Saturday, March 14, 2009

Top 7 Tech Goodies in Watchmen

This is from DVICE.com

Top 7 tech goodies you'll see in Watchmen

The-Technology-of-Watchmen.jpgFor a comic without all that much fighting in it, Watchmen sure has some awesome gadgets kicking around. We already know of a few things we can expect to see on the big screen from the trailers — the Owlship, for one — but what else? Well, wonder no longer. We've dug up some tech goodies from the comic that have been faithfully recreated in the film.

Click Continue for seven gadgety reasons to be excited for Watchmen.



Watchmen-Owlship.jpg 1. The Owlship

The Owlship — also known as Archimedes, or lovingly as "Archie" — is Nite Owl's sweet crime-bustin' jalopy. It does a little bit of everything: The Owlship can fly, go under water, emit ear-piercing frequencies that keep people at bay, and it's armed to the teeth with stuff like air-to-air missiles and water cannons. Just don't try to light a cigarette — that's not an in-dash lighter.



Watchmen-Rorschach-mask.jpg 2. Rorschach's Mask

Just like the man himself, Rorschach's mask is an ever-shifting mosaic of hard black-and-whites that never produce any gray. Rorschach made his "face" from a material synthesized by Dr. Manhattan, incorporating a layer of heat- and pressure-sensitive viscous fluid held between two layers of latex. In the comic, it's rarely the same between two panels and, in the movie, watching it shift around is a treat. Just don't take his "skin" from him — his face isn't the only thing that's uglier when the mask comes off.



Watchmen-Dr-Manhattan.jpg 3. Intrinsic Field Chamber

Getting caught in the intrinsic field chamber doesn't seem so bad if you get godly powers like Dr. Manhattan. Makes you wonder why no one else tried it. Because of it, Dr. Manhattan is able to do seemingly anything, from teleporting to Mars to synthesizing water, materials for lithium-ion batteries, or anything else he wants. How does it work? To quote Wally, the assistant who first introduced the good Doctor to the machine, "Beats the hell outta me!"



Watchmen-Rorschach-grapple-gun.jpg 4. Rorschach's Grapple Gun

Rorschach's grapple gun gives him another option instead of heading through the front door, though he's certainly not afraid to do so (just ask the gun's builder, Nite Owl II, whose house door certainly wasn't spared after he made the gun for the vigilante). It's got a big four three-pronged hook and a seemingly endless line, and it has even helped him escape when there wasn't a wall to climb. There's a guy out there with a hole in his chest who probably didn't appreciate Rorschach's creativity, though.



Watchmen-Nite-Owl-Goggles.jpg 5. Nite Owl's Goggles

While he isn't based off of Batman, everything about Nite Owl will probably have moviegoers thinking back to the Caped Crusader, Nite Owl's goggles included. They allow the Owl to see in the dark — perfectly, rather than in all green, like you'd get with infrared — and in the movie they even have a heads-up interface for a little extra zing. Arguably their most important feature, though, is that they're a babe magnet. Well, for chicks in costume anyway.



Watchmen-Ozy-Karnak.jpg 6. Über Remote Controls

In the comic, Nite Owl uses a universal remote control that does everything from turn on the lights in his kitchen to steer the Owlship. Not too shabby, right? Ozymandias has a remote in the comic, too, though it's the same thing you've got at home and only in a few frames. In the movie, however, his über remote will help him control more than just his big wall of TV screens he has in his arctic fortress, Karnak, pictured above.



Watchmen-Nite-Owl-lair.jpg 7. Nite Owl's Lair

While not a gadget itself, Nite Owl's lair is packed with them. It's more than just a hangar for the Owlship, the Nest's also got a few other vehicles — including hover bikes

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4 comments:

  1. something that stands out to me about Watchmen is the amazing character development; they do a great job making each person in that movie a whole, unique person

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  2. Hi Coffee,

    That is so true. There are no "super boy scout" like Superman. Each character is a flawed human being in need of redemption. Another thought that occurs to me while watching the movie is "is the human race worth saving?"

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  3. My husband and son went to see this film last Friday and have not stopped chatting it up since! How cool to have something fun and sciencefictioney to talk about again!

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  4. Hi Tara,

    That's the type of movies I like. Ones that keep us thinking and talking long after we have seen it. What is your impression of it?

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