Day Watch (Dnevnoi Dozor, 2007)
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Writer: Timur Bekmambetov
Starring: Konstantin Khabensky, Mariya Poroshina, Vladimir Menshov, Dmitry Martynov
Language: Russian
Runtime: 132 Minutes approx.
Age Rating: 15
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Horror
Reviewed by Ross Miller
A thing I will never understand about the majority of the movie going public is the fact that they will be turned off with and won’t watch subtitled films. And for that very reason, no matter what wonderful things it may have in store, a lot of people won’t see Day Watch. Despite it being better than the big-budget tripe people, judging by box office results, paid to see this year.
Day Watch is the sequel and directly continues the story of 2004’s Night Watch. It tells the story of two sets of “Others”, light and dark who maintain a truce and balance in the world of the humans. The Day Watch (the dark others) spend their time searching the streets (during the daytime) to make sure the “light Others” don’t break the truce and the Night Watch is vice-versa. If there is any blood spilt between the two sets of Others an apocalyptic war will break out and ultimately bring about the end of the world.
The biggest plus point of Day Watch is the visuals. Absolutely stunning to look at, rivalling the summer blockbusters like Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End despite the decisively smaller budget. It just goes to show that you don’t have to spend a good chunk of a billion dollars to have a film impressive in the special effects department. And with the exception of a couple of obvious moments in Day Watch the special effects aren’t there just to show off but are a genuine and necessary tool to thrust the storyline forward. Along with the in-your-face stuff you also have smaller, more intricate visuals that are so well weaved into the overall arc of the film that they are easily overlooked. Effects such as a world between the humans and the Others known as “the gloom” which is shown in a surreal, abstract fashion or the effect of a red sports car driving along the side of building. The makers of the film certainly know what they are doing in the effects department.
My biggest complaint with the previous Night Watch was that it was all a little too much. There was too much going on, too many ideas all fighting for their place in the film and in the end it came off as really convoluted and a bit of a mess to be honest. I am sad to point out that Day Watch has the same problems as its predecessor, although admittedly not as much. For the most part the film works in what it is trying to accomplish. And that paired with the visuals to pull it off make for an engaging fantasy experience. But just some, not a whole lot, of the ideas are just too ambitious and taken a bit too far that they come off as silly or sometimes just plain ludicrous.
To go along with how ludicrous a lot of it is we have the confusing element as well. Although not as confusing or convoluted as Night it still had a fairly strong doze. I am not someone who can’t handle something complex and I don’t need things spoon fed to me but I just felt that this needed a little more explanation than it had.
One of the coolest and most enjoyable things about this, and its predecessor, is presented in the subtitles. People often are turned off by the thought of having to perform the very difficult task of watching something and reading at the same time (note the sarcasm). And the people behind these films have realized this and subsequently made it fun to read them. For example if someone is screaming a line of dialogue then the subtitles might shake, be more blurry and might vibrate to the sound of the voice. Or there might be mention of blood and the subtitles will be red and will run down the wall in a fitting fashion. It may sound a little iffy but trust me it gives a whole new, unique reason to watch and enjoy it.
Another thing I liked about this film, as I do with most foreign stuff, is the fact that the faces are almost all unrecognisable. It is even better in a big budget film such as this. We are not distracted by the fact that it is Johnny Depp or Tom Cruise in the lead role, we have no preconceived notions as to how the characters should act based on the actor. Unfortunately though the lack of any A-list actors may not bring much attention from the general public, which just goes to show how clouded some people are when it comes to movies in general.
Contrary to popular opinion, from where I am sitting, you unfortunately need to have seen Night Watch to grasp the sequel. Although there is a short, two-minute round up of what happened in the first film at the beginning of this one I feel it isn’t enough to completely avoid confusion. Because I saw the first film before I saw this it was not a problem for me but I think it would be for anyone who hadn’t.
I am not as big of a fan of these films as a lot of other people, although I still like them a lot. To me they have some of the coolest special effects out there but with a sometimes overly ambitious storyline built in-between and around them. They are certainly better than some of the big-budget crap we get forced onto us by the big studios. I for one would watch this series many times over before I would sit through something like Pirates 3 or Spider-Man 3 again.
Day Watch is not without its flaws, a lot of which I feel I will be in the minority in having them, but it is still a visually stunning, thrill inducing experience. It is sometimes overly complicated and a little (well a lot) on the ambitious side at times but overall it is most certainly worth the Watch.
