Bad reviews, bad word of mouth, a box office bomb.

But enough about Blade Runner, let's talk about Watchmen. Thumbs up from me. There's no way in hell anyone who hadn't read the story could absorb all of this in one sitting. For instance, you can gripe about the classic rock tracks but "All Along The Watchtower" in the Antarctica section was lifted straight from the book. The entire song applies to Ozymandias, not just the obvious "two riders were approaching." Think of Lee Iaccocca and the "businessmen who drink my wine." The film (yes, film) is full of references and subtleties like that. Combined with the unsubtle violence, the likes of which I don't recall ever seeing onscreen before, and the gorgeous visuals, this is a very new type of movie. And there are no obvious good guys. So, sorry if anyone's pre-conceptions about costumed heroes didn't get fullfilled but that was the purpose of the original story all along. It was a massive deconstruction of 20th century myths by a brilliant British anarchist. What did you expect? Merchant Ivory?

I think this will have a long life on home video and that matters. In 1982, Blade Runner was largely dismissed by the professional critics upon its release. Five years later it was widely hailed as a classic and by 1989 it was the youngest film to be listed in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Seven years. Somebody got it wrong. I suspect Watchmen will eventually be remembered as a classic in the same manner. But only time will tell. When I see the hatred for this film I'm reminded of Tim Burton's comment about how professional critics are always trying to push movies to be the same type of experience that easily goes along with dining out and conversation, like it's a package deal. And don't kid yourself, they had their knives sharpened for Snyder after 300.

Half the people who wait to see this on the small screen will regret not seeing it on the big one. And no sequel will make the heart grow fonder.