In the shadow of the great debate over whether or not "Watchmen" director Zack Snyder should or shouldn't have changed the ending to what many consider the greatest graphic novel ever published, lies another issue that could possibly spark debate among fans: why Snyder chose not to update the film, given that the plot of "Watchmen" could easily relate to our modern world just as well as the late-1980s dystopia of the original story.
"I didn’t update it for a couple of reasons," Snyder recently said in an interview with iFMagazine.com. "I thought Nixon was important to the movie. He’s not in the movie a lot, but [his presence] says a lot, [especially about] what a villain is. In the graphic novel, he’s written with a lot of ambiguity of whether he’s a bad guy or not. It’s really interesting."
However, many could argue that creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons were almost looking into a crystal ball at events happening today when they published "Watchmen" in the late 1980's, especially with regard to President Bush and the "War on Terror." Yet Snyder -- in addition to trying to make the film as faithful as possible to the source material -- also didn't want to make "Watchmen" a commentary on current events.
"The Cold War for me, was really, real," said Snyder. "It was a real thing, but also, if you update this and make it about 'the war on terror,' you’re now asking me to make a comment of how I feel about the 'war on terror.' This way, it’s up to you how you decide to feel about it."
So what do you think, readers? Should Snyder have updated the film to modern times, or are you happy that -- at least in this aspect -- he decided to mirror the comic? Discuss in the comments below.
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