Watch this movie and you'll need a short attention span, say about ten or fifteen minutes. That's basically the movie right there because nothing really connects or hangs together longer than that. Each little chunk must have been storyboarded by different people who did not have access to the complete script. Not only doesn't the movie make any sense even if you watch it all, it doesn't make any sense in the little ten to fifteen minute chunks either. Watch this movie at the risk of induced dementia.

NightWatch is an absorbingly refreshing film, that does have some real nasty moments, even at the end with Josh Brolin, having to sacrifice a finger in a life and death moment. Mcgregor who doesn't slip that well into an American accent, is an uni student, who gets a job as a nightwatchman at a morgue, where there some funny goings on, as it appears a serial killer is lurking about, and is setting our protagonist, Martin (Mcgregor) up, as a prime suspect. Nolte is strong as always as a cop, who befriends Martin, where Arquette seems wasted as Mcgregor's girlfriend as is John C Reilly as Nolte's partner. Nightwatch is a strong taut and entertaining thriller, with an memorably impactful start. Josh Brolin who's Martin's best friend here, unlike our quiet Martin, plays a real big mouth, di..head, which has us believe heavily like they do in other thrillers, he is the killing hand, as by his behavior, which at times, is unsettling to watch, with some of his psycho traits, like that bar scene where he really lets these bad dudes have it, (one of whom you've seen in many other short, bad dude roles from Renegades to One Tough Bastard) before they have him. Though Nightwatch does have it's shortcomings, what it manages to do is make for a quiet tense and unnerving ride, one like I said is refreshingly original. One standout scene in a restaurant, has a hooker, who's there for Brolin's amusement. Mcgregor is very good here as is Brolin, before he became well known, while character actor, Brad Douff is again great as another of the morgue's workers. An obscure film that needs more exposure.

The story is a bit of a thriller cliché, unfortunately: nice guy protagonist gets mixed up in a noir-ish murder mystery, with his asshole best friend's increasingly creepy behavior triggering all sort of paranoia. However, whereas this movie ends up using a lot of clichéd tropes from the genre, I still enjoyed it a lot. For one thing, the acting is really great, and the cast is full of actors I really love. While the story is pretty straightforward, if you're a fan of the genre, you're probably pretty forgiving. What some people saw as brutal, mean-spirited, and violent, I saw as a memorably dark movie. Sure, sometimes the atmosphere comes off as a Se7en clone, but it was well-done, despite that.How much you like this movie probably depends on how tired you are of these clichés. I can totally understand why someone would give this movie a 5/10, but I'm a bit of a junkie when it comes to thrillers. If you're looking for something new and original, you might be better off avoiding this movie.

Though somewhat flawed, "Nightwatch" delivers the suspense and blood, although in the end logic flies out the window. Ewan McGregor is perfectly cast as a law student with the bizarre job of guarding dead bodies in the medical examiners office. Nick Nolte plays a police detective very well, and John C. Reilly is his sidekick. In addition there is Josh Brolin as McGregor's eccentric friend, Patricia Arquette as a bewildered girlfriend, and Brad Dourif as an ultra strange doctor. The film is very creepy, unpredictable, with at least a bunch of "red herrings", and builds tension nicely. Only the somewhat rushed conclusion fails to convince. What precedes it however is highly entertaining. Recommended, although it is not for the squeamish. - MERK