Night Watch - What If Underworld Made Sense?

Damn those douche bags at News Corp. It is not enough that they run Fox New Channel and Weekly World News (that's probably where they get their fair and balance from), but they encourage dubs of live-action films.

Side A - English Wide Screen.
Side B - Russian Wide Screen.

Manipulative pricks! Guess what side I inadvertently had placed down into the player.

Honestly, I cannot blame them for this fine print trap. With the success of the "Underworld" franchise, they needed a product to cash in on the Vampire v. "Choose you own demon" market, and they had to make it accessible to the teens and weirdos who want to be bloodsuckers.

Bloodsuckers who put the film quality behind coolness of premise was the audience 20th Century Fox imported Timur Bekmambetov's "Night Watch (Nochnoy Dozor)", a film that possesses a greater understanding of the hidden world than either of (I've yet to see "Rise of the Lycans") most recent "Underworld" features could hope to have had.

To Len Wiseman, Danny McBride, and Kevin Grevioux credit, they were a year ahead of NW, but could you imagine Kate Beckingsale in a vampire flick where the crew took the time to get it right?

Cinema Intelligence Agency - Night Watch

In the medieval era (I almost said medieval times, how tacky), the extraordinary humans called "others" were at war. Some fought for the goodness of human kind, others for the evils. Their struggles would have resulted in both races' destruction, so the leaders of both sides chose to form a truce. To ensure neither side dominated, the light side would patrol the night, and the dark side would be the enforcers of the day.

This truce had remained intact for the greater part of a millennia until a virgin is found to be the center of a vortex of damnation. With her comes a prophecy. A child will appear and the side they choose will be destined to rule over all. The alcoholic Anton, a night watchman, seems to be the only one who may shape the world's destiny.

By no means have we mastered the LARP genre, but I have not seen "Night Watch's" sequel, so I cannot abandon hope.

Some might be disappointed that the "Others" do not pretend to be elitist, but sticking to human nature makes these characters far more easier to relate to. It leave the audience with a greater hope that this underworld might be real, and questions the immediate response of "where do I sign up?"

The film focusing on a character who is still trying to accept what he is works out well. Anton's struggles are those that many of us face everyday, so he is the most believable character in the whole of this rising subgenre.

The most important thing about the characters is that they are not amazed by what happens. They may end up getting caught of guard, but the moment passes and they do not think they are special because of it. This allows the events and twists to occur without the audience calling shenanigans on this film.

If the lack of BS and focus on character's feeling wasn't enough to piss off the poser vamp, they may get fed up with the lack of violence. There are plenty of intense sequences, and the film flows very well, but there are not a lot of showdowns that American movie goers have come to expect from this subgenre.

In other words, this is not a comic book style movie. No Spidey v. Sandman, Storm v. Toad, or Vampire v. Werewolf. I don't think this is a bad thing. "Watchmen" and "X-Men 2" did not have an abundance of showdowns, so why should this?

Unfortunately, with a need for action sequences, a need to direct all of them well is important. There is only one great fight scene, and it is not the climax. A small price for a film that is solidly written, but it leaves me sympathetic towards any girls whose boyfriend always comes to soon.

This film demands a sequel, and I can only hope that it can use all the great characters introduced, but weren't totally explained. If the action sequences are improved, then we might have the best modern fantasy film series of the decade.

Timur Bekmambetov shows his potential of being a great storyteller with "Night Watch." He delivered to us a film that leaves you begging for more in a good way. "Night Watch" shows that Bekmambetov is just a few tweaks from perfection. Can he deliver on the same with "Day Watch" is the only question.