Neohorizons

“Who watches the Watchmen?”

Well, here it is folks. The trailer for one of the most highly anticipated movies ever is upon us, the trailer for the movie adaptation of Alan Moore’s celebrated graphic novel… The Watchmen! Director Zack Snyder (300) surprised everyone when he announced that his next project will be to adapt ‘The Watchmen’ for the big screen, and now we can finally see the fruits of his labor and oh man, just watch the trailer!

The Watchmen is considered as one of the most influential literary works of our time, and for years there have been news that it’s going to be adapted for the silver screen, and now it’s finally upon us! I’m sure creator Alan Moore is still opposing the idea of his graphic novels turning into movies, though I’m confident this time that this movie will live up to his expectations. And after watching The Dark Knight I set my expectations of superhero movies to come a little higher,  though by the looks of it, The Watchmen will be just as great!

Film Synopsis:
A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” - which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union - is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion - a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers - Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the watchmen?

The Watchmen will hit the theaters March 6, 2009. Mark your calendars!

Pretty shocking news, acclaimed comic book artist Micheal Turner has passed away after a battle with cancer. A prolific artist, Turner is best known for his work at “Witchblade”, “Fathom”, “Superman/Batman” and probably his best known work, DC’s big event “Identity Crisis”. I’m personally a big fan of his work, and it’s really a waste that he died so early. I’m sure a lot of comic book fans are mourning for his loss as well, considering it was announced during Wizard World Chicago. He truly deserves the title of best comic book artist.

Michael Turner’s cover for Teen Titans

My condolences extend to Mr. Turner’s family and friends. I wish he rests in peace.

Kotaku.com delivered some interesting details regarding Marvel Ultimate Alliance II, the sequel to one of the best superhero games ever. There were leaks regarding the setting of the game, and it seems like it’ll be based on Marvel’s highly successful crossover event “Civil War”, where heroes chose sides and fought against each other.

I loved “Civil War” despite it’s flaws, and the mere thought of being able to play it makes me really excited. I wonder though if the heroes’ affiliations will be fixed,… if not then it’ll be interesting to play as Iron Man on the anti-registration side. Another interesting feature will be the game’s “ability fusion” system where you can fuse the abilities of 2 heroes to create a being with hybrid abilities. Spider-Wolverine anyone?

So yeah, I watched Iron Man over the weekend and it was EPIC GEEKGASM. It really was a good idea for Marvel Studios to go ahead and make movies on their own rather than relying on Hollywood studios, and you can really see that they have total control over what goes on the film. Everything was spot on, the right actors, awesome effects and the right people to do it.

As an origin story people were skeptical when it was first announced but then again Iron Man’s origin wasn’t a normal one. Tony Stark was a self-centered scotch downing playboy who happens to be a weapons manufacturer, until he got hostaged by terrorists and was asked to make weapons of mass destruction for them. It’s here that he realized that his creations are being used against the people that he’s trying to protect. With him realizing his responsibility, using the parts he was given to make weapons, he creates the first crude Iron Man suit and escapes capture. Building a more powerful suit with advanced materials, he then sets up on a noble quest to rid the world of the weapons that he had created, and find out who was giving them to the wrong hands in the first place.

I also want to commend them for the excellent casting. Robert Downey Jr was dead-on as the alchoholic playboy Tony Stark, and the way he handled Stark’s witty lines were amazing. It’s great that Marvel had the guts to have a superhero like him come up on a movie that’s meant for a wide audience.

Jeff Bridges was also fantastic as the two faced Obadiah Stane. From the way the movie was structured, he doesn’t start off as the obvious villian, but gradually his true nature is revealed and Bridges does it menacingly so.

Gwyneth Paltrow played Tony Stark’s personal assistant Pepper Potts, which is certainly not the usual damsel in distress you’d expect in a superhero movie. In fact she was great as a foil to Stark and even a key player in the movie’s climax. And as expected, Terrance Howard showed that he’s one of the best character actors around as Tony’s best friend, Jim Rhodes. The foreshadowing for his eventual role as War Machine was also one of the most geektastic moments in the movie.

As expected the effects were awesome! I couldn’t even tell when they used CGI or not. Getting Adi Granov to design the movie Iron Man suit was pure genius. Surprisingly, even if Favreau wasn’t an ‘action director’, the action scenes in the movie were thoroughly enjoyable, and even unexpected for a film getting a GP rating. They definitely showed that unlike heroes like Batman or Spidey, Iron Man’s not reluctant in killing his enemies.

Clearly Iron Man was made with geek love, and it worked wonderfully. Thanks to Marvel and Jon Favreau for delivering a hugely satisfying flick. Iron Man is definitely the best comic to movie transition yet, and the sequel can’t come soon enough. Oh and don’t forget about the extra scene after the credits! Really sweet foreshadowing of things to come!