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Night Watch - Blu-ray (2005) Certificate 15

Night Watch - Blu-ray

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Rated 3.0 stars
Average rating
(63%)
 
Starring: Konstantin Khabensky | Vladimir Menshov | Valeri Zolotukhin
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Studio: 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Run time: 109 mins
Collections: Blu-ray
Genres: Horror | World Cinema
Languages: Russian
Dubbed: English
Hearing-impaired: English
Subtitles: English, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, French, German, Danish, Swedish
Released: October 06, 2008

NIGHT WATCH is an old-fashioned good vs. evil parable that relies on some thoroughly modern special effects to ensnare its audience. Set in present-day Moscow, the movie begins with a quick skip back through the centuries to inform us how a delicate truce was struck between the forces of Light and Dark. These forces still exist in Moscow, with both sides keeping a close eye on each other as they attempt to disguise themselves from the earth's mere mortals. NIGHT WATCH's central character is Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky), who is defined as an 'Other' by the legions of Light and Dark. Anton and his cohorts live as vampires, and await the arrival of a virgin who will announce the resumption of hostilities between the forces of Light and Dark; as the film progresses, it becomes apparent that an epic battle is just around the corner. One of the biggest films of all time in its native Russia, director Timur Bekmambetov’s NIGHT WATCH positions itself somewhere in between THE MATRIX and BLADE in the pantheon of CGI-fueled sci-fi flicks. Although the plot is mind-boggling and occasionally verges on the incomprehensible, Bekmambetov is presumably using this first part of the trilogy to lure viewers into his wild cinematic world. Impressively, Bekmambetov's film was shot on a tiny budget, but it belies its meager origins. Even the English subtitles are integrated into several scenes, with words zipping across the screen and melting into the action as a heavy-metal soundtrack thumps away. Knowing he is set to film two sequels, Bekmambetov leaves his audience hanging as NIGHT WATCH nears its climax, with his second installment (DAY WATCH) promising further FX-laden feuding and--in an intriguing twist--an English-language climax to the trilogy with DUSK WATCH.

Highest rated reviews

3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5.0 stars
Excellent

A Customer from Lancaster, 16th November, 2008

I really enjoyed this, the special effects is well executed, the CGI works well within the movie and I like the casting for the characters. The Blu-ray version is also superb, a candidate to show off your HD screen for sure. This is my first film of the trilogy, I'm now going to rent the sequel Day-watch. 'rent it! you fool!'

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2 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 3.0 stars
A decent remake

Tino from from Glasgow, 14th October, 2008

Not quite as enthralling as the original 90s version, and I'm not sure if it's because of the English language vs Russian language, but I found this version much less intense. Still worth a watch as the fidelity shines through.

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Rated 2.0 stars
A bit weak, really.

A Customer from London, 3rd August, 2010

I confess that I don't know much about Russian action/horror films, so not sure how this compares to other films in the genre. I was, however, a bit bored by this. The special effects and cinematography are great but, as with so many European action films, it's ends up being a case of style over substance, with little to no continuity, just gross-out/visually impressive set pieces that do not blend well together. For example, to help the main character out in his investigation, he is allocated a partner, in the form of an owl, which turns into a woman, in a particularly dramatic and gross transformation. The scene is impressive, but the woman has barely any input into the rest of the film, so ultimately the scene is pointless. A bit weak, really.

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0 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 1.0 stars
sorry but miss it

A Customer from Spilsby nr skegness, 26th January, 2009

full of flash but no substace again,,,,more understandable in russian,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I WONDER,,WATCHED DUBBED ?????????????? expected more as the director was responsable for the uks....wanted....a great film this last summer,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,disapointed badly,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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