Zack Snyder is a smart man, but is he and his crew capable of delivering the almost-impossible, a good Watchmen film?

Why is it almost impossible? Because it should be a highly produced TV mini-series. That's not just an opinion, it's a simple piece of pragmatism: Each issue of the comic would take an hour at least to show, with proper pacing, give good characterisation, and explain the quite complex plot. Can a film, even a 3/4/5 hour film, do that as well? Simply no. It WILL cut things. It may even be a good movie on its own merits, but will it be Watchmen as millions know it?

Zack Snyder made a good "300" film. However, he is a visual director, and it was based on a visual comic. Certainly, all the trailers show that he has captured the look of Dave Gibbons art style, and much of the Watchmen world, but that is mere tonnes of money having its effect. Is he capable of delivering the heart of the graphic novel?

The fact that he has spent over three times as many months in pre-production special effects, than was spent on filming (eg 'acting' - investing in characters), says much about his emphasis. Heavy on the bang, small on the heart.

Clever trailers, and side-releases for the comic-inside-the-comic, show good marketing ability and a desire to please the fans in advance, so as not to get bad press and damage takings, they don't necessarily show a concern for the spirit of the graphic novel.

I hope I'm wrong, I hope it isn't another 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' or 'V for Vendetta'. We can argue those, and other adaptions elsewhere.

So what are your pre-thoughts?

The 'Ain't It Cool' review does help a little. The trailer that, cleverly, isn't labelled as a Watchmen-referenced trailer, IS good, but ISN'T the film. And unfortunately, the in-film footage doesn't excite me much, it seems a little lame, but that may be, hopefully, because it's out of context.