Customer Reviews

Day Watch / Dnevnoy Dozor - (PAL/R5 - Russian Import)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, not as impressive as the first one. Partly because Nightwatch (first part) showed off all the great ideas in their movie making.
Acting is much better that in Nightwatch.
Soundtrack could use some editing : sometimes action on the screen does not confirm to the music on top of that. Good followup story, but sometimes dialogs are too complex to follow. Seems like with this movie director falls to a trap of "short shots" 1-3 seconds shots - personaly for me it's a little annoying, but it's everyone's personal preference. Giving it four stars.

Great job - keep it up!

--
V.

Pleasantly suprised by the high quality of this Russian movie. Good story and great visuals.

Movie is good, but kind of hard to follow. It's a "rent" or Netflix.

The music in this second part of the trilogy really stood out, it was so pretty - on the mark..music you wanted to hear again.

Fitting for a series that is so unusual and memorable; well done!

The basics don't sound like anything special: "They" are among us, supernatural forces in opposition, poised for all-out war. Some object of huge mystical power is in play, the only thing that can save humanity from the vampires and others. You know, the usual.

That's the last thing that's usual about this outstanding movie. It's tight-paced - a cliche I might never use again, but if you miss a minute of this movie, you've missed something that matters. Effects are exceptional, from the minor touches you could miss up to set-pieces you will never forget. Some of the characters go almost (but not quite) over the top, possibly in terms of uniquely Russian stereotypes. Even the subtitles have a little extra going for them - a bit of fun that could easily have been driven into the ground.

Lots remains unexplained all the way to the end, but might have made sense if I had seen the first movie. No matter, it's dark, powerful, and exciting. And somehow, I think only a Russian creative team could bring such mastery to scenes of urban desolation.

-- wiredweird

(reviewing a subtitled theater presentation in the US - I'll move this review when there's a listing for that version)

Just a heads up, the Pathfinder DVD has a intro preview of Day Watch and it says it's coming to DVD soon, so for those who might think of buying a R5 import, just hold off a little while.

I rate this review as 5 stars because the trailer on the Pathfinder DVD looked awesome. Much better than Night Watch.

Very free fantasy, continuation of the adventures of Light and Dark bands of super-human Russian (or something like it) trying to salvage their relationship. Everything is inconsequential but also extreme. It represents well the Russian character, or at least its stereotype: it looks like a hard night drinking, a lot of lights and nothing really happening. But in its own terms is better than the feeble attempts of the American industry to impress us with CGI that is done cheaper in Eastern Europe. The director of this film would do an incredible second unit helmet in greener lands. Is this cinema? Well, is more cinema than some script-based attempts at drama which I saw lately ("Transamerica", for example). At least the man here thought about something called frame.