Considered "un-filmable" for years,
Watchmen finally came to the big screen with Zack Snyder's adaptation in 2009. While the changes to the story have been frequently debated, most people agree that the film is visually stunning. One of the most impressive shots was also one of the first we saw: Owlman's ship, Archie, rising from the water and speeding off into the sky was placed early in the first
Watchmen trailer.
Among the concerns faced when filming
Watchmen, was that it was written during the Cold War and any attempts to update it to a modern setting ruined the feel of the story. To prevent this, screenwriter Alex Tse simply retained the story's time frame and set the movie in an alternate timeline. The props and sets were all built to reflect this, including a mid-1980s New York City. Although few (if any) audience members would have noticed a generic skyline being used for the above nighttime scene, Snyder and his crew took the extra step to include a proper NYC skyline that included the Trade Center. It's a nice touch, and indicative of the care used when setting up shots for this movie.
