Over twenty years in the making, the big screen adaptation of Alan Moore’s Watchmen has finished shooting. The release date is still a year off! This may have something to do with the director, Zack Snyder – you may remember his CG heavy re-telling of 300. It would be a shame if Watchmen relied on the same computer effects, as the story is interesting enough without need of visual gimmickry. A better idea would be to follow Fincher’s invisible CG effects in Zodiac.

For those who don’t know the Watchmen story, it’s 1985 and a world filled by superheroes is on the brink of a nuclear war. The story begins with one of the Watchmen (a disbanded crew of has-been superheroes) being murdered, leading into a journey of who did it and the bigger implications of why. For me, this was the first comic book that didn’t feel like a comic book, and coupled with Dave Gibbons’ subtle cinematic artwork, the film really does have a lot to live up to. It also featured my all-time favourite anti-hero Walter Kovacs, aka Rorschach. “Beneath me, this awful city, it screams like an abattoir full of retarded children.”

300 came out of nowhere, the graphic novel only having a small cult following, fans of the original Watchmen may not be so easy to please. Still, it’s being made and I wait patiently to be pleasantly surprised in 2009.

You can read the official movie blog (written by Mr Snyder himself) he’s just posted some teaser posters. Rorschach is looking as seedy as ever.