I tried to make that an alliteration, but I couldn't come up with up another "W". Wiped? Wither? Wither probably would have been good. Oh well.

There are countless debates about the upcoming Watchmen movie, based on the best-selling graphic novel (comic) by Alan Moore. Many die-hard fans are insisting there's no way the film could do the graphic novel justice. And while it's common to hear fans talk about movies not being as good as the books they're based on, this particular argument has a lot of weight behind it.

However, those fears may be at least partially alleviated. New footage from the movie has been screened, and from what I've seen so far, the feedback has been unanimously positive. The first twelve minutes were shown, as well as various other clips from throughout the movie. Sounds like it was about a half hour of footage total.

ComingSoon.net has a detailed synopsis, focusing not only on what was shown, but how it was shown. Little details like what's on the television in the background, the photo montage during the opening credits, etc.

Opening with stylish black-on-yellow production logos, the shot begins on the classic smiley face button-pinned to a man selling newspapers on the street. Tracking immediately upward, we're taken inside Edward Blake's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) apartment. Just as in the first panels of the original comic book, we see the Comedian sitting at home alone in the final moments of his life. The scene (and nearly every shot showcased) is jam-packed with hidden references. On the wall is a '50's style pin-up of Sally Jupiter (Carla Gugino) and on the television we see a pundit-style press show with footage of Richard Nixon giving a Presidential speech. Discussions are held about a "Doomsday Clock" and ongoing tensions with Russia. Here, Doctor Manhattan (Billy Crudup) is introduced as America's best defense in the Cold War.

Warning -- it contains some spoilers. Nothing really important though. Those familiar with the graphic novel need not worry, and those who aren't will probably just be confused anyway.