Night Watch is one of those movies that teeters on the border of the horror genre and overlaps into fantasy or sci-fi. It is one of those rare movies where the cgi is actually a benefit. The dark imagery and sleek style alone make this film distinct. Even the subtitles are animated with such care that I was blown away by the attention to overall detail. In this respect, the subsequent Day Watch really dropped the ball. The story in Night Watch is complex and layered such that you can almost justify alternate meanings to the plot. Here I saw parallel universes where the past is ongoing aligned with the present. Adding to the mood of the film was the beautiful Russian dialect. Never watch a dubbed film. It ruins the essence entirely. The direction was eloquent and flowed like paint on canvas, the acting was believable, lighting was adequate, coloration was intense, there was constant movement, and the cgi was visually stunning. This is one of my favorite films and I have only seen the version mass marketed to the US. I understand there is a superior version marketed abroad.

Night Watch seems to be one of those love it or hate it films, and it is easy to see why. For this viewer, it has a fair bit to redeem it but has too many flaws as well to make it good enough, very similar pros and cons for 2007's Wolfhound actually. Night Watch is an excellently made film, the scenery is sumptuous with a dark edge as well, the CGI is well-defined and used appropriately and most of the photography is skilfully done. The music score is terrific as well, it has some beautiful parts, some stirring parts and some haunting parts, and these are used in a way that is effective for each scene and doesn't across as repetitive or jarring. The acting is also quite good, Konstantin Khabensky's lead performance in particular is great and the supporting do a good job in making the most of what they have. The script is a mix here, some of it is literate and thoughtful but there are too many other instances where it sounds awkward and underwritten. Most of the photography is fine, but that is not the case with the action sequences where it is very claustrophobic-feeling and too much like watching a hurriedly-edited music video. The action doesn't really have as much drive or tension as it ought to, it's performed competently but rather stodgily choreographed. The characters are sketched very thinly, we know what types of characters they are but often that's pretty much it. The story is the biggest problem with Night Watch, a good idea but the storytelling is far too rushed and confused with too many things left unexplained or underdeveloped. If the pace had slowed down, things would have been more comprehensible, less choppy and better developed. While the ending is also a let down, it was here where Night Watch felt the most rushed and it felt unfinished and anti-climatic too. Overall, a mixed bag here and this is coming from a Russian fantasy fanatic who hasn't read the book(and you don't necessarily have had to to either like or dislike the film) and judged Night Watch on its own terms. 5/10 Bethany Cox

I watched this movie with some friends it had been sitting in my basement for a while and I thought it was time to open it. The beginning of the movie was really good, the filming was excellent, the costumes wonderful, and we were all excited. But then came the rest of the movie. As the movie continued the plot did not at least for teenagers hopped up on caffeine at 1am.Some tying plot details are missing from this movie making it hard to follow if you aren't paying attention. However, the filming style, the costumes and some of the twists are worth watching the movie in my opinion.If you are looking for a easy to watch horror/thriller/action this is not the movie for you but if you want a story that gets you thinking or for criticism then this movie will work wonders.Also you should probably read the books, I know intend to now, it does seem like a really good story if it had all the details.

Having read all 4 books in this quadrilogy prior to watching both films which have been released, I will say (and I hate when people say this) - the movie does not do the books justice. They have far better character development, the stories are far better developed and they are the sort of books you can't put down. I rarely read books twice, but these books I have gone back to time and time again.I guess I knew what I was expecting. I really loved the Russian pop- culture in both the films and books - it is heaps refreshing!In terms of storyline - I am happy to not see Hollywood predictability for a change. There are a number of things that make this story frustrating to brainwashed film fans: 1. It develops relatively slowly 2. There is a lot of explanation of back story (which the film seems to have edited out at times). 3. (SPOILER ALERT) The whole thing is a giant stalemate which is kinda annoying. Having said that, the idea of good vs evil, is ultimately, a giant stalemate. Without getting into the philosophy of it all, if you peel back the layers of action, fighting, magic etc, this movie has some fantastic unique themes, which many fantasy films never touch on - think about it: when was the last time you watched a fantasy film where good doesn't beat evil. It relies on storytelling, imagination, choice, consequences, self-realisation, tactics etc. Most of the battles centre around tactic, biding your time and waiting for the moment when your sword/power can do the most damage. I found this absolutely brilliant - like a game of chess come to life. I guess a lot of the angst against this film come from people who probably don't understand the story or are brainwashed by Americanised versions of fantasy film.I loved the movie. I loved the books, the themes, the writing etc. I am actually not Russian (Australian by birth), but speak and read it (albeit not as good as English). Given it was originally written in Russian, the dubbing and English translations never give it justice. Somehow, the Russian versions are written beautifully, however the English always translates without the glamour i.e "It was a magnificent day with the sweet smell of dew on the grass" seems to always come across as "It was a good day". Please watch with subtitles - not the dubbed version.Don't hate on this film - I feel at times we are expected to be enchanted by fantasy films with big budgets, fantastic special effects and good triumphing through poor story lines (Hello, Avatar!!). I think if this was American it would have been re-written differently and could potentially be a hollow commercial success. BUT it isn't, so if you can't handle that, don't bother watching the next movies in the trilogy.Sorry if that makes me come across as some hipster "non-maintream" idiot, but this film has depth beyond the effects. I really enjoyed that.