Part B/Two/Secondary Post

-genre/atmosphere
A yellow background casts a stark contrast against the production details in black. The camera slowly zooms out to show the yellow being the classic smiley face badge, worn by The Comedian, or Edward Morgan Blake. The words "Wrong as usual" can be heard from a television, as well as the whine of a boiling kettle. The camera continues zooming, and shows Edward making tea, whilst the TV broadcast continues. A close up of Edwards face shows him listening to the broadcast, but also quite focused on his drink. After trudging back to the chair, he sits and holds up the remote. As he is about to change the channel, the scene flicks to that of President Nixon giving a speech, addressing the Soviet union with a warning. After this, the talkshow host declares that the Doomsday clock, a measure of how close the earth is to nuclear armageddon. The hosts begin to talk of Doctor Manhattan, an ex-human, now superpowered god.
We return with a shot of Edward, sitting alone in his lounge smoking a cigar and wearing his dressing gown. A shot of the coffee table, with a gun on top of a Hustler magazine, and then he begins to flick channels between the talk show, MTV, a news broadcast with the headline "Soviets Violate Territorial Waters" but when he changes the channel and a slow song, "Unforgettable" by Nat "King" Cole, starts playing. Edward leans back and relaxes, bringing the mood a little bit lighter after the tense talks on the television. The air is still very tense, the viewer is waiting for something to pick up.
The Comedian turns his head as the camera focuses on the light underneath the doorframe, and we are shown a figure walking past and stopping. Then camera then changes to the other side of the door, at handle height. The door is kicked open, accompanied by a very comic-esque "woosh" and a sudden silence of the song, which is then resumed. Edward stands, and the camera moves back to a male figure entering the room.
Edward says one of two lines here, "It's just a matter of time, I guess", suggesting that he knew this would eventually happen, amping up the tension. At this, the figure tightens his glove, in anticipation.
The camera zooms onto the handgun, back to Edward, and then the tea being poured out of the mug. Edward throws it, the figure dodges, and it smashes against the door, apartment number 300, a slight nod to the directors previous film. This diversion is enough for Edward to grab the gun and commando roll onto the tiles, yet the figure is already there. Edward fires, misses, and the shot is of the television, with a bullet hole, showing "'Nostalgia' by Veidt", which is slightly ironic as the figure is Adrian Veidt, and this is as close as Edward comes to harming him. The song continues, even though the tv has turned off. The figure rips the gun from Edward and throws it. A fist fight ensues, with slowmotion and fastmotion interchanging to accentuate the near-superhuman moves each character is making, which also reminds us that this is a comic-book movie. Edward takes a beating, yet gets up and punches a hole through stone, and then through a wall, showing his strength and the attackers speed. After being punched down into a glass, and thrown into another, Edward starts throwing kitchen knives. The attacker catches these, and throws them down, as if he wants to keep the fight with his old team-mate as clean as possible, especially as Veidt has the upper hand. Veidt disarms Edward and breaks some bones in his hand. He picks Edward up and looks at him, and Edward, laughing, stutters "It's a joke, it's all a joke...mother forgive me...", showing that he knows it's over. There is no use fighting anymore. The camera zooms back onto the smiley face badge, as the iconic drop of blood splashes down onto it's eye. The smiley face is a continued symbol of this film.
These scene is brought to a close by the attacker lifting Edward up, running across the room and throwing him out of the window. The camera follows Edward then stops as the badge drifts past in slow motion. We cut to the ground as the glass falls, and the focus is placed on the badge, bouncing along the cement and resting beside the pooling blood. The camera flies into the badge, into the black eye, using this as a fade out.

The song "The Times They Are A-Changing" by Bob Dylan starts the title sequence montage, with the first shot of Nite Owl 1 punching a gangster. This is in a sepia tone. A picture of Silk Spectre 1 in front of a group of policemen is next, everyone smiling for press photos. A shot of the similar vein, but with The Comedian. A group shot of the Minutemen in 1940, with The Silhouette, Mothman, Dollar Bill, Nite Owl 1, Captian Metropolis, The Comedian, Silk Spectre 1, and Hooded Justice all in a row. A bomber flies towards the camera, the first Silk Spectre's picture painted in the side. The next clip is important, as it is where the universe of Watchmen and our own universe split. A close up of a newspaper with the headline "JAPAN SURRENDERS". The Silhouette walks past, looking for someone, and finds a screaming nurse. They kiss, recasting the famous V–J day in Times Square photograph, with her in position of the sailor. A sailor can be seen walking in the background. After this, is where Dollar Bill is shot after his cape is caught on a revolving door, meaning he is not present for the next scene, a "Happy Retirement" party for a heavily pregnant Silk Spectre 1. This scene is very similar to Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper". Mothman is then shown being bundled into a white van. It blacks out, and the camera zooms out to show The Silhouette and her partner have been murdered, with the words "Lesbian Whores" written on the wall in blood. The ever present journalists with their flashing cameras are present.
This signifies the end of the Minutemen era, and the beginning of the Watchmen era, with a scene of a young Walter Korvacs (Rorschach) having his hair ruffled by a man who has just used his mothers...services. As he leaves, another man folds his paper and stands up, walking into the bedroom. The headline reads "RUSS HAS A-BOMB".
Next is Doctor Manhattan shaking the hand of JFK, followed by the Kennedy assassination, and a shot of The Comedian putting down a gun and looking around, suggesting he was the shooter upon the grassy knoll.
Silk Spectre 1 is arguing with her husband about how she was "A hero goddamnit". This falls into the background as the camera moves to the famous picture of the Buddhist monk who has set himself on fire being played on the television. A police officer slowly walks towards two men tied to a fire hydrant, shining his flashlight on both men, who are revealed to be covered in blood. The light moves down, onto a piece of paper with Rorschach's signature upon it. This piece of paper then blows away.
The soviets are shown to have a large amount of artillery, troops and missiles, whilst the americans are shown to be massacring a large amount of peacefully protesting students against Nixon being given another term. Andy Warhol is shown exhibiting his portraits of Nite Owl 2, which greatly contrasts the previous scenes. This is followed by the moon landing, with the astronaut turning and Doctor Manhattan being seen reflected in the visor of the spacesuit. Adrian Veidt is then standing in a crowd, patiently having photos taken, whilst the Village People pose in the background. As he leaves, he shakes the hand of David Bowie.
A previous scene is re-made, this time the formation of the Watchmen, featuring The Comedian, Silk Spectre 2, Doctor Manhattan, Ozymandias, Nite Owl 2 and Rorschach.
The montage is finished with a television, showing Richard Nixon celebrating. The camera zooms out to show the words "Nixon re-elected for a third term". The tv beside that is a scientist changing the hands of the Dooms-day Clock. It continues to zoom out, as a protestor covers the window in red spray paint, revealed to be the slogan "Who Watches The Watchmen?". The protestors are shown to be against vigilantes, and in support of The Keene Act. One lights a bottle and throws it into the window, which erupts in flames. These flames cover the screen and burn away into a yellow background, which then zooms back out to show the smiley face lying on a gutter, exactly where we started.