NIGHT WATCH is the first episode of a trilogy, just like LORD OF THE RINGS or THE MATRIX. After a huge box office run in Russia, Fox Searchlight snagged distribution rights and the remake rights as well.

It’s a big event film that stars an all-Russian cast because it is, well, a Russian film, after all. But just like nothing about RINGS was New Zealand, nothing about NIGHT WATCH is Russian. It feels like an American film and, for that matter, it feels bigger than any cheap recycle passing for the so-called blockbuster films these days.

The story is nothing new to film geeks, all about the “real” world spawned underneath the actual human world. It is about a prophecy of a chosen one to balance the power of good and evil. It’s UNDERWORLD meets REVENGE OF THE SITH. Now if that wasn’t enough, there are many subplots going on that get rather confusing. There are many things that are rarely explained and raise more questions than are answered, but being the first of a trilogy, I hope the filmmakers know what they are doing.

If the film has a problem, it’s in the pacing. I never thought a fast pace could be a problem, but this one feels like it outruns thunder, jetting through the story at high-octane speed, so that sometimes it is hard to realize what you are seeing or where the plot is taking you. It’s edited with so much energy. Even the special effects are wild.

That said, the stylish camera works, quick editing and special effects are the heart of the film. Or at least it feels like it to me, since it’s a bit hard to understand most of the storyline. But no matter how confused you are at the end, as the film closes with a cliffhanger, you will sure ask for the next chapter right away. DAY WATCH and TWILIGHT WATCH will soon follow. –Shogo

Buy it at Amazon.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 26th, 2006 at 12:34 am and is filed under DVD Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.