Many, many, MANY moons ago, I watched a deliciously weird movie from our Russians friends. I loved it, because the Russian bent is so unusual to the western mind. It was strange and exciting, although I never knew the the name of it. I have thought about it a number of times since, hoping I would catch it again, but never have. Still, this English overdubbed Russian movie has all the elements of that deliciously strange movie - strange cinematography, little snippets of weirdness so easy to miss and story elements that makes no effort to explain itself so you are forced to pay attention. I have finally found another wonderful piece of Russian weirdness that I haven't seen the likes of for years, and it was great fun. Something like what you would expect to see in an alternative cinema like the Dendy. What is even better is that this is a sequel, so I still have the original to look forward to. It's a little bit more sexual than I would prefer but such is the world of movies. The introduction of the beautiful Alyssa in the red sports car will blow you away! And the Russian penchant for realistic alternative history is also there. Great fun. Oh, and what is about? I guess you could call it a spy thriller or crime drama in the world of vampires. 'Nuff said. So if you are a fan of action and don't mind it mixed in with the strange and unusual, this is a must see.

Night Watch personally was neither a great or terrible film, if anything it was kind of a mixed bag. Its sequel Day Watch was lacking in a lot of areas and while Night Watch was far from great it was better than this. There are definitely things to like about Day Watch. Like its predecessor it is stunning to look at, it's beautifully shot and the scenery is very Russian, very like Russian fairy-tale quality. The special effects are also great, and while occasionally erratic so is the music score with its fair share of rousing and haunting moments. If there's anything also that Day Watch does better than Night Watch is that the action sequences have more energy and cohesion, some of the stunts are a wonder to behold. The acting is not very consistent though, there are no complaints about Konstantin Khabensky who's great but supporting roles could have a tendency to feel over-compensated(Viktor Verzhbitsky) or vapid(Maria Poroshina). The story is a mess, the actual structure is very dense but more of a problem was that there was almost too much going on or written in. Things often got confused or unexplained, even both, while the pacing gets tedious towards the end and the film feels thirty minutes too long, not to mention the cop-out of an ending. There is a great Russian fantasy/sci-fi atmosphere evoked, but the overlong length, drawn out pacing and messy narrative make a film devoid of wonder, thrills or genuine excitement outside of the action sequences, special effects and stunts. The characters are fantasy clichés and next to nothing is done with them, we know they are heroes and villains and that there's a conflict of light and dark(good vs.evil) but little else. The script is the same as the story, often underwritten and stilted with the humour feeling out-of-place. The direction is the kind that does a great job with the visual side of things but any of the assets that give substance are largely ignored, it's a little more refined this time around but can be both erratic and ponderous. Again, not a terrible directing job but a case of pluses and minuses. In conclusion, no problems visually and musically but the script and story are another story put together. 4/10 Bethany Cox

It was quite a few years ago that I watched the first movie in this series, Nightwatch. It had a quote on the jacket from Quentin Tarantino saying how this Nightwatch was as spell binding as The Lord of the Rings, and how it reminds him of works done by Ridley Scott. High praise indeed.So, I bought it. I was extremely disappointed. The movie is very slow paced. Borderline boring. It is a very interesting idea that could have used a Hollywood-like budget.Some of us may have watched some European movies during the 70s and 80s. Those movies always seems strange and boring to me, with weird music and a laid back style. Similar to older Canadian movies. This is how I found Daywatch to be. Although it is better than the prequel Nightwatch just because it's not so boring, but it never really delivers the coolness, anticipation and edge of seat action I would come to expect from a movie of this genera. It's a nice attempt, but it doesn't quite reach its goal. They also seem to completely skip character development. There's not too much of a plot, at least it's not explained all that well. The overall story of both movies is that an agreement has been reached between the forces of good and the forces of evil. They have rules in place to prevent a war between the two sides such as one that happened in their past that almost destroyed both sides. So, they have a Nightwatch and a Daywatch that are sort of like cops keeping an eye on each side to make sure no one breaks the rules. Of course, the rules get broken and these "cops" have to to break some heads.If you're really bored anyway, and you're in the rental store or a big box movie section, or even looking over the list of available movies for download at your favorite website, AND you just can't find anything you want to watch that you haven't already seen AND you just HAVE to find ANYTHING to alleviate the boredom, then by all means if you see one of these two movies go ahead and pick it up. Especially if you can get it for a cheap price (like $5).If you have something better to do or watch, then skip these movies until you're desperate.

I enjoyed Night Watch when I watched it recently so looked forward to seeing this sequel. I was not disappointed, in fact I think I enjoyed this one slightly more although that might be due to this one having the correct English subtitles, not just the "English for the hearing impaired" ones that described every sound.The film opens in the distant past with Tamerlane attacking a remote fortress to capture The Chalk of Fate, an item with powers that enables the person who writes with it to change history. We then move to the present where Anton and his new partner Svetlana are called to the scene of an attack on woman, they give chase to the assailant and Anton recognises him as his son when he snatches his hat off. Day Watch leader Zavulon sends Alisa to see Anton to explain get his son will be executed for breaking the truce if Anton doesn't retrieve the evidence from. While he is doing that a murder takes place for which he is framed.In order to clear his name and prevent an apocalypse he must take drastic measures including switching bodies with Olga and then seek the Chalk of Fate. Of course he isn't the only person after the Chalk and the Day Watch have their own plans which if realised will not be good for humanity.Once again the action is exciting although I thought the scene where Alisa drives a car on the side of a building went beyond believability even in a film of this type. The acting seemed good to me although not speaking Russian I can't judge their delivery that well. I'd not have guessed that Zhanna Friske, who plays Alisa, was a singer rather than an actress if I hadn't read it here. As with "Night Watch" there isn't anything deep about this film, but if you want to relax and have some mindless fun you can do a lot worse than this.The DVD I saw included an English sound track so those people who aren't keen on subtitles can watch the film too, I can't comment on how good the dub is though as I've only watched the subtitled version.