Night Watched

[bluegargantua]

Hi,

Sorry for the last minute announcment to see the show, my date was flying in from New York and we weren't quite sure what the times were going to be until this morning. As it was, her flight was an hour late so there was some danger of our plans being disrupted. Luckily, we were flexible and just went straight to the theatre, grabbed a quick dinner and then off to the show.

So. Night Watch? It's not the *best* movie about the occult underground ever, but for a movie from Russia, it's pretty darn kick ass and well above the usual standards for this genre. By way of comparison, it could easily school Underworld. The subtitles were well done and well integrated into the flow of the film. The plot was, if not fully explained, sufficiently explained. The only real serious stumble came in the final few minutes of the film where you're like "why did he just do that?" and "that choice isn't real consistent with everything else that's happened to him so far". It's also a bit plodding in places.

BUT. Short of that, it's a pretty good movie. The special effects were well done. And the whole movie drips with Post-Communist Moscow fatigue. A bit like Good Vs. Evil meets Blade Runner, but the infrastructure hasn't been maintained in years.

So yeah, this is a good movie and if you get the chance you should check it out.

later
Tom

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Its also part of a trilogy. The second part was just released in Russia.

[invader-haywire.livejournal.com]

that was me

[jhim.livejournal.com]

Night Watch. Day Watch. Dusk Watch.

[jhim.livejournal.com]

The subtitles KICKED ASS.

As for the final scene... I agree, I don't think there was enough setup to make a smooth transition to the finale.

I feel like this should have been a more leisurely stroll through character development with some Buffy-style side adventures, but instead it felt like they took the 3-part season finale and crammed it into 2 hours, and just assumed you would already grok the nuances of these characters.

You can definitely see the influence that Buffy had on the director/screenwriter's style of storytelling.

Watched last night

[foxtown.livejournal.com]

Saw the flick last night, and enjoyed it a bunch.

The settings were very authentic, yes most people live in huge concrete monstrosities of apartment buildings outside of town and the like.

It was a bit rushed, and not always linear, but much less glossed, making those faults more acceptable.

Definitely a gamer (WoD especially) must see.

Re: Watched last night

[quem98.livejournal.com]

Of course the settings were authentic. It was made for a Russian audience.

It was supposed to be the Russian answer to the Matrix, hence the gratuitous CG.

Re: Watched last night

[foxtown.livejournal.com]

True, but last night some of the people that I watched it with asked if the settings were all that grim, or if they were embellished. From what I saw on my trip to St. Petersburg last year, there definately are those settings there (without all the crows) and Moscow is supposedly worse.

Re: Watched last night

[quem98.livejournal.com]

Ahh, yes... The Brezhnev era monstrosities. Good times.

How long were you in Petersburg for?

Re: Watched last night

[foxtown.livejournal.com]

Only ten days or so. The whirlwind MBA tour. Went around with University of St. Petersburg students to some cultural sites and bussinesses. It was an interesting trip, and other than getting pickpocketed, I had fun.