Watchmen director hits back at critics
Watchmen director Zack Snyder has hit back at critics who misunderstood his movie at the time of its cinematic release.
Speaking to The Guardian, the former commercials director - whose previous films include Dawn of the Dead and 300 - accused journalists of not really understanding the Watchmen universe.
"The thing I find fascinating about the whole way Watchmen was received is that 10% or less of the critics seemed to have actually read the graphic novel... I feel like a lot of them just went to Wikipedia. Because it really is not a movie in a traditional sense... it's a two-and-a-half hour R-rated movie, and there's no precedent for that type of film becoming a huge blockbuster."
In spite of a strong opening, Watchmen is generally thought to have under-performed at the global box office, where many had predicted another blockbuster of The Dark Knight proportions.
But Snyder maintains that was never realistic, adding: "What's popular about The Dark Knight is that it's a superhero movie at its core. When Batman puts on his costume, that's badass. Watchmen is an entirely different experience: it punishes the audience. It says: "Oh you like the Comedian? Oh, he's a rapist, by the way."
