Night Watch (2004)

This is a very very entertaining film. It has some nice special effects for a film with such a small budget. Great acting by some believable actors. Great dialogue. Cool, fun action sequences. But the real backbone of this film is the mythology upon which the whole plot lies.

The mythology created by the original author upon which the film is based, belongs up there with the great ones like Lucas' Star Wars, the Wachowski brothers' Matrix, Tolkien's LOTR, Herbert's Dune. It just has that kind of history and interesting terms and names and events that make you go, "Wow! What's that all about?...That is so cool! I wanna learn more! Wouldn't be cool to live in that universe?" The funny thing for me though, is that this mythology, is a "vampire" related mythology. And since reading the Anne Rice novels and her well described history of the vampires, I have not been able to accept anyone else's interpretation of vampires. Kate Beckinsale in Underworld...no! And even though I think that the acting and writing for Buffy the Vampire Slayer was some of the best stuff on television, I just did not think that their treatment of vampire mythology was up to standard. But here in Night Watch...it worked! I thought that this was a tremendous film and enjoyed it greatly. I would absolutely recommend it, especially if you like any of the above mythical worlds, and are looking to get yourself into another one. Can't wait for the sequels!

Fmovies: Just got back from seeing it earlier today (3 of us saw it, all of us loved it). Yes, I will say that parts of it were disjointed, but overall, it was fantastic. A good guy/bad guy story, but told with typical Russian pessimism. Effects are good (not on par with Hollywood blockbusters - big shock, I know) The subtitles I quite liked - they weren't your typical subtitles, they tended to interact with the world around them. The characters were all interesting, and it all felt fully-realized, not just a bunch of stuff tossed together. Acting was on par with anything else I've seen. It was funny how much the fact that it was Russian affected things... it was almost like Moscow took one of the leading roles.

Overall, though, what really made the movie was the feel. There's an entire mythology there to explore, and they touch parts of it. Some humor, a few scares, but overall it's really "dark fantasy". Highly recommended.

"Night Watch" is one of the most expensive Russian film production ever and enjoyed in it's home country the best movie start of all time (15 million US $ in its first month), but is it any good? Yes and no. First of all, let me say that this is a special effects film and even though for a Russian production this has a comparatively huge budget for CGI and makeup f/x, the results are decidedly mixed. Most of it is OK, with single drops into the ridiculous. The direction by former ad director Bekmambetov is stylish enough, without forgetting to portray the grittiness of Russian life circumstances. The actors are competent, though leading man Konstantin Khabensky is lacking in the charisma department. The story ultimately is the measurement of what is good and bad about "Night Watch" and it does contain both. The novels, on which this film is based, are pretty complex, making this the first in a trilogy, with "Day Watch" and "Dusk Watch" to come. The presented battle between good and evil supernatural beings is reminiscent of other genre efforts, but unlike, say "Underworld", "Night Watch" takes its elements seriously. This is a mixed blessing. On one hand you have a real mythology underlying events instead of a starting point for subway machine gun battles of longhairs, on the other there is no humor in the picture and the reverent and dead serious tone in spite of the bizarre events is sometimes overdone and a little laughable. The idea of supernatural police forces observing and checking each other is a nice one, as are numerous quirky little ideas, but overall there are two lame stereotypes for every good and fresh idea. Most disappointing is the double climax letdown. The 'grudge' storyline is extremely well built up with lots of suspense but ends with a whimper instead of a bang. The climax of the 'kid' storyline is muddled as well, but does offer a nice full circle resolution to one aspect of the story and features an interesting cliffhanger.

Overall, the shortcomings are (just slightly) outweighed by a fresh, different and decidedly un-Hollywood take on fantasy movie standards. This is an interesting and worthy effort, though strictly for fans of the fantasy/mystery genre.

6/10

Night Watch fmovies. Night Watch seems to be one of those love it or hate it films, and it is easy to see why. For this viewer, it has a fair bit to redeem it but has too many flaws as well to make it good enough, very similar pros and cons for 2007's Wolfhound actually. Night Watch is an excellently made film, the scenery is sumptuous with a dark edge as well, the CGI is well-defined and used appropriately and most of the photography is skilfully done. The music score is terrific as well, it has some beautiful parts, some stirring parts and some haunting parts, and these are used in a way that is effective for each scene and doesn't across as repetitive or jarring. The acting is also quite good, Konstantin Khabensky's lead performance in particular is great and the supporting do a good job in making the most of what they have. The script is a mix here, some of it is literate and thoughtful but there are too many other instances where it sounds awkward and underwritten. Most of the photography is fine, but that is not the case with the action sequences where it is very claustrophobic-feeling and too much like watching a hurriedly-edited music video. The action doesn't really have as much drive or tension as it ought to, it's performed competently but rather stodgily choreographed. The characters are sketched very thinly, we know what types of characters they are but often that's pretty much it. The story is the biggest problem with Night Watch, a good idea but the storytelling is far too rushed and confused with too many things left unexplained or underdeveloped. If the pace had slowed down, things would have been more comprehensible, less choppy and better developed. While the ending is also a let down, it was here where Night Watch felt the most rushed and it felt unfinished and anti-climatic too. Overall, a mixed bag here and this is coming from a Russian fantasy fanatic who hasn't read the book(and you don't necessarily have had to to either like or dislike the film) and judged Night Watch on its own terms. 5/10 Bethany Cox

I bought this movie a month or two ago. Unlike most movies I have seen for a while, this movie grabs your imagination and doesn't let go. From the story line, to the cinematography, to the surprise that a few certain scenes were computer-rendered... I was captivated by this movie.

I had heard that this movie did very well in the Russian box office from a friend, and decided to buy it. If this movie were to be released in the US, it would probably rank equally as high.

Nochnoj dozor delves into the realms of good and evil. The story is that a treaty was made during an ancient war between good and evil, the agreement being a balance between the two. Evil would set up a "Day Watch" to police the Light/Good beings. They, in turn, ran a "Night Watch" which would police the Dark/Evil beings.

The supernatural powers of both sides, which are portrayed in the movie, are some of the cleanest 'movie-magic' I have ever seen.

"Night Watch" is far more entertaining than many of its American counterparts in the "secret underground world of vampires and good vs. evil" genre. Unlike "Underworld" and "Constantine" it kept my attention throughout, but still this Russian smash is severely flawed.

First, let's applaud the good parts. "Night Watch" is distinctly Russian. Moscow is presented as a vibrant mix of modern metropolis and Gothic-style throwback to the middle ages. The plot, heavily steeped in its own fabricated mythology from a series of popular books, also serves on some level as an allegory for the fall of Communism and the rise of Capitalism. In my mind, the forces of "dark" forced underground are the Communists, while the forces of "light" (whose HQ is fronted by the City Electric Company) are the Capitalists, who often get caught up in their own bureaucracy in their vain attempts to keep the peace and not violate the truce. Some of the special effects and modern riffs on vampirism are highly imaginative and disarming (I loved "The Gloom" aspect). The American distributors also deserve some credit for their creative use of subtitles which often become part of the scene without ever distracting from the visuals.

Unfortunately, the director is clearly a veteran of music videos, and he makes the action sequences hyper kinetic and often incoherent. When he does manage to create an alluring visual, he quick-cuts, and you wish he would've had the patience to hold some of the shots longer. This hectic visual style is evident in the plotting as well, which clearly is setting up for sequels with the introduction of many characters, though some of the subplots (especially involving the cursed virgin woman and her evil vortex) seemed unnecessary. Likewise, the rushed finale seemed oddly anti-climatic and didn't pack the wallop I feel the filmmakers intended.

Despite the flaws, I will eagerly await the American distribution of the sequels, and I suppose that is the greatest compliment a film like this can receive.