Because coming back to work after a hellaciously short weekend isn’t painful enough, I now present the ultimate Sophie’s Choice scenario for sci-fi geeks and blockbuster lovers alike: View the spankin’ new trailers for Watchmen and Star Trek below, and then tell us, if you could only see one of ‘em, which would it be?
Unlike my colleague Marc Bernardin, who blogged about the Star Trek trailer over the weekend, I am not a Trekkie/Trekker (though I’m married to someone who can sometimes be found watching DVR’d Next Generation episodes when I’m out of the house or asleep). And maybe that’s why even though J.J. Abrams’ franchise update looks exciting, I think I’m gonna have to go with Watchmen. Its trailer is decidedly dark, in both tone and color, and while that means certain scenes practically disappear from my dinky computer screen, the flashes of each character — particularly Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian and The Comeback‘s Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre — look pretty amazing. I’m sure my excitement for Watchmen is further primed by the fact that I read Alan Moore’s terrific source material only a month ago, but from this vantage point, Watchmen looks different from anything I’ve seen on screen in a while. The Star Trek trailer, on the other hand, while it certainly has its share of adrenaline-elevating action and explosions and outer-space-y bling, might be, at certain moments, mistaken for a CW TV series (kid Kirk jumping out of convertible at cliff’s edge), an Army recruitment ad ("you feel like you were meant for something better, something special"), and maybe even a very special episode of Battlestar Galactica (those outer-space battle sequences).
But that’s just me. And while you could argue that a Team Star Trek vs. Team Watchmen showdown is nothing more than an artificial controversy, it’s also a fun one. So quit sitting on the fence, PopWatchers, and pick your team in the poll below (then drop down to the comments section and tell us why)!
More on ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Watchmen’:
‘Star Trek’: New Movie, New Vision (the EW cover story)
‘Star Trek’: 11 New Photos
Not all of the ‘Star Trek’ films have been out of this world: A ‘Star Trek’ filmography
‘Star Trek’: An exclusive first look at the Enterprise
‘Watchmen’: An Exclusive First Look
‘Watchmen’: A Chat with Director Zack Snyder
A ”Watchmen” primer — A beginner’s guide to the film’s characters including The Comedian, Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, and more
Kevin Smith says ‘Watchmen’ is astounding (insert ‘but’ here)
Comic-Con: Talking with the ‘Watchmen’ cast
An interview with ‘Watchmen’ creator Alan Mooore
Though I’ll likely end up seeing both films, I’m on Team Watchmen based on the trailers.
Like Slezak, I recently read the graphic novel for the first time a little more than a month ago (I was one of those people who picked it up after the first “Watchmen” teaser came out) and the adaptation looks fantastic.
My only complaint is director Zack Snyder’s apparent over use of slow motion. I get that this is the “visionary director’s” style, but sometimes it’s a bit much. I’ve read that Snyder’s under pressure from the studio to cut almost an hour from his current film. The good news is that if he just accelerates most of the action to real speed, he should be fine.
Have to agree with Slezak – the ‘Trek’ trailer looks exciting but the ‘Watchmen’ trailer gave me goosebumps…and I haven’t even read the graphic novel.
P.S. Anyone know the music used in the ‘Watchmen’ trailer? Is it Muse?
Star Trek, all the way.
Oh boy. Even though I’m a bigger Watchmen fan than Star Trek fan, the Star Trek trailer is far superior. Along with that goes the facts JJ Abrams is a better filmmaker than Zach Snyder, and that I’m skeptical Watchman can be done justice.
Team Watchmen! I can’t stop watching it.
The song in the trailer is “Take a Bow” by Muse. Its on the Black Holes & Revelations album.
Well, I’m a big Alan Moore fan who is mainly a fan of Star Trek: Next Generation. If I had to choose, I pick Watchmen over Kirk and the gang. If you made me pick Watchmen vs. Picard and company, that would be a harder choice, but I’d still pick Rorschach and the other messed up heroes…
The Star Trek movie looks like a movie (and a really cool one) instead of an over-stylized gloss-up of an already existing story.
First, JJ Abrams is a superior director to Zach Snyder. Second, while both movies are interpretations of previously existing work, Zach Snyder has publicly prided himself in saying that he’s remained so faithful that it’s pretty much a scene for scene adaptation. So what’s the point. If he’s contributed nothing except for popular music and slow mo, I’d rather read the GN again.
Martha, the song at the end of it is Muse (“Take a Bow” — which I think they wrote about our current lame duck prez.) Not sure what the orchestral stuff at the beginning is.
Watchmen allllll the way! I was never a big star trek fan so the trailer was hit or miss for me. Watchmen just looks beautiful. The slo-mo dont bother me but then again, 300 was overly slo-mo’d the whole time and that ended up annoying the hell out of me- i’m praying that he doesnt overdo it this time but damn, that movie looks amazing!
I saw both trailers this w/e in front of the Bond flick and I’d have to say I’m much more excited to see the Star Trek reboot. I’m a Trekker and a JJ Abrams fan so this film’s got me psyched! The Watchmen trailer didn’t really grab me other than seeing Jeffrey Dean Morgan (*sigh* Denny!) so I might just wait for the dvd on that one.
Not coming to the table with strong feeling for either “property.” I go with Star Trek based mostly on J.J. Abram’s deft storytelling skill. And I don’t understand how people keep saying Watchmen looks like nothing they’ve seen before. Colorful latex costumes? Low light? It looks like Schumacher-era Batman! While I have every expectation that this will be a wholly different movie, its LOOK is very familiar and unexciting to me. Or am I way off base here?
Watchmen all the way.
The first part of the trailer is a piece of music by Phillip Glass from the film Koianiskatsi (pretty sure I mispelled that but I’m too lazy to look), the second half is indeed Muse’s Take a Bow.
I didn’t even finish the headline – Watchmen. Totally. I am excited for ST, but . . . yeah. Watchmen. I’m not watching the trailers until I’m at home and can holler and smack my hands on the computer desk like the little fangirl I am.