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DAY WATCH (Unrated)
DVD Review by David Blackwell
DETAILS: 145 minutes, audio commentary, featurette, trailers, TV spots
VIDEO: 2.35:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)
AUDIO: English 5.1, Russian 5.1 Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English SDH, English, Spanish
STUDIO: Fox Searchlight/ Channel One Russia/ Bazelevs Production/ TABBAK
RELEASE DATE: 10-30-2007
SYNOPSIS: DAY WATCH revolves around the conflict and balance maintained between the forces of light and darkness -- the result
of a medieval truce between the opposing sides. Each side has gained a powerful Great Other, who are headed for a clash, and
Anton Gorodetsky is once again caught up in the midst of this conflict. On one side is Anton’s son, YEgor, who has joined
the ranks of the Dark Others, while Anton’s love interest Svetlana is the hope of the Light. But that’s just the
beginning of his troubles: Anton is on the run after having been accused of murder. Things are getting worse, and only the
ancient Chalk of Fate can save the day. The problem is the magical Chalk was lost hundreds of years ago.
ANALYSIS: I loved NIGHT WTACH. It is a great blend of fictional history and myth. I couldn't wait for DAY WATCH to be
released. Then I discovered the novels by Sergei Lukyanenko. I'm on the third story IN NIGHT WATCH and I will follow it
up with DAY WATCH (then I will go buy TWILIGHT WATCH and wait for FINAL WATCH/ ETERNAL WATCH to be translated and releaesed).
I don't know why the film sequel is called DAY WATCH when the first half of the film's script is taken from the second story
of NIGHT WATCH (the first story was adapted into NIGHT WATCH).
DAY WATCH is a fantastic ride like NIGHT WATCH was. It is quirky, full of fantastic images, some wits, and one hell of a
climax. Screenwriter/ Director Timur Bekmambatov does take even more liberties with the books this time than he did the first
time around. Still DAY WATCH is a treat to watch. The characters ring true. The Chalk Of Fate if a cheat which ends up
in one of those cheat endings I do depise since it has the cause of making me wonder what was the purpose of everything that
came before it. The climax is Armageddon and the special effects show off to maximum effect. Also seeing a power line being
used as a whip is awesome. I do wish they could have followed a few of the elements of the book more instead of just making
it all be about Anton being caught in the middle bewteen his son and the woman he loves. Then you have the young vampire
neighbor who falls for Alisa, the Day Watch member who is linked to Zavulon. Her stuggle is a great part of the film and
so is when she drives a car on the side of the building. I just wish they didn't feel the need to wrap everything up because
the books provide plenty of material for future movies.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The audio commentary for the feature film is by screenwriter/ director Timur Bekmambatov. It's in English and he is being
asked questions. He remarks how good the English dubbed version is (the film can viewed in English or in Russian with English
subs, but the audio commentary plays over the English dubbed version). He also says how he liked how the author of the books
was so willing to change things for the films.
THE MAKING OF DAY WATCH featurette is 27 minutes long and features interviews with cast and crew. They talk about the production,
visual effects, the story, and the characters. It is a very decent featurette. Also included are the theatrical trailer
for the USA, 6 Russian theatrical tyrailers, 16 Russian TV spots, and trailers for other Fox releases (including Wrong Turn
2, Lake Placid 2, and others).
FINAL ANLYSIS: DAY WATCH is a fntastic follow up to NIGHT WATCH. It is highly reccommended and you should also check out
the novels.
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