NIGHT WATCH, 2004
Movie Review

A fantasy-thriller set in present-day Moscow where the respective forces that control daytime and nighttime do battle.

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REVIEW:

Night Watch is the adaptation of the hugely successful horror/fantasy novels by Sergei Lukyanenko. They depict a modern Moscow enshrouded by another world called, The Gloom. In this fantastical world humans have developed the ability to see into this world, these people are known as Others. And of these Others, there are dark others, which are basically vampires feasting on simple humans, and Light Others fighting for peace amongst both worlds. At the start of the movie it gives the impression that this feud between light and dark has been going on for echelons. And currently there is a truce amongst the two factions.

Ensuring that this remains the case, we follow Anton Gordesky, a Light Other, who polices the space between Moscow and the Gloom on the lookout for rogue Dark Others who lure unwilling human victims and feast on their ignorant bodies. Anton as a character feels almost like the archetypal Noir anti-hero. He’s slovenly , unkempt, and his cynicism about the whole situation is clear. However his past is revealed to be catching up with him and the world he thought he knew is maybe not what he thought. Add to this a multitude of plot narratives and we uncover my only real problem with the film, in that it tries to include too much. The source material being the novels has obviously tried to be dealt with in an honourable fashion but the film loses some coherence in these many strands that it weaves. Anton is on the hunt for a ‘Great Other’, a potentially world destroying vortex sits over flats in Moscow as well as the Dark Others being led against the light in a bout of revenge for the killing of one of their own.

The flaws the film has in its coherence is a shame especially as the franchise is already set up with Day Watch being the follow, as they could have spread the more thinly over the instalments. And there has to mention of the shameful product placement of a leading coffee brand, but not knowing about the films funding process I’d say that was a necessary evil in making sure the production came to be. And kudos to director, Bekmambetov for doing so, because what were left with is something of real interest that will stay with you some time after viewing, if only on an aesthetic level.

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NIGHT WATCH