Review of Day Watch (2006) by Tristan E — 04 Jun 2008

If there was ever a time where I am as confused at a film as I was in my Additional Maths class, this is it. Man...anyone who wants to watch this film, a warning, do not watch it without watching its prequel, "Night Watch" or its wikipedia entry. For those who did not have any background knowledge on the story, will be completely lost within the first few minutes into the film. Nevertheless, the story was very ambitious. Even though it was a century old formula of "Good vs Evil" but it was fused with modern setting, laws of governance and agents protecting both sides. A very orignal concept indeed but poorly organized. Bekmanbetov should have followed the sequence as it is in the novel and the result of the diversion is this mess we get. Dispite the messy and confusing storyline, the plot had some strong moments and it has a lot of cool and impressive special effects. This is by far the best Russian CGI effect I have ever seen but it needs to be toned down a little. Using CGI is good but use it with reason and logic is wise, for this film, CGI is everywhere and sometimes, misplaced. It gave off the notion that Bekmambetov was trying too hard to impress.

The acting was one of its kind. The russian actors certainly had a different style and appeal than Hollywood, which made them unique and so refeshing to watch. The very fact that I can feel stong hate towards Yegor and Zavulon proves that their acting was very real and convincing. Excellent job from Russia!

The soundtrack did not rock me but it did press the right buttons. Tension and suspence is the central mechanisms in this film and it did well in the musical department. A cool mix of Russian music and original score was perfect for this film.

In short, this film had a lot of potential. If it had more planning or at least an intro on the previous installment to ease the confusion, it would have been mind blowing. The writers really need to start organzing the events in the film because its simple too messy. A lot of potential but failed to impress. 3 out of 5.