6. Paul Greengrasss Watchmen
This one is filed in the same compartment as Aronofskys Batman: Year One in being a version of the film far less beholden to the property as the eventual version we received, but one which could have brought a real freshness to the material, which could have made for a more interesting and challenging version. Zak Snyders Watchmen is a film where both its strengths and flaws can be traced to its reverence to the source material. When Xeroxing a masterpiece it is obvious some of the qualities of the preceding work will carry over but it will also suffer by comparison, as it can never be anything but a poorer quality imitation. What Greengrass had in mind was a contemporising of the themes of Watchmen, moving away from the cold war backdrop, and bringing us something with greater relevance to the political climate of the time. It could have been a greater misfire than Snyders version but it could also have given us an adaptation akin to something like The Shining, which bears scant resemblance to the preceding work but results in an artwork that sits alongside the original as its own work of cultural significance.
Chris OMalley
Contributor
As well as the odd article, I apply my "special mind" to scriptwriting for Comics, Films and Games... Oh and I cut down trees, I skip and jump, I like to press wild flow'rs, I put on women's clothing, and hang around in bars.
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Chris