To celebrate the one year pre-anniversary of Watchmen's cinematic release, Zack Snyder has posted the first official character photographs on the film's blog.

My first impressions are pretty good. The costumes look well designed, straddling between the Technicolor spandex of the costumes in Watchmen and the more realistic, awkward-looking rubber latex school of Hollywood.

But is it just me, or do all of these guys just look too young? 

Watchmen is about washed-up, forty-something superheroes at least ten years past their prime. Ozymandias, in particular, looks about 19, but Nite Owl seems to be fairly buff -- far from the spare tire he packs around his midriff in the comic. And the Silk Specter appears to be a supermodel.

Granted, Watchmen takes place during two eras, one where the heroes are about ten or twenty years younger. These pictures could largely feature them in their younger incarnations. But that just raises the specter of fat suits and latex crow's feet for the older sections.

Even so, I'm impressed. I may loathe Zack Snyder, but he's definitely got an eye for aesthetics. If only he had a brain for drama.

One Year To Midnight [Watchmen]