Christopher Nolan believes that Zack Snyder was ahead of the curve with one of his superhero movies. The Man of Steel director’s 2009 movie has a special place in the heart of one of the greatest directors of the modern era.
American film director, producer, and screenwriter Zack Snyder is best known for being the mastermind behind movies like Justice League, Man of Steel, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. His involvement in the DCEU has been absolutely phenomenal and most superhero fans and critics will agree.
However, the Interstellar director believes that one of Snyder’s average commercial hits, Watchmen, which was released even before The Avengers, was indeed a masterpiece. In fact, it has the kind of brilliance that can put the popular superhero parody show The Boys to shame.
Christopher Nolan Highly Praised Zack Snyder’s Watchmen, Which Stands Superior to The Boys
Zack Snyder’s 2009 dark superhero parody, Watchmen has impressed the Oppenheimer director to a great extent. Nolan believes that it was a visionary movie that was ahead of its time. In an email to The Hollywood Reporter, the Tenet director wrote:
The idea of a superhero team, which it so brilliantly subverts, wasn’t yet a thing in movies. It would have been fascinating to see it released post-Avengers.
Being a cinematic ace, Nolan saw the potential in Watchmen even though the movie didn’t stir the box office much. The movie, however, still puts The Boys to shame. Although both Watchmen and The Boys belong to the same genre, the former beats the latter in terms of cinematography, loyalty towards the source material, and thematic depth.
Watchmen stayed loyal to the graphic novel by Alan Moore from which Snyder adapted the movie. However, The Boys deviated from its comic from time to time by changing the characters and plotlines wherever necessary. While the movie has meticulous framing and a highly stylized color palette, The Boys has a more grounded visual style in comparison.
Christopher Nolan Is Not the Only Admirer of Watchmen
Patrick Wilson, known for his work in movies like Aquaman, The Conjuring, and Insidious, was also a part of the cast of Zack Snyder’s Watchmen. Regarding the 2009 movie, he also agrees with Nolan’s point of view.
He mentioned that although the audience wasn’t completely ready to grasp the concept of Watchmen, the movie was still necessary. In an interview with the Reelblend podcast, Wilson said:
It’s weird to say that audiences weren’t ready for it, but you need a movie like that. You need movies [like Watchmen] to go so dark that then Avengers can go so light. I do believe in that.
Wilson definitely agrees with the fact that with Watchmen, Snyder was ahead of the curve. It was praised and panned for its grit and complexity, as well as loyalty to the original comic.
Watchmen is available for streaming on Netflix.
Frequently asked questions
What did Christopher Nolan say about Zack Snyder’s Watchmen?
In an email to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan praised Watchmen for subverting the then-unfamiliar concept of a superhero team years before it became a genre staple. He wrote that “it would have been fascinating to see it released post-Avengers,” suggesting the 2009 film was ahead of its time and deserved more recognition than it received on release.
How does Watchmen compare to The Boys according to the article?
The article states that while both are superhero deconstructions, Watchmen stayed closely loyal to Alan Moore’s graphic novel, whereas The Boys has diverged from its source comic in characters and plot over its seasons. Watchmen is also described as having more meticulous, stylized cinematography compared to The Boys’ grounded visual approach.
Did any Watchmen cast members agree with Nolan’s assessment?
Yes, actor Patrick Wilson, who appeared in Watchmen and also stars in Aquaman and The Conjuring films, echoed Nolan’s view. Speaking on the Reelblend podcast, Wilson said audiences “weren’t ready” for Watchmen in 2009 but that films like it were necessary, arguing dark stories help set up lighter ones like the Avengers films that followed.
