaged to stay in the frontlines rather than receding back into Warner Bros.’ vaults.
Zack Snyder’s love forWatchmenprevails
Despite releasing the film with apprehension and dampened expectations, Zack Snyder was taken aback by the amount of vitriol that accompanied his take on the beloved comic series. It took Warner Bros. 15 years to recover from the shock and release an animated film based on the same in 2024 that garnered 92% onRotten Tomatoes.
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However, it is this very dissension that Zack Snyder wanted to reflect in his adaptation ofWatchmen. The film was not meant to cater to the audience’s pop culture obsession with watching noble heroes defeat evil villains. Rather, the director managed to merge satire with reality and present a critique of how superhero movies have affected pop culture.
The movie is a challenge – like the book is a challenge – to your icons, your morality, how you perceive pop culture, how you perceive mythology, and for that matter, how you perceive God. It was absolutely genius that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons did all of that in the context of a superhero story. That was a revolution for a lot of people. You sit down to read something that’s“just a comic book,” and then you’re, like,“Holy s—, my mind got blown!”
While his love for the comic book remains unrivaled, Snyder also recognizes howWatchmenhelps challenge the established norms and status quo of the comic industry as well as the reality that people have grown so accustomed to. And althoughWatchmendid not find all the fans ready to accept its grimdark world with open arms, there are those who would give an arm and a leg to be able to watch a sequel to Snyder’s version directed by Zack Snyder himself.
Watchmenis available to stream on Max.
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2407
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
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WatchmenZack Snyder
