What we know about the Watchmen sequel, Doomsday Clock, so far is that it’s taking a huge risk in upsetting a lot of the fans that it worked so hard to satisfy in the first place. A lot of people swear by this movie and seem to think it’s the best thing since the original Superman. I’ll admit to not being a fan of the Watchmen but there’s something about it that is appealing, though it’s not the same thing that others would claim. It’s set in a much darker world where life is either valued or not given much consideration at all, and the characters are somehow all expert fighters and linked to history in some very obvious way.
Why anyone would bother saying that the characters are more ground is kind of beyond me since in many ways the Watchmen are a parody of the heroes that have come before. They’re also much less heroic than those they might be parodying, which leads me to believe that in the world where the Watchmen reside heroes are a thing of convenience, not necessity. They do go when they feel the need, not when it’s absolutely needed. Otherwise Ozymandias might already be captured, killed, or otherwise detained, and the original Rorschach would still be walking the streets. Dr. Manhattan would likely be a force for either great good or horrible evil, which would bring things to a very serious turning point very quickly.
What we know about the sequel thus far is that Ozymandias’ plot to unite the people of the world has failed, as his ruse was somehow discovered and condemned. There is now rioting and anarchy in the streets and Rorschach, whoever is beneath the mask now, is back walking the streets. The only option they see is to bring Dr. Manhattan back so that he can possibly fix the mess that has been made. Right now that seems like that’s all there is to go on, but chances are good that the movie will be different enough from the comic that fans could be well and ticked by the time it comes out.
The one thing that studio executives and directors need to learn how to do is leave well enough alone when they’ve got something that works. Watchmen has been a loved movie since it’s release and despite whatever issues lie between it and the source material fans have been happy with it and have even expressed their desire to see it unchanged. Tacking on a sequel, especially when sequels have such a horrendous track record when it comes to success, seems a good way to lose a lot of fans and repel anyone else that might have been interested.
Comic book movies can be a lot of fun to watch but when they start to get so serious that they take themselves out of their comfort zone it becomes a lot of work for the fan to stay interested. It’s entertaining to see the real world within the comics but sometimes it’s necessary to dial it back and remember just why the first movie was so popular.
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