Fanboys, rejoice. The day is finally here. Watchmen opens in theaters everywhere today. The big scren Hollywood adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' landmark, critically acclaimed graphic novel finally arrives for all to see. Fans weep with joy. Non-fans scratch their heads as they wonder what the hell is happening. There is a naked blue man.
As I mentioned before, one of the people responsible for finally bringing us the Watchmen feature film is screenwriter Alex Tse, who had the monumental task of adapting what is regarded as the greatest graphic novel of all time.
Props to Mr. Tse. I have seen the movie, and I enjoyed it. It's not perfect, but it does an admirable job of presenting the graphic novel's dense, complex superhero story -- widely considered almost un-filmable -- as a digestible cinematic experience.
That said, some Asians faces you might see in Watchmen:
Lots and lots of faceless Viet Cong soldiers being obliterated by a wave of Dr. Manhattan's super-powered hand. This is probably what would have happened if the United States had a godlike nuclear-powered being on their side during the Vietnam War. Instead, they probably had more guys like...
The Comedian, aka the biggest bastard in the movie, who shoots a Vietnamese woman dead after she comes to him, pregnant with his child. It's just one of a lot awful things he gets away with. But, as you'll see, he gets what's coming to him...
Also spotted a handful of Asian thugs amongst the group that attacks Dan and Laurie. Dan and Laurie, in turn, kick everyone's ass. A lot.
Alas, Asians don't get too much love in Watchmen. Granted, these are all scenes lifted straight from the source material (except for the Asian street thugs -- that's added color). Here's hoping that one day we'll get to see something compelling from the Secret Identities anthology get made into a film... and then Asian Americans will actually get to play someone cool in a comic book movie. Someday.