Day Watch
Here Is What You Need To Know:
Hey, I kind of liked "Night Watch", the 2004 odd but fun take on the supernatural from Russia. If you haven’t seen it, give it a rent soon. But "Day Watch" from director Timur Bekmambetov, well, “is no so good”. There are two groups, the Light and the Dark and they are in this eternal battle, you all know the story, and there is some mumbo-jumbo thrown in about the Great One who is coming, etc.
While the first film, "Night Watch" was a bit hard to follow as well, "Day Watch" really cranks up the old confusion meter big time. Timur expects that you live, breathe and even poop this universe. I mean, I am into this sort of flick and I was struggling to remember details from the first film. Speaking of the first film, "Night Watch" was really original and had a “cool” feel. Most of that is gone with "Day Watch". In fact, "Day Watch" is kind of a confusing jumbled film that wanders around like a drunk with Vodka poisioning. Now that said, there is a interesting love story between women, well sort of anyway, but its definitely not enough to save the film.
What Was Cool:
-Not much works in "Day Watch," but some of the visuals are worth a look, such as a sports car speeding on the side of a highrise building.
-The whole “Chalk” mechanism in the film is cute.
-The way the credits are done, happen to be innovative.
-The behind the scenes on the DVD are sort of interesting.
-The ending is visually intense.
What Was Stupid:
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the entire film is stupid, its just seems unnecessary and oh so very disjointed. Maybe you didn’t have to be Russian to get the first film and you have to be Russian to get the second film. The entire father-son dynamic thing, oh God, has that been done.
The Film's Real Genius or Geniuses:
Timur definitely has some big talent, but I don’t know if "Day Watch" is a perfect showcase of that talent.
Overlooked Performance/Accomplishment:
The end sequence is pretty impressive. You’ll have to watch the behind the scenes to get the full impact.
Story D (What story there is, happens to be, cliched. I was disappointed.)
Acting B- (The acting is good all the way around.)
Portrayal of Women C+ (Progressive in a Soviet sort of way, I guess.)
Visuals and Special Effects B+ (There are some really great visuals in the film, but somehow they lack the luster of the first film.)
Visuals-Set Design/Props C+
Wardrobe/Costumes A (Boy did these people earn their pay!)
Style/Sex Appeal B (Sexy at moments.)
Enjoyability Grade C-
Home Theater/HD Factor B+
Gut Check (Level of Studio Executive Guts) C (It’s a sequel.)
Overall Innovation C (The work involved in the final battle earns Day Watch a couple of points..)
Overall Grade C- (I can’t recommend it, even though I love seeing “big films” come out of places like Russia. The film just has too many problems. If you are going to tackle Day Watch, I can only hope you are a massive fan of Night Watch. Massive.)
A Little Fact About Cherie:
-Russian women can be scoring hot, or at least I believe so
|
