- Release Date
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March 4, 2009
- Runtime
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163 Minutes
16 Years Later, Zack Snyder’s Superhero Flop That Was “Ahead of Its Time” Is Streaming Free
September 24, 2025 - Movies
Director Zack Snyder remains one of the most divisive filmmakers in Hollywood, with some criticizing his movies for being nothing more than style over substance, while others believe he crafts unmatched cinematic classics. Snyder has become synonymous with comic book movies thanks to the likes of 300, Man of Steel, and his cut of Justice League, but it’s his gritty 2009 effort that a particular Oscar-winning director called “ahead of its time.” And it’s set to stream for free in October.
Often described as an unadaptable comic book, Watchmen, which is based on the seminal graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, is set in an alternate 1985 and tells the epic tale of a group of outlawed superheroes living in New York City.
Starring Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson, Watchmen is all set to land on the free streaming platform Tubion October 1, 2025. In the meantime, you can check out the official synopsis for Watchmen below…
In an alternate 1985 America, costumed superheroes are part of everyday life. When one of his former comrades is murdered, masked vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) uncovers a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his retired associates, only one of which has true powers, Rorschach glimpses a far-reaching conspiracy involving their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the world’s future.
Is ‘Watchmen’ Zack Snyder’s Best Comic Book Movie?
Like almost every movie in Zack Snyder’s arsenal, Watchmen was met with a somewhat divided response. Though is now considered to be one of the director’s best. The superhero outing now stands at 64% from critics and 71% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie was also a disappointment at the box office, grossing around $185.4 million worldwide against its reported $130 million budget. We can only but wonder how things might have been different had Watchmen been released amid the MCU and the comic book movie boom that is only now starting to falter.
The comic is an expertly told deconstruction of the superhero genre, and while Snyder attempts to do the same with his adaptation, a lot of the substance is arguably missed in favor of heightened visuals and exaggerated action. While praised for recreating several Watchmen panels and bringing them into live-action with stark accuracy, many felt that Snyder’s take loses a lot of the source material’s more subtle touches, ultimately resulting in something far shallower than the graphic novel on which it’s based.
However, one person who did not feel that way was The Dark Knight director (and Man of Steel producer) Christopher Nolan, who, while discussing the comic book movie back in 2023, stressed its significance in paving the way for subverting the superhero genre on the big and small screens.
“I’ve always believed Watchmen was ahead of its time. 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.”
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