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Amazon.co.uk Review
Night Watch is that rare film that--like The Matrix--is not only visually dazzling but creates an intriguing, seductive, and thrilling alternative world. A young man named Anton, after dabbling in black magic to bring back the wife who left him, discovers that the world is populated by fantastical Others (vampires, shape-shifters, witches, and more) who have chosen sides--Light or Dark--in an epic battle. A truce has been declared; both sides watch the other to ensure the truce is maintained. But a prophecy has predicted that a powerful Other will tilt the balance, and Anton--who is himself an Other--finds himself crucial to the prophecy's fulfillment. There's no question that Night Watch has weaknesses. Numerous plot holes get glossed over by pell-mell pacing, the visual conception of the apocalyptic battle between Light and Dark is curiously pedestrian (a bunch of knights fighting a bunch of guys in fur with swords--what happened to their various powers?), and more--but, much like similar problems with The Matrix, it doesn't matter.
The alternative world Night Watch presents is so rich with possibilities that it takes on a life of its own, both as an imaginative universe and as a vivid metaphor for the moral complexities of our own lives--for example, though the forces of Light claim to be good, their often brutal actions call their virtue into question, and the forces of Dark make some compelling moral arguments on the topic. The movie is so overstuffed with ideas that many don't get fleshed out, but that only contributes to the sense of vitality and unexplored dimensions. Even the subtitles are used creatively. The impending sequels (this is the first film of a trilogy) may--like The Matrix--take all the stimulating possibilities Night Watch raises and drag them into the toilet, but for the moment, this is the sort of electric excitement that blockbuster movies promise but so rarely deliver. --Bret Fetzer
Danny Boyle
Lord of the Rings and The Matrix have a true successor... the bar has been truly raised... extraordinary filmmaking
Nightwatch is an epic of extraordinary power
Nightwatch is an epic of extraordinary power
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
if you only make one dvd purchase this year, this is the one an excellent film i cannot praise this enough, i originally watched it thinking just another action film but it is so much more with excellent dialouge, character development, action and special effect quite frankly the greatest story ever told with the most involving, edge of seat plot, the story takes us deep into a forever waged war against the forces of light and dark, good and evil if you will until the two armies formed a truce that no 1 other (the gifted people that aren't just human) can be forced to one side of the spectrum, the dark warriors watched over the night and were called daywatch and the light warriors would watch over the day and were called nightwatch the two get along as they are supposed to until the great events that unfold later in the story.
1 tip for all of you, BUY THIS FILM!
1 tip for all of you, BUY THIS FILM!
113 of 119 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
My mum wanted to come and see this with me. However, just the mention of 'apocalyptic battle between good and evil', 'vampires' and 'Russian subtitles' made her think that perhaps Herbie: Fully Loaded was the better option.
Basic plot: there's a big battle going on in Moscow between the Light and Dark Others, who are basically sorcerers, vampires and the like. Our hero, Anton, is a Light Other, and a member of the Night Watch, who keep an eye on the Dark Others. There is an uneasy truce between them. But, of course, there is a prophecy of the coming of a 'Great Other', and whichever side he chooses will triumph in the war.
This film broke all box office records back in Russia, surpassing Lord of the Rings and the Spiderman films, and a sequel is already in production. And I can see why - after all the big-budget formula films coming out at the moment, it's great to have a film which has an entirely unique tone and, despite being a fantasy film, feels so gritty and real.
The film is full to bursting with different stories, elements and characters - so much that it's pretty much impossible to understand it all. At the beginning you see a doll's head on spider legs attacking someone - it's there for a few seconds, and then it's gone. We never find out about it. If that puts you off, well, it happens a lot.
However, I thought this film was great. I liked the fact that the world was so busy and detailed and you didn't see much of anything - it increased the realism of the world it was depicting. Sort of like the Silmarillion for Lord of the Rings compressed into the same film, but with less confusing names.
The hero doesn't go all out to win the audience's approval - when we first meet him, he's asking a witch to make his ex have a miscarriage so he can get her back. Yet he grows on you, and by the end you're really rooting for him.
The person I bought a ticket from warned me that it was in Russian with subtitles - I guess he didn't think it was sort of thing for 17-year-old girls. But they did the subtitles really well, making them a full part of the film and interacting with the action onscreen.
People like my mum wouldn't have liked this film. Bit too much blood and swords-coming-out-of-spines. If you liked the Lord of the Rings, and want a film with the same kind of scale but darker and more gritty, then this is a good film for you. It's a completely unique experience, and one of the best films I've seen in ages.
30 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Forces of light and dark have an almighty fight, realise it isn't really getting them anywhere and so call a truce. But - as is the way of such things - the truce is a tentative one and the two sides set about policing each other. Fast-forward to modern-day Moscow where the truce is becoming increasingly shaky due in no small part to a soon to be realised prophecy that will see one side finally triumphant!
Despite the fantastical premise, do not expect this to be a glossy, action-packed, overblown, live-action cartoon. The atmosphere is dark and very grim. The violence and content are unflinching and the whole thing plays out more like a deep, epic horror movie rather than your usual fantasy fare.
That said, the special effects are stunning, with even the sub-titles being incorperated into the cinematography!
It's also important to pay attention as the characters and sub-plots are numerous, but important, not only to this, but also (I imagine) to the rest of the trilogy (yes, TRILOGY).
The epic scale of this movie will (at least in part) be lost on the small-screen but, this movie being as complex as it is, the depth of the story will be far more accessible with subsiquent viewings. And I, for one, will certainly be watching this again!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not very convincing
I see myself as an amateur of fantasy who is willing to disregard a lot of beauty mistakes for a compelling story.
However, this movie is chaotic. Read more
However, this movie is chaotic. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Steven
Groundbreaking Fantasy Movie.
The Nightwatch series manages to combine full octane explosive entertainment with a genuinely unique take on the traditional Gothic tropes. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. Benjamin Moderate
Wasted potential...
Night Watch had great potential - the concept is an intriguing and original take on the whole supernatural good vs evil thing. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Jango
Awesome
This film was awesome - I have not read the books but I fully understood this film - perhaps you need a bit of a brain to get it. I am certainly going to be buying the books. Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2010 by Nym
Not the film for me!
Trailers for this film looked fantastic............... but sorry, for me, worst film ive ever seen!
Published on 22 Nov 2009 by J. A. S.
Entertaining Russian fantasy.
Night Watch [Blu-ray] [2005]
First film in a fantasy trilogy set in present day Moscow where two opposing groups of "Others" maintain a medieval truce whereby the... Read more
First film in a fantasy trilogy set in present day Moscow where two opposing groups of "Others" maintain a medieval truce whereby the... Read more
Published on 4 Oct 2009 by pointone
Dont Watch!
Very Slow Moving not the best film i have ever seen Would Not Recomend For A Second Viewing.
Published on 7 Sep 2009 by Big D
An insult to supporters of foreign language cinema
Night Watch is a great movie, an example of how a low budget doesn't mean low quality. This Blu-Ray edition, however, is a huge disappointment. Read more
Published on 30 July 2009 by Stuart Neville
A brilliant film, wish it was the animated subtitle release
A great film, very worthy of a blu ray release and the picture and sound seem excellent.
Wouldve got 5 stars if it had been the original theatrical release with animated... Read more
Wouldve got 5 stars if it had been the original theatrical release with animated... Read more
Published on 28 July 2009 by Sighatwiifit
Step into the gloom...
A battle between the powers of good and evil results in a tense centuries long truce, but now that peace is in jeopardy... Read more
Published on 14 July 2009 by GeekZilla
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