Guardiões da Noite

A tale of the modern, the effect that it can make, on traditions and behaviours, that over years have formed a brake, as barriers are broken, with walls cascading down, lines are crossed, words go unspoken, the Armageddon clock counts down.

The Night Watch keep on searching, for those who overstep the mark, those who crawl out of the shadows, those who live their life in dark; they have visions of the horrors, that may take the world to hell, using seers that they've discovered, a contemporary show and tell.

Anton finds more than he bargained for when hunting down a cursed doctor who is about to bring calamity and chaos reigning down on everything and all.

With just over a $4 M budget, you would think there's only so much that a sci-fi/fantasy film can accomplish, but "Night Watch" proves exception with its well-imagined and executed effects courtesy the creative mind of Timur Bekmambetov. The style of the film alone helps to cover up the weak structure of the script.

"Night Watch," based on the novel by Sergei Lukyanenko, is sort of an anthropomorphic imagining of good versus evil, where good/light and evil/darkness are manifested as special individuals called "Others" who have been at peace since a truce long ago that said all would be able to choose freely between good or evil. Naturally there needs to be means of enforcing this truce, so there's a Night Watch (good guys) and a Day Watch (bad guys) who make sure both sides play nice. This of course becomes a lot harder with a prophecy suggesting someone will come along and his/her choice will throw off the balance forever. It's really a classic sci-fi "secret supernatural beings living among humans fighting a war of sorts" premise.

From the get-go, this movie is hard to follow. That concept gets presented fairly quickly and the script doesn't really give us any extra help in understanding who is what. It's hard to tell who is on what side and why and it hurts the film throughout whether its the lack of connection felt to the characters or that you're fighting just to get it the whole time that you have trouble appreciating much else.

Also important to know is that this film is not action-oriented. Although there are fight scenes, these are hardly action sequences as a moviegoer exposed to Western action movies might define them. It's more of a thriller story with lots of special effects and creative editing to bring the secret world of good vs. evil to life.

Bekmambetov is the key to making this movie work. He realizes that with the right editing techniques, anything low budget can still come across effectively. One early shot of the main character Anton taking out a vampire combines a little bit of special effects, illusion and make-up, but it is filmed in quick sequence that makes it all appear simultaneous like it is a CGI effect. It's creative thinking (and a few slow motion shots too).

I have always respected fantasy-set films that try and take themselves seriously as cinematic pieces. When a director takes the actual construction of the film seriously, or tries to, I can respect the intent. As such "Night Watch" is difficult to judge. The cinematography is excellent: the camera-work is superb, the mood is perfect, the effects are beautifully rendered (and not overused), and the timing of individual scenes is consistent throughout the piece. The problem is the overall timing of the film. For over half the film, the overall plot and premise is ignored. It is very much as if we are watching two different episodes of the same TV series; the characters are the same, the premise is the same, it is clear how the plots fit together visually and thematically, but otherwise they have pretty much nothing to do with one another. They are not disjointed in their construction or presentation, it is simply that the plot threads are mostly unrelated.

It is worth pointing out that this is the first film in a planned trilogy. Every hanging plot/character moment in the film is very strongly intended to be followed through upon in the next two films, and it shows. Characters and references are not simply tossed aside, but are led into gently just enough to let the audience know that greater things are intended. While I'm not particularly a fan of this kind of thing, Night Watch does it very well, and I await the sequels with anticipation.

Many people on this board have made comparisons to Star Wars EpI-II, and for the life of me I haven't the faintest clue why. The concept of Imperfect Good vs Seductive Evil within the human soul was hardly invented by George Lucas (though vampires in Star Wars would be pretty freakin' cool), and its presentation in Night Watch is tight and interesting. There is no resemblance whatsoever, this is one of the more original films that I have ever seen, and I recommend it both for its flaws and perfections.

Hundred of years ago, the forces of light and darkness faced each other in a very violent battle on a bridge. In order to avoid the total slaughter, their leaders agree to have an armistice. Along the centuries, the two balanced sides are divided and the forces of light watch and control the vampires, a.k.a. as the forces of night. Among the humans lives "The Others", i.e., persons with supernatural powers including witches, sorcerers and vampires and with the free will to choose which side to join. The legend says that the two forces will be unbalanced by "The Great Other", and the side this powerful being selects will win the battle. In 1992, in Moscow, Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky) joins the forces of the light while hiring a witch for a black magic. In the present days, he faces the consequences of his act.

"Nochnoy Dozor" is an original and refreshing dark tale of the eternal battle in the world, between the good and the evil. The unpredictable story has great special effects and is very engaging, and it is interesting to see how the distinction between good and evil is actually very blurred in the present days. Unfortunately I found the screenplay very confused in spite of having understood the whole plot. Maybe watching a second time, this movie may be better and better. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Guardiões da Noite" ("Guardians of the Night")

A thousand years ago two forces met on the battle field, the warriors of light and the army of darkness. As the battle raged, the two forces proved to be exactly balanced, and so a decision was made maintain that balance and the two sides came to an agreement that neither side would breach. And to enforce the agreement two watches were formed: the Day Watch and the Night Watch. The Night Watch is composed of the forces of good who work keep the forces of evil from breaching the agreement and vice versa. The watches continue today... Warriors of virtue (some are shape changers, others have less definable talents) who fight against rogue vampires, witches, etc. Both sides are usually invisible to normal people unless they choose to be seen, except for a few "others" who can see and interact with the immortals. And therein lies the instability, because the "others" also have the potential to become immortals and they can go toward either side. Plus, there is a prophecy of a "Great One" who will shift the balance, plunging the world into an era of light or darkness.

Great action, good use of CGI and practical effects. Excellent soundtrack. It reminded me quite a bit of Jeunet's directional style (CITY OF LOST CHILDREN), but more than anything the movie reminded me of the recent Bollywood sci-fi actioner RUDRAKSCH.

This one is definitely recommended if you are tired of the same old Hollywood formula crap. Especially if you are a fan of Horror/Action with a dash of Sci-Fi.