Watching the Watchmen

Ok, that phrase has been beaten to death, but I couldn't think of a better title. This past weekend I re-read The Watchmen in anticipation of the film. Wow. I read the book almost 10 years ago and was a little lazy, skipping over the prose sections and getting to the meat of the book. Now that I'm a little more mature (emphasis on little more) I have a better understanding of it. I also grabbed the soundtrack and after re-reading the book and listening to the soundtrack I am ready. There are a lot of classic songs, Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable", KC & The Sunshine Band's "I'm Your Boogie Man" to Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence", Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee" and of course Jimi Hendrick's "All Along the Watchtower", but the one song that grabbed my attention most was the rendition of "Ride of the Valkyries" by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.

"Ride of the Valkyries" was mentioned in Hollis Mason's book Under the Hood (shown in excerpts in The Watchmen) and for Zach Snyder to include that on the soundtrack earns serious bonus points for me. The song wasn't part (or integral) of the main story and gives me hope that this will be a great adaptation.

Given that celebrity comic fans like Kevin Smith had seen preliminary edits of the film months ago and praised the film, I am ready. The countdown to The Watchmen film is on (hours now). The most anticipated comic film of all time is upon us. I'll be watching The Watchmen with my fellow Double Midnighters at the O'Neil Theaters in Londonderry at, yup, midnight. I'll have a write up on Friday!