This movie was just badass. This was way better than Night Watch and the visual effects are some of the best I've ever seen to the point that it the effects in the Matrix look amaturish. The story was also more compelling in this one too and i loved how the main thing that they were anton was trying to find was the chalk which was different. Overall steller, the only thing I would have done differently is made it about thirty minutes shorter cause its two and a half hours and over all feels a little long and somethings carry on a little long. But dispite this, Day Watch delivers and if you don't mind reading subtitles, don't miss this one. Best movie out of Russia that I've seen so far. Really looking forward now to Twilight Watch and Dusk Watch whenever they come out.
Better than the original, way better. A fantastic and breathtaking film. It's gripping, pulse-pounding and exhilerating. An edge of your seat ride filled with more compelling suspense and unforgettable action. This new breed of horror film never fails to satisfy or blow your mind. An adreniline-pumping adventure jammed with thrills and chills. It's powerful, exciting and unrelentling. A beautifully crafted movie that will stand as an undenieable cinimatic classic. Stylish, masterful, engrossing, marvelous and sensational. An explosive, very enjoyable and action-packed sequel. A great mixture of astonishing speacial effects, great action sequences and teriffic characters. Director, Timur Bekmambetov continues his vision with outstanding force.
Even more bonkers than the previous installment, which is a definite plus. Often quite hard to follow, being such a visual film with subtitles. The direction is great, some really good sequences of humour as well as horror. Brill.
Russia's answer to "Blade", "Hellboy", and "Ghost-Busters".
Sequel to Russian action/horror/fantasy madness "Nightwatch", is much better than the original. The special effects are beautiful and original and on par with Hollywood, men on horseback ...(read more)riding through walls, and cars driving across skyscrapers, to name a few flourishes. Also the birthday party scene at the end where the dance floor, becomes a battlefield, was nicely done as well.
The story pits two groups of "Others"(a general name for non human biengs living in secret on Earth), half of whome would like to rule over humans(Daywatch), and the other who would co-exist(Nightwatch). That's the backdrop anyway, for a muder mystery, and occult police procedural, about the search for chalk which can re-write fate.
The sexual ambiguity and gender bending of this film was also pretty surprising, especially for an action adventure series of this sort yet it worked in the anything goes universe that is Daywatch, and actually helped progress the story and it's characters. The ending left me confused as to how the third film is going to tie in(there's some time-travel, reality altering here), but I'm interested to find out. (Without the first film the story may seem difficult to understand, though this is a better film, it's worth it to start from the first.)
Much like Night Watch, this film was quite impressive sfx-wise. It's just too bad that the writing and story isn't as high-calibred, because half the time it felt like I had no idea what was going on. At first I thought it might have just been something lost in translation, but the further into the plot I got, the more I realised that the problem lied in its lack of focus and consistency. Because whereas Night Watch felt believable within its own realm of rules, this sequel appeared more like a series of random scenes with no real connection to one another. The surreal elements were simply taken a bit too far for the movie's own good. A quite entertaining film nonetheless though, which proves that not all cool things come from Hollywood alone.
Much better than its predecessor... it had good action and some great areas of special effects. The story was good the ending i thought was the best part the movie had a solid finish which for me makes me think highly of it.. :)
Visually it´s so cool! But thats about it, crappy story and totally without structure. It´s not exiting or captivating. I think it´s about the cosmic struggle between good and evil, or something like that. I probably have to give it another chance some time, if i have time...
i thought it was a good idea. i like the russian. i didnt really understand part of the film. the effects are pretty sweet. the direction in the film is really well done. the look of the film was cool and the movie was original. this movie was beautiful.
Not as good as the first one, I thought. The action sequences, while impressive, were lacking in number in comparison to Night Watch. It seemed to be more of a character/story driven film. Don't get me wrong - I really enjoyed the story of this film. In fact, one of my favourite scenes was the short one between Svetlana and Olga/Anton in the shower, which involved no action at all. My favourite characters, aside from the main ones, were Alisia (what a sassy biatch!) and Kostya (he can suck my blood any day).
This one is a little bit bigger and better than Night Watch. They are both confusing. I love the way they unfold the world and the story that they live in. I'm still uncertain about the rules and physics of their world. I guess Twilight Watch will show me more.
Definitely takes place on a bigger scale and bigger budget. I think it ran a bit too long, but I still really enjoy the characters and the special effects. With this movie and Night Watch, I have doubled the amount of Russian movies I've watched in my life.
Um pouco confuso. Me deixou curiosa para os livros, o que sempre é um bom sinal vindo de filmes. Quer dizer, é um mal sinal no sentido de que significa que o filme não agradou, mas é um bom sinal por que significa que eu gostaria de entender melhor a história. Ficou confuso? Pois é, foi assim que esse filme me fez sentir.
The graphics were top notch, as expected. Fantastic art direction. However it was a little harder for me to get into the story this tme. It felt less original than the first and a bit more confusing.
Definitely not as strong as the first one, this one goes in a strangely eclectic direction, focusing more on the underdone relationships than the supernatural, not to mention that the feel of the film is disturbingly disjointed, instead of something the watcher would really even want to focus on.
Yegor: "Uncle Zavulon, why are we the Dark Ones? Zavulon: Imperfections are hidden in darkness, Yegor. And people always have their imperfections."
Second in the Russian horror fantasy trilogy based on the novels of Sergei Lukyanenko & Vladimir Vasiliev, Day Watch is the sequel to Night Watch, the amazingly stylish Russian film about the battle between the forces of good and those in the dark that oppose them. I'm glad to say that Day Watch is a better film than its predecessor: better action, better story, and even more stylish than before.
The film has doubled the box office earnings of the hugely successful Night, which burst explosively onto Russian screens in 2004, the country's first of that genre. The popularity both of the novels and these films of acclaimed director Timur Bekmambetov suggests a deep resonance with conflicting driving forces within the Russian character. The allegorical supernatural format is compelling and illuminating, with a fast pace and a profusion of spectacular stunts and special effects uncharacteristic of Russian cinema of the Soviet era, all set within a contemporary realism with which audiences may readily identify. While at times reminiscent of the Wachowskis' The Matrix and Alex Proyas' Dark City, these films definitely have a unique flavour.
Day Watch, however, is not one of those sequels that stands alone. If you haven't seen Night Watch you will NEVER manage to figure out everything that's happening on screen. I made the mistake of not refreshing my memory before watching Day Watch and it took at least 30 minutes before I remembered enough to be certain I was keeping up with the entire story.
Two races of immortals, Light and Dark, keep an uneasy truce. Living unseen alongside mortals in the decayed buildings and grimy streets of modern day Moscow, they are witches, warlocks, shape-shifters and vampires. Since medieval times each side has monitored the other for incursions, judged by an Inquisitor (Nikolay Olyalin) whose impartiality is indicated in his appearing always as twins. The Day Watch are the wild and irresponsible Dark Others, driven by desire and the need for freedom. The Night Watch are the conscientious Light Others, bound by duty and responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
The current conflict between them is complicated by the 12-year-old actions of Light Other Anton (Konstantin Khabensky) which resulted in his son Yegor (Dima Martynov) opting to join the Warriors of the Dark. Now Yegor is recognised as a Great Dark Other, against whom the new recruit of the Night Watch Svetlana (Mariya Poroshina) is shaping up as a Great Light Other. If the two meet in conflict, the truce will be over. Naturally, the Dark Others, led by the ice cold Zavulon (Victor Verzhbitsky) will use all means to trick Svetlana into fighting Yegor, putting Anton into an even deeper dilemma. He is in love with Svetlana.
The two sides race to recover the Chalk of Destiny, lost for centuries from the tomb of Tamerlane, with which anyone can rewrite their fate. A sub-plot reflecting the father-son angst of Anton and Yegor involves the Dark father (Valeriy Zolotukhin) of Kostya (Aleksey Chadov), who was forced to make his son a vampire to save his life, further echoes themes of betrayal and regret. Subtle incidental humour arises from Anton's and former Great Light Other Olga's (Galina Tyunina) switching bodies to evade the pursuit of the Dark Warriors. An unexpected twist at the end creates a complete change of mood and curiosity about the third film of the trilogy, the Fox co-financed, English-language Twilight Watch, which should come out in 2009.
Less style-heavy and more plot-centred than its predecessor, Day Watch still features enough exciting battles, dazzling special effects, surreal humour, bizarre and charming characters to leave viewers in awe. Some have criticised the film's flashy, visual style, but Bekmambetov is too talented and idiosyncratic to be dismissed as a Michael Bay copyist. Whimsical set pieces like a car racing up a building, affable vampires and warlocks, photos that pull funny faces and the aforementioned chalk, are closer to an action variant of Amélie than soulless Bruckheimer fare. Truth be told, it's as rooted in Russian reality as Tarkovsky's philosophical fantasies were (especially Stalker), with solid themes about fathers and sons, and ordinary folk anxious to put conflict aside, settle down and raise a family. The duality of modern Russia is neatly embodied in the Light (humble, workaday proletariats) and the Dark (flashy, self-indulgent capitalists).
Also, the less desperately frenetic atmosphere lets the series' fascinating subtext play a more prominent role. We observe, as we did last time, that the all-important fight between good and evil has the feel of a typically Eastern-European bureaucratic hell - decisions are made at committee meetings; the characters expend more energy fretting about the political fallout of a particular course of action than its life-or-death consequences. We notice some other things, too: the heroes are headquartered at a power company, and ride around Moscow in an industrial truck wearing workman-like down coats and hats, while the Dark Others hole up in a glittering hotel, drive bright red sports cars, and spend most of the running time planning for a party.
The dark look of the film echoes Night Watch, since much of Day Watch was shot at the same time as the first film. The special effects are, again, astonishing. A combination of old school methodology and CGI, with the old school stuff being the most interesting. For example, at the beginning of the film there's a scene where a horse jumps through a brick wall. I remember thinking to myself: "Wow! What a good job they did with the CGI on that scene!" Well, it wasn't fake. They actually trained a horse to jump through a brick wall, it showed the process on the DVD. That's just amazing, and you'd never get by with something like that in Hollywood.
None of this is to say that Day Watch makes very much sense, and the climax - which is at least fifteen minutes too long - tosses out so much that any grip you thought you had on the flailing, restless plot will probably slip away. But the film's sense of humour and Bekhambetov's energetic but unpretentious style don't let the story's opaqueness become too frustrating. I wish the ending wasn't so unexpectedly final but the film had built up enough momentum that, by the time it ended, I was already excited by the third and final instalment.
Night and Day Watch aren't the greatest films to ever tell the tale of the battle between good and evil, but it is one of the most entertaining and stylish-tellings that I can recall. I recommend both of them, it's a good way to spend a Saturday night and you can always consider this as a cultural experience since they are Russian films after all. As for Day Watch, it's an inventive, engaging and often astounding film, an alternative summer blockbuster, worth seeking out by any adventurous filmgoer.
''I shall control the fate of the world...'' [gets stabbed from behind] ''But you can't even control your own fate.''
A man who serves in the war between the forces of Light and Dark comes into possession of a device that can restore life to Moscow, which was nearly destroyed by an apocalyptic event.
Konstantin Khabensky: Anton
Mariya Poroshina: Svetlana
I thought very highly of Night Watch and I wasn't disappointed in this sequel, but I'd say despite the HIGHLY imaginative artistic effects it's a bit more confusing and complex to it's predecessor.
I think I need to watch it again as there is alot to take in and ultimately you need to have seen the first to make heads or tails of it.
Day Watch is a blend of Matrix and Blade Runner shaken up in a Russian blended mesh that oozes style and intelligence.
I have to mention the visuals are excellent and amazing to see the other side, the flip side of the coin focusing on the bad, The Day Watch.
It's got one of those endings that concludes the epic.
An artistic fantasy adult mini-Masterpiece, Day Watch delivers.
Just like Night Watch, Day Watch is twisted and visually stunning. It can also be creepy. However, it can be silly like the first and hard to follow at times as well. Plus don't try watching it if you never saw Night Watch, you'll be even more lost.
MCT:July 23, 2008
MCT:July 21, 2008
MCT:June 30, 2008
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MCT:June 22, 2008
MCT:May 5, 2008
