Posted: 06/17/2007

Day Watch

(2007)

by Matt Wedge

Day Watch is the second film based on a trilogy of epic Russian fantasy/horror novels. The first film, the excellent Night Watch, began the story of two warring factions of “others,” the forces of light and the forces of dark. A violent, over-the-top prologue to that film depicted a horrific battle between the two sides many generations ago. When it became apparent that neither side could win the battle and the only result would be the devastation of both armies, a truce was created. This truce allows others (witches, seers, vampires, shape-shifters, etc.) to choose which side they will join without any interference. This will go on until the arrival of an other that is prophesied (There’s always a prophecy, isn’t there?) to be so powerful, he or she will alter the balance of the powers and bring about the final battle between the forces. In order to make sure that both sides abide by the truce, the “Night Watch” is set up to police the forces of dark. The “Day Watch,” in turn, keeps tabs on the forces of light.

Confused yet? Well, if you saw Night Watch, you probably were still confused after the movie was over. Incredibly ambitious, it tried to fit more action, plot and characters into an hour and 45 minutes than Peter Jackson did in the entire Lord of the Rings series (I’m talking the extended cuts on DVD). To his credit, co-screenwriter-director Timur Bekmambetov did his best to explain the chaotic events as they happened. He was only partially successful in those efforts, but his visual style packed such a kinetic punch that all thoughts of logic went flying out the window as he proved that he could play the Hollywood epic/fantasy/action game as well as, if not better than, his American peers. With this follow-up, that trend of a less cohesive story in favor of CGI-heavy action is continued, to the occasional detriment of the film.

While this film opens very much the same as the first one, with a great battle sequence that finds horses charging through rock walls as though they were made of cardboard, it almost immediately takes an abrupt left turn to follow the story of Anton (Konstantin Khabensky), a light other who is searching for something called the chalk of destiny. Using the chalk, an other can rewrite history to change past mistakes. One of Anton’s past errors led to the powerful other that the prophecy spoke of to join the forces of dark. This other just happens to be Anton’s son, Yegor (Dmitry Martynov). Obviously, the dark others have no intention of standing by idly while Anton seeks to undo the damage he has caused. They frame him for the murder of a dark other and demand that the Night Watch turn him over for punishment. The rest of the film follows Anton as he not only avoids capture and searches for the chalk, but deals with his burgeoning romance with Svetlana (Mariya Poroshina), a light other who just happens to be his Night Watch partner.

Instead of adapting the novels on a one-per-film basis, the nearly insane decision was made to pack the entire story from the final two novels into Day Watch. Trying to jam in all of the information that the audience needs into a running time that is just over two hours forces Bekmambetov to take some narrative shortcuts. Characters fall in love in the space of one scene. Certain others are supposed to be far more powerful than those around them. Unfortunately, we are mostly told this instead of getting to witness a demonstration of their abilities. The pace of the film feels jumbled, as well. After the nicely done prologue, the film jumps immediately into overdrive with Anton’s story. Along with the action scenes, character moments are cut to be as short as possible, requiring an editing style that would have Michael Bay salivating. This herky-jerky pace lasts all the way through the first two acts of the film, before the third act settles into a more even rhythm.

Is Day Watch a good film? That’s a question I struggled with for days after watching it. It answers most of the questions set up in Night Watch, has a great apocalyptic climax depicting the destruction of Moscow and ends on a satisfying moment that rewards the audience for sticking with the story. On the other hand, the pacing problems and information overload keep it from achieving the same kind of cinematic high that the first film reached.

In the end, the positives outweigh the negatives. If you were indifferent towards the first film or just flat-out didn’t like it, there’s not much here to recommend. But if you enjoyed Night Watch and want to know how the story ends, Day Watch, despite its flaws, becomes required viewing.

Matt Wedge is a writer and film reviewer in Chicago.

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