User Reviews

I have always respected fantasy-set films that try and take themselves seriously as cinematic pieces. When a director takes the actual construction of the film seriously, or tries to, I can respect the intent. As such "Night Watch" is difficult to judge. The cinematography is excellent: the camera-work is superb, the mood is perfect, the effects are beautifully rendered (and not overused), and the timing of individual scenes is consistent throughout the piece. The problem is the overall timing of the film. For over half the film, the overall plot and premise is ignored. It is very much as if we are watching two different episodes of the same TV series; the characters are the same, the premise is the same, it is clear how the plots fit together visually and thematically, but otherwise they have pretty much nothing to do with one another. They are not disjointed in their construction or presentation, it is simply that the plot threads are mostly unrelated.

It is worth pointing out that this is the first film in a planned trilogy. Every hanging plot/character moment in the film is very strongly intended to be followed through upon in the next two films, and it shows. Characters and references are not simply tossed aside, but are led into gently just enough to let the audience know that greater things are intended. While I'm not particularly a fan of this kind of thing, Night Watch does it very well, and I await the sequels with anticipation.

Many people on this board have made comparisons to Star Wars EpI-II, and for the life of me I haven't the faintest clue why. The concept of Imperfect Good vs Seductive Evil within the human soul was hardly invented by George Lucas (though vampires in Star Wars would be pretty freakin' cool), and its presentation in Night Watch is tight and interesting. There is no resemblance whatsoever, this is one of the more original films that I have ever seen, and I recommend it both for its flaws and perfections.

"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.

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 enjoyed this movie quite a lot; if you are into Jeunet-type fantasy, I would recommend that you see it. Overall, I would give it a rating of 7 out of 10. The reason for the Jeunet comparison (e.g. Delicatessen, City of Lost Children) is that it has the same dark antiutopian/surrealistic ambiance to it, and is very imaginative. It is also very elaborate in its style, which lends most of the appeal to the movie. This being said, the biggest disappointment of the movie is the plot, which is overly straightforward and simple-minded, but at least it does not devolve into some technical meaningless psycho-babble as many Hollywood fantasy movies do, and maintains its fairy-tale quality.

It is unfortunate that modern Russian cinematography seems to be chasing the success of Hollywood (which is ironic, given the country's negative attitude towards US in general and Hollywood in particular), but this movie benefits from Hollywood-style special effects, and is free of annoying clichés (unlike the atrociously pretentious "Barber of Siberia" - another recent style-heavy Russian blockbuster; sorry Mikhalkov).

To sum up, this movie is quite original, imaginative, stylish and at times visually stunning, which in my book constitutes success, but don't expect any depth of ideas.

A tale of the modern, the effect that it can make, on traditions and behaviours, that over years have formed a brake, as barriers are broken, with walls cascading down, lines are crossed, words go unspoken, the Armageddon clock counts down.

The Night Watch keep on searching, for those who overstep the mark, those who crawl out of the shadows, those who live their life in dark; they have visions of the horrors, that may take the world to hell, using seers that they've discovered, a contemporary show and tell.

Anton finds more than he bargained for when hunting down a cursed doctor who is about to bring calamity and chaos reigning down on everything and all.

I was reluctant to see this film for so long.

It was mainly in defiance towards that frantic promotion campaign positioning it as the first ever "unrivalled Russian blockbuster" and "a groundbreaking achievement of the decade".

The soundtrack is annoyingly offered for the cell phones: you saw the movie - now set your ringtone to the Night Watch terrific score!

Now it is allegedly considered as the most possible nominee for the Academy Award, while American either remake or sequel is underway.

A real misfortune of the contemporary Russian cinema is that hardly concealed inferiority complex. Some filmmakers no longer shoot movies just to entertain the moviegoers. They strive with their last bit of strength in pursuit of the ultimate goal: TO MAKE AN EXCEPTIONAL FILM THAT WOULD BLOW UP THE Hollywood.

I don't really much incline to the idea that we are somehow aesthetically and culturally above the rest of the world and that we should obligatory go our own way.

But I'm afraid that the efforts to prove, at any cost, that WE ALSO CAN DO A COOL STUFF with bells and whistles, (at least not worse than the "big guys") may be not exactly the right path to the top.

Well, it's a way better than the arms race, but a work of art falls into somewhat self-sufficient category and shouldn't be an object of that sort of competition.

I believe a film doesn't have to bear a specific nationality. Once it is considered irrespective of the country of origin, and could be valued purely as is, just for it's inner virtues, it may look much more appealing.

To be honest, all that my reasoning, however, refers to the hysteria around the Night Watch, rather than to the film itself.

Unexpectedly to myself, I've bought an occasional (licensed) DivX with the Night Watch just to test MPEG4 capabilities of a DVD player.

And I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. I found it rather atmospheric, gripping and engaging as well as neatly produced. I may say I liked it.

The cast was great, acting - almost impeccable and not over the top (what frequently degrades modern Russian fantasy, sci-fi or action movies). Some dialogues, nevertheless, could have been a bit more articulate.

The cinematography was equally nice - I liked that fancy shooting angles and professional camera-work. Effects were descent and balanced.

The closing titles background song was pretty cool. Frankly I'm not so much enthusiastic about that sort of tiresome music. What is really awesome about the song is its humorous lyrics embracing the entire movie plot.

The idea of the film/book is quite interesting (though not brand new). Numerous dark forces lurk somewhere in a parallel world unseen to unsophisticated humans. Until the time when some of their most villainous representatives would be eager to play with their unsuspecting victims. It is, however, contrary to a certain pact between the good and the evil specifying that both good and evil doings should be controlled and approved by both parties that have established for that reason the respective teams of guardians, the Night Watch and the Day Watch.

Entirely new for the movies with such kind of a pleasant premise is that none has ever got killed, except for a handful of malefactors (like that stoned bloodsucker). Just some pinpoint accurate destructions here and there, minor violence and mild torture. A close-up shot of the finger pinned for a blood sample was the only scene that made my temporal vein twitch of disgust. Menshov's healer-like manipulations with Khabensky's entrails were impressively staged.

A serious drawback of the film is the lack of explanation on some principle points. It's not that the philosophy was too complex for my convolutions. But the coherency of the storytelling was impaired at times. Like certain chunks of the film have been lost among leftovers on the cutting room's floor.

My son, familiar with the Lukyanenko's novel, was giving brief tips in the course of the action, which were conducive to the overall comprehensibility.

Final verdict: not for all tastes, but refreshing and worth watching, at least once.

P.S. Amazingly, the majority of the IMDb positive reviews comes from overseas audience, while the Russian reviewers lash the Night Watch with a scathing sarcasm.

Hundred of years ago, the forces of light and darkness faced each other in a very violent battle on a bridge. In order to avoid the total slaughter, their leaders agree to have an armistice. Along the centuries, the two balanced sides are divided and the forces of light watch and control the vampires, a.k.a. as the forces of night. Among the humans lives "The Others", i.e., persons with supernatural powers including witches, sorcerers and vampires and with the free will to choose which side to join. The legend says that the two forces will be unbalanced by "The Great Other", and the side this powerful being selects will win the battle. In 1992, in Moscow, Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky) joins the forces of the light while hiring a witch for a black magic. In the present days, he faces the consequences of his act.

"Nochnoy Dozor" is an original and refreshing dark tale of the eternal battle in the world, between the good and the evil. The unpredictable story has great special effects and is very engaging, and it is interesting to see how the distinction between good and evil is actually very blurred in the present days. Unfortunately I found the screenplay very confused in spite of having understood the whole plot. Maybe watching a second time, this movie may be better and better. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Guardiões da Noite" ("Guardians of the Night")

I'm sure this was a better movie in its native language but when dubbed in English it's impossible to understand. Either it's very abstract or the director and all the actors are completely stoned out of their minds, the movie is like a neverending seizure with cuts every two seconds and a poorly explained story involving (from what I can discern) crazy Russian vampires and some epic struggle between light and dark...

I watched this at night with a good friend who was equally unimpressed, and we still have no idea what this movie is about. The whole time I just wanted it to end. Please never watch this, I actually consider this the worst movie ever made.

Unbearable. 1/10

On the surface the story line appears to be standard Hollywood stock; a race of super-humans (called "Others") exists. The Others are divided into two camps: the keepers of the light and the army of darkness. 1,000 years ago they fought each other to a bloody stalemate and signed the Truce. The standard Hollywood story line stops there. The Truce has very specific terms and any individual caught violating the Truce faces severe consequences. Both sides continually cheat the Truce and bait each other to violate its terms so that they can catch and punish the guilty individuals. The most important rule of the Truce is that each Other must decide freely which camp they wish to join: the Light or the Dark.

The movie follows a boy who is destined to be the Great Other who will tip the balance of power to the camp he decides to join. The story is filled with stunning visuals and sound effects - think the best elements of The Matrix and Highlander with a bit of Sin City thrown in. All the characters are three dimensional and the actors' performances are superb. (A rarity in action films these days.) In Night Watch the line between good and evil is often blurred. The lead character struggles with what is a truly a moral action and what is not. Night Watch does not offer any easy answers to this question. After all, what is moral and what is not is something that each of us must decide freely for ourselves.

This is an incredible movie and is not one you have seen before. I highly recommend it.

"Nochnoi Dozor" aka "Night Watch" (2004) directed by Timur Bekmambetov and based on the cult novel by Sergei Lukyanenko.

This Action / Fantasy / Horror / Thriller begins many centuries ago with the great battle between the forces of Darkness and Light - The Good and the Evil. No one can win that battle and the forces keep truce controlling each other's actions during the Night and Day watch. Skip to Moscow, Russia of 2004 - the balance between the Dark and the Light is just about to collapse because the Chosen one who would either save the world if he joins the Light or destroy it if he goes with the dark forces has been born but does know his destiny yet. Sounds familiar, does it not? "Lord of the Rings", "The Matrix", "Star Wars" - yes, "Night Watch", the first entry in the trilogy brings to mind all these celebrated movies but it has very distinguished look and feel to it, "horror-fantasy-down-and-dirty-Moscow-style". The film also explores (at least it tries to) Mikhail Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita" territory and reminds of the popular Russian cult novel by Vladimir Orlov, "Danilov the Violist" in the way both beloved books combine bitter realism of life in Moscow with darkly humorous fantasy. I have to admit that I did not expect much but I was pleasantly surprised. The movie was entertaining, funny, and at the same time very dark, unsettling, and gripping. It is not a perfect movie (its director is a little too much in love with the MTV style camera movements and cuts) but it's got many interesting sequences and special effects. The B/W animated part was brilliant and it alone makes the film worth of watching.

Some jokes are hilarious. My favorite was the one about two vampires that fell in love and wanted to enroll in the teaching college together.

P.S. I will certainly watch "Dnevnoi Dozor" aka "Day Watch" when it becomes available.

This film is the worst film of the year so far.

The whole film seems rather disjointed and is unbelievably dull.

It consists of bad written script and broken storyline, poor soundtrack, too many bad quality special effects, humble acting.

I have read the book after watching a movie and got some clues about the original plot. Book is excellent, but it does not make a film better. I guess film only was based on the book, and truly fails to deliver any storyline.

I would say most of you could skip "Nochnoj dozor" and save your time and money.

So Bad It Hurts!

When the forces of light and dark take to battle and realize they are equally strong, decide to make a truce. The people of light will become the Nightwatch, and the people of darkness will become the Daywatch. Neither side can force people to join their side, they have the freedom of choice. The Daywatch and Nightwatch keep tabs to make sure this truce holds.

When Anton finds out he is an other; a person with special powers, he joins the side of light. Anton is a seer and when he is finding a victim of two vampires, he runs into Svetlana, a virgin cursed with bad luck and key into the Apocolpes.

Night Watch is a mind blowing, visually astounding triumph of Russian cinema. Its dark, claustrophobic, grungy and a very thrilling ride. You can see that Timur Bekmambetov has a history in commercials, this moves at a fast paced and the camera doesn't stop moving, with constant fast swoops and always tracking around. The story has been done many times before, but it seems so fresh here. The flaw of the story though is that it's so layered it's hard to understand at first. As it moves at such at fast pace, there isn't much chance to take everything in and to nut everything out. But with all the energy Nightwatch contains, you don't care, cause you'll gladly go again.

For the small budget it had, you wonder how they made this film. You are constantly blown away by the visual effects. They are so flawless. The subtitles are cleverly used as well; they come into a form of their own.

All i can say is i cant wait for the sequels to now make there way over.

If there were 1/2 increments, I'd do 7.5 The trailer for this one has been on the net for well over a year, and its one of the most well put-together trailers I've ever seen, did the same job as the matrix 1 in terms of perking your interest with stylish clips and such while not giving away the whole plot. So I was excited. Now in retrospect I'm figuring that they decided not to reveal much plot less for dramatic effect and more for the fact that the plot is very.. makeshift? Ramshackle? (thrown together?) Don't get me wrong, this movie is almost great. Just a few things re-arranged and this movie could have been an instant cult classic. What do I know, it was just released in the states yesterday, perhaps there are plenty folks out there less critical enough than I for there to be cult stardom for this film's future, but it would be a no brainer if a few things happened: 1) make it less of a goth/thriller shmorgasboard(sp?) of so many ideas mashed together, most certainly clouding plot and character development into obscurity. 2) more care taken in the writing process so that plot priorities are also less obscure.

All that bs aside, it was really a breath of fresh air and I really do suggest it for pretty much anyone who enjoys a good epic-goth-sci-fi-horror-thriller-trilogy that is also foreign.

See what I mean? This film gets a C average for all those categories, and its something to be said if a movie can do that well in so many aspects; but the great movies are those that get an A+ in the one thing that they are focused on.

watch it.

This is by far the most awful movie I have ever seen. Not a single scene made at any sense at all, everything was rushed and confusing, no one explained the world of the story besides "there's a war going on between night watchers and day watchers". The picture was out of focus all the time, the music was really distracting.

Every detail in Nochnoy Dozor we have already seen, most of the times much better. I'm talking about Lord of the rings, the Matrix, Blade, Constantine, the X-Files, Star Wars ... This movie is not independent or new and I definitely won't watch its sequels.

Why did it get so good ratings and reviews? Must be because it's a Russian production ...

A thousand years ago two forces met on the battle field, the warriors of light and the army of darkness. As the battle raged, the two forces proved to be exactly balanced, and so a decision was made maintain that balance and the two sides came to an agreement that neither side would breach. And to enforce the agreement two watches were formed: the Day Watch and the Night Watch. The Night Watch is composed of the forces of good who work keep the forces of evil from breaching the agreement and vice versa. The watches continue today... Warriors of virtue (some are shape changers, others have less definable talents) who fight against rogue vampires, witches, etc. Both sides are usually invisible to normal people unless they choose to be seen, except for a few "others" who can see and interact with the immortals. And therein lies the instability, because the "others" also have the potential to become immortals and they can go toward either side. Plus, there is a prophecy of a "Great One" who will shift the balance, plunging the world into an era of light or darkness.

Great action, good use of CGI and practical effects. Excellent soundtrack. It reminded me quite a bit of Jeunet's directional style (CITY OF LOST CHILDREN), but more than anything the movie reminded me of the recent Bollywood sci-fi actioner RUDRAKSCH.

This one is definitely recommended if you are tired of the same old Hollywood formula crap. Especially if you are a fan of Horror/Action with a dash of Sci-Fi.

With just over a $4 M budget, you would think there's only so much that a sci-fi/fantasy film can accomplish, but "Night Watch" proves exception with its well-imagined and executed effects courtesy the creative mind of Timur Bekmambetov. The style of the film alone helps to cover up the weak structure of the script.

"Night Watch," based on the novel by Sergei Lukyanenko, is sort of an anthropomorphic imagining of good versus evil, where good/light and evil/darkness are manifested as special individuals called "Others" who have been at peace since a truce long ago that said all would be able to choose freely between good or evil. Naturally there needs to be means of enforcing this truce, so there's a Night Watch (good guys) and a Day Watch (bad guys) who make sure both sides play nice. This of course becomes a lot harder with a prophecy suggesting someone will come along and his/her choice will throw off the balance forever. It's really a classic sci-fi "secret supernatural beings living among humans fighting a war of sorts" premise.

From the get-go, this movie is hard to follow. That concept gets presented fairly quickly and the script doesn't really give us any extra help in understanding who is what. It's hard to tell who is on what side and why and it hurts the film throughout whether its the lack of connection felt to the characters or that you're fighting just to get it the whole time that you have trouble appreciating much else.

Also important to know is that this film is not action-oriented. Although there are fight scenes, these are hardly action sequences as a moviegoer exposed to Western action movies might define them. It's more of a thriller story with lots of special effects and creative editing to bring the secret world of good vs. evil to life.

Bekmambetov is the key to making this movie work. He realizes that with the right editing techniques, anything low budget can still come across effectively. One early shot of the main character Anton taking out a vampire combines a little bit of special effects, illusion and make-up, but it is filmed in quick sequence that makes it all appear simultaneous like it is a CGI effect. It's creative thinking (and a few slow motion shots too).

"Nochnoy Dozor" or "Night Watch" as it is called in America, is a dark horror/fantasy that has gained lots of publicity because of its status as Russias first blockbuster. This came both as a gift and as a curse as while many critics praised its stylish visuals, and its very original take on an otherwise clichéd plot, many other critics labeled its notorious Hollywood influence as a cheap attempt to imitate American action film-making. While there is some truth in both statements, "Night Watch" has more good than bad, and even when it is definitely a Hollywood-style action movie, it is at times better and more entertaining than most of what the American cinema has created in this decade.

Based on a series of very successful novels by Sergei Lukyanenko, "Nochnoy Dozor" is the beginning of the final battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. Unknown to humans, supernatural beings collectively named as "The Others" exist and take part in a war that has been going on since the beginning of time. However, a truce was declared centuries ago and now every Other must decide between the Light and the Darkness, and to keep the balance between them two special forces are created: the Day Watch and the Night Watch. Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky), our main character, is a member of the Night Watch; Light's special team to watch over the Others of the Darkness.

Timur Bekmambetov, a Russian director who so far had only directed small B-Movies in the U.S., returns home with a blast to give life to Lukyanenko's fantastic world in this first chapter of a trilogy that seems to be set to become a cult-classic. Bekmambetov's visual style is definitely influenced by Hollywood modern action/horror films, however, he manages to keep a balance between the special effects and the character development. This is what really sets "Nochnoy Dozor" apart from its American influences, Bekmambetov slowly builds up his characters and manages to make Lukyanenko's complex world understandable and very attractive.

It is probably this dedication to the plot what makes "Night Watch" a bit slow in some parts. As the movie is the initial chapter of a trilogy it focuses more on setting up the plot rather than on actual action and this may turn away people expecting non-stop action. Still, the action set pieces are very well designed and Bekmambetov allows us to explore this fantastic world of vampires, sorcerers and other supernaturals with a lucid camera-work and Gothic atmospheres.

Konstantin Khabensky as Anton Gorodetsky makes a good lead, quite atypical from the common hero of this kind of stories. He has that everyday man look and at the same time is quite believable as the unlikely hero. Galina Tyunina plays Olga, a sorceress who is assigned to aid Anton and although we don't see much of her character, her performance is quite spot on and has good chemistry with Konstantin. It is worth to mention that the dark industrial setting of Moscow acts like another character, and Bekmambetov makes the most of his locations with a good use of lighting and special effects.

"Night Watch"'s main problem is the one that earned it the hate of prominent Russian critics: at times it tries too much to prove that "Russians can make blockbusters too", and by doing it the movie gains the same flaws as the movies it attempts to imitate. While the lead character is perfectly developed, and the whole plot itself is well explored; most of the supporting characters receive few time to shine.

Timur Bekmambetov has done a very good work in this first episode of "Nochnoy Dozor", however, there is a lot of work to do and hopefully all the flaws the movie has will be corrected in the second part, as this is only an introduction to this brave new world. The movie has successfully created a thrilling story with enough suspense and emotion that the wait for the second part becomes difficult to stand. 7/10

I really wanted to like this movie. How often do Russian flicks get such a hype as this one and do make it big across the globe? Unfortunately, there's not much to like in this film (which is being advertised as Guardianes de la Noche in Mexico, if anybody wants to know). First of all, there's a lot of elements from other movies and comics we've seen before. There's something that looks taken out from the first Highlander movie, something that looks taken out from the Hellblazer comics and Constantine movie, the music sounds like the Graeme Revell score from The Crow –which was done to greater impact on that movie–, something from Hellboy (the truck scene), and there's even something from The Sixth Sense lying around. That's enough to keep you distracted from the main plot because all those elements really resemble the ones you've already seen. Anyway, there's a lot of eye candy, but nothing on the development of the plot suits the spectacular visuals which, by the way, aren't that spectacular either. Some things that happen and are really vital to the story fall flat. You know the overcome of the story from the moment they show the kid, and when you get to see it, it's not really powerful or moving. So we end up with a lot of brilliant visual ideas at the service of a really poor story –come on, light versus darkness stories have been around since the dawn of civilization, so we needed something else to give us the sense of a really apocalyptic setting. But that 'something' never hits the screen. And I also think the rock music the used in certain scenes was somewhat annoying. The movie holds so much potential, but it's totally wasted because of it's driven towards the visual aspect and never stops to make these characters seem real and sad, which I think it tries to do desperately. While I was watching it I was wondering "Jesus, are they really going to try to do a trilogy out of this? Because it's pretty boring and unoriginal".

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.

Not a horror film, and not a science fiction film, Nochnoy Dozor (in its Russian), or Night Watch to us English speakers, is a film which fuses together the genres of fantasy, science fiction as well as elements of horror to provide an interesting first instalment, to the "Watch" trilogy. Night Watch forms yet another construct in the 'one hero to save them all' mould, and while never providing us as an audience with a overriding 'wow' factor, is different and intriguing enough to hold its own and provide a good "watch" (pun intended).

Bringing forth the clichéd (it can never be un-clichéd now, unfortunately) notion of the age old battle of good versus evil, which in this case has transpired for centuries, Night Watch brings forth mythical beasts such as vampires and werewolves, while throwing into the mix shape-shifters and various new "powers" to those associates of either the good (night watch) or bad (day watch), and if that confuses you then suffice to say this film is not for you.

One must remember that this is the first segment of a trilogy, a continuing story, and while working entirely by itself does leave with a rather engrossing cliff hanger. The construct itself is only semi-explained. Notions such as 'the gloom' are glossed over, while there are no real character studies or rather, enough time attributed to any of the subsidiary characters to truly be immersed. This is not to say Night Watch fails as a film, as our protagonist is a bemused, dazed and rather lost man, which is purposefully done to draw us into this particular world, because at times it leaves us in a daze and somewhat confused. Issues click into place on multiple viewings, but on closer analysis not much particularly happens and you wonder if you've missed something. Prophecies are recited (not as if that's another clichéd notion), and the race is on to find "the one", whilst some will be racing to find "the off" button.

I do enjoy this film, it's merely that from a critical standpoint there aren't enough positives to compensate for the lack of a developed enough plot. The ending is extremely striking (no, not because it has finished) and for all its faults leaves you wanting to see the conclusion, the next instalment. The acting is amiable also, despite the script lacking enough coherency to truly drive back its point (and yes I did comprehend what was happening) and the important connotations the film is trying to make, the points it wishes to prove are sometimes lost, and it is a shame. Night Watch has some interesting ideas, and while regurgitating clichéd notions by the truck load, does so in a fresher manner than most making it watchable and possibly even enjoyable, but it is never awe-inspiring. The ending may, as it did with myself, make you anticipate the sequel, or continuation, but unfortunately Night Watch is not special enough to warrant higher praise. Compared to Hollywoods attempts to create a similar atmosphere it certainly is a bright spot, but compared to cinema in the wider context its impact is somewhat dimmed.

Having seen this film in Russia, it is an honest fear of mine that it'll gain any popularity or even a hype in the West.

The popularity of this film has to be understood and can't really be shared in the West. The Nochnoy dozor books were awfully popular in Russia. I can't really comment on the quality of those books, having only casually read the first few a bit, but I can say that if you look at the popularity of those books you would realise that it didn't really matter to the Russians how good or bad the film would be. They *wanted* a film and any would do. In my opinion, the Harry Potter movies weren't bad, but imagine they were. Would the first Harry Potter film not still have been a huge hit and even hugely hyped by the avid book readers, just because it managed to put the books into film-form? The same holds true here, but it has to be remembered that the West doesn't share the hype that the Night Watch books gained in Russia. I would be highly surprised if this movie popped in on the Oscars, as I've heard many Russians suggest, and would definitely be insulted if next to the many quality films produced by foreign countries including Russia this one would be listed. Many recent Russian films, like Sibirskiy tsiryulnik or Zvezda or Vostok-Zapad or even Voina, deserved the Oscar more than this film.

It is interesting to Sibirskiy tsiryulnik (the Barber of Siberia) in comparison to this. Mikhalkov's ambitious project was seen by many to be little more than an attempt to impress the West. This assertion is not fair, but it does reveal a lot about the flaws of that film, which sometimes hung right in between Western and Russian styles, and other border-crossing attempts, like Viona or this film. Voina fails in giving an otherwise excellent film an American ending. This films fails by giving a somewhat usable premise a heavy Hollywood coating.

The acting is, to be honest, not that good and the storyline is confusing for those that are not avid readers of the Night Watch series, e.g. everyone outside Russia. This does not kill off the film though, it is killed by the script (which I will not go into in detail except to say that it is confusing and implausible up to a point of annoyance) and by the awful camera-works, which feels like mix of Russian styles, Matrixized actions and shocky Blair Witch filming. The net result is one hell of a head-ache and no clue as to what you just looked at.

Maybe, just maybe, this film has a leg to stand on as a simple action-film with a nice fantastic background, weren't it for the confusing plot and the poorly directed action scenes. I would advise everyone except the Night Watch-fans to stay well away from this work.

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!

I saw this in a video store and the story sounded really interesting. I hesitated to rent it at first because it was a foreign flick and i've been disappointed on several occasions with foreign films. After months of passing it by i rented it and i must say i was very entertained. American film has gotten to the point where showing the most over the top action and stunt sequences and special fx has taken precedence over interesting storyline. Also they go so over the top with it, you feel like they are insulting your intelligence. With Night Watch the effects were enough to keep you interested(but not ridiculous),the story was at the forefront where it belongs, it was interesting enough that you were distracted from the English dub and entertaining enough that i watched it a second time before returning it. Kudos to the cast and crew of Nochnoy Dozor, now i can't wait for the sequel.

Went quite a long way to see this film. Was I impressed? No. Of the five other people who entered with us, four of them walked out about 20 minutes into the film. Why? Bad acting, truly bad script, bad plot... the list goes on. Not only is the whole idea of good guys versus bad guys (how can you mess that up?) so poorly implemented its laughable, the production staff seemed to have spent more time making the subtitles change colour and swish in and out than actually making a good film. As for the filmography, the director seemingly went for gritty but got sweaty and snotty instead. I cannot believe I actually paid five pounds to see this gibberish. Even something like Ghosts of Mars (which ain't no gem) is light years ahead in terms of entertainment, and thats saying something. I can only advise you that, on the basis of this film, avoid Russian cinema like the plague.