NIGHT WATCH is a much anticipated, dark, and dizzyingly stylised fantasy film from Russia. It tells of how there was once a great war between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. Once they discovered they were equally matched, both sides formed a truce and to this day still coexist somewhat peacefully in the world. To make sure the balance would not be broken the forces of light set up the Night Watch, a group of supernatural powered beings, to police the forces of darkness. While the forces of darkness themselves set up the Day Watch, in order to make sure that the forces of light are never out of line with their terms. NIGHT WATCH is actually the first part of a trilogy from director Timur Bekmambetov and focuses mainly of the clique of the title, and their battle to keep the dark at bay.
Not that NIGHT WATCH actually has time to focus, this is a frantically paced and multi-layered
tale that never even really takes time explain many of the manic visuals it throws at the audience on a regular basis. By the films conclusion you will no doubt have a lot more questions than answers but as such the sequel is certainly an intriguing prospect. Where NIGHT WATCH works best is in its set up of ideas, there is literally so much here that every scene leaves you with multiple questions, hopefully most of which will be answered by the story's conclusion, but if not there are still some brilliant and very enjoyable ideas at work here. This is a world full of shape shifters, witches and vampires but not quite like any you have seen before, its action scenes are dynamically shot and the whole experience feels fresh despite its obvious influences.
Those influences are of course the American sci-fi and horror extravaganza's that are a dime a dozen over in the U.S., but because of budget limitations are never really seen elsewhere. While NIGHT WATCH is certainly no different (its total budget was apparently close to four million US dollars), Bekmambetov has spent every penny wisely. The effects are generally fantastic, with a couple of human to animal transformations and a fantastic moment where a bus is flipped three hundred and sixty degrees into the air being highlights. But they no doubt look better than the quality of the effect actually is, because of the way the film is edited. The special effect shots and fight sequences are full of quick cuts and camera trickery showing you just enough to get you excited, but never enough to really show up any limitations, in this way the film is expertly crafted and visually stunning. In fact NIGHT WATCH is one of the few films that I would actually condone viewing dubbed as the film is such a feast for the eyes it's a shame to miss so much of it when reading the subtitles.
Though subtitles are indeed the best way to see the film on first viewing, as there is just so much plot here. It's the dialogue (which is generally very good as well) and the story that are the most important aspects to take in first. It's really the plot where NIGHT WATCH features its only shortcomings, it just has so much going on, that the first act in particular can be hard to sit through. Once the film settles down and decides where its going with this first episode things do run much smoother but there is still a sense that Bekmambetov (who also wrote the film) was just trying to fit a little too much in here. There are also so many characters that we never really get to know or appreciate them as well as we probably should. Leading man Konstantin Khabensky makes a decent impression simply because he has more screen time than anyone else, though he is a likeable presence with the kind of brooding face you will booth root for and sympathise with. However no one else is really shown in any detail.
There was a lot to set up here, as well as a great deal of back story, the film features a very interesting standalone plot and also one that is a set up for things to come. It's true that if they wanted to flesh everything out perfectly this would be a much longer trip than the already nearly two hour feature it is. As it stands NIGHT WATCH does feel like it packs in far too many ideas for its own good, to the point where it can often be a bit confusing. But what great ideas these are, and what a fantastic looking film they are showcased in. I'm now looking forward to DAY WATCH greatly.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
![Night Watch [DVD] [2005]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78472321.jpg "Night Watch [DVD] [2005]")
![Night Watch [DVD] [2005]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78495188.jpg "Night Watch [DVD] [2005]")
![Night Watch / Day Watch (Special Edition Directors Cuts) [2005] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/77915106.jpg "Night Watch / Day Watch (Special Edition Directors Cuts) [2005] [DVD]")
Feb 25th, 2006
very helpful by (100%):
![Night Watch [2005] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78492230.jpg)
![Night Watch/Alien Vs Predator/Resident Evil [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78367685.jpg)
