Rating

B

Pros and Cons

Pros
  • Fast-Pased
  • Good Action Sequences
  • Amazing Use of Subtitles
  • Unique take on Horror/Sci-fi Action
Cons
  • Some Over-The-Top Sequences
  • Poor Ending

Nightwatch (DVD)

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Summary

Entertaining Russian Blockbuster.

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Description

Night Watch was released earlier this year in limited release. It attracted little mainstream attention, which is too bad because Night Watch is a very stylized action film, and would have gone over great with audiences.

Except for the fact that it's in Russian.

Night Watch, or Nochnoi Dozor, was released in Russia in 2004, and quickly became that nations biggest grossing film. Based of Sergei Lukianenko's novel of the same name (or, as I understand, the first third of said novel) Night Watch tells the tale of Others; mythical beings, such as shape-shifters, sorcerers, witches, vampires, etc. At the beginning of the movie, the narrator explains how the armies of light and dark others met for a huge battle. However, no victor would emerge, so the armies forged a truce. The light Others created an organization to keep the dark in check (Night Watch) and the dark had an organization to keep the light in check (Day Watch).

Another introductory scene follows, introducing us to our protagonist, Anton (Konstantin Khabensky). Anton, after joining the Night Watch, is sent on two missions: to rescue a young child from vampires of the Day Watch, and to lift the curse from "the virgin of Byzanthinum" before the vortex created by said curse destroys Moscow. The plot of the film is constantly moving at an almost breakneck pace, but fortunately the viewer is never lost because of the speed.

Even though this is a foreign film, Night Watch is styled after American action movies. Many comparisons have been made to "Underworld" and "Blade", one fight scene uses "The Matrix" for some of the inspiration, and the car ride scene seems to be a blatant parody of "The Fast and the Furious".

The DVD comes with two audio tracks; an English dub and the original Russian with subtitles. You can watch the dub if you want, but you'd be missing out on the most amazing subtitles ever. Most subtitles are either white or yellow, and rest at the bottom center of the screen. Not with Night Watch. Given the position of the characters and the action on the scene, the subtitles react. For example, Anton is knocked back against a wall in the opening scene. His "NO"s and "Stop" also get flung back, and break as they hit the wall, or when the kid is swimming and a voice is calling to him, the voice's words are in read, and dissipate like blood in water. Too cool.

Despite the good things, Night Watch isn't all wine and roses. Some of the movie just feels over-the-top (near the end, especially, and the ending is sort of a letdown, but hopefully the sequel, Day Watch, will fix that.

I recommend that you go rent Night Watch. It's a good movie, but probably one that you won't be watching over and over again.

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