This Friday sees the release of the much anticipated superhero epic Watchman. For those of you who just can't wait until Friday to see the most acclaimed comic book series of all time adapted to the big screen, the AMC Kanata and the Silver City Gloucester are having midnight screenings Thursday night. (Take note: the film is nearly three hours long; meaning you'll be crawling into bed only a handful of hours before it's time to get up and head to work.)

I've been to several midnight screenings of films of this sort, and the experience has been mixed. Watching Brian Singer's original X-Men film at the stroke of midnight in the theatre full of geeks clutching to their chests the free comic books handed out beforehand was a blast. But watching this summer's X-Files: I Want to Believe in a three-quarter empty theatre on a cold, rainy night was nearly as dismal as the film itself.

Still... everyone deserves to see a midnight movie at some point in their lives, and I think Watchmen is going to surprise a lot of people. With Ironman, The Incredible Hulk, Hellboy II, the Dark Knight, and now Watchmen all being released this year, we're undeniably in the golden age of superhero cinema. Let's celebrate while it lasts!

Do yourself a favour and pick up some Watchmen midnight tickets (and a big cup of coffee for Friday morning)!