www.nightwatchthemovie.co.ukDir: Timur Bekmambetov
Cast: Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov, Valeri Zolotukhin, Mariya Poroshina
It's light versus dark
which side will the great one choose?
subtitles drip blood
The opening instalment of a proposed trilogy of films (Day Watch is slated for release in its native Russia this October), this promised to be everything that The Matrix trilogy wasn’t. The plot in a nutshell; it’s good vs. evil, humans vs. vampires. There’s a truce between the light and the dark with the ‘Night Watch’ (human) and the ‘Day Watch’ (vampire) squads bound to keep the balance. Except now is the time of ‘The Great Other’ and his choice is set to determine which side will win the final battle. Our main character in all this is Anton (Khabensky), the newest member of the Night Watch team, and the man in charge of trying to find the identity of The Great Other and recruit him to the 'good guys' - but of course the Day Watch team are tracking him as well... Quite where this will lead us over the remaining films is uncertain, but suffice to say that by the end of Night Watch I was already gagging for the next chapter. With shades of Highlander springing to mind, this is a time-travelling, magic carpet ride of a movie, full of shape-shifters, sword fights, a supercharged yellow truck, and everything else you’d associate with a glossy fantasy epic bar the proverbial kitchen sink. Visually it’s stunning – hell, even the subtitles drip blood red across the screen – with some stunning slo-mo effects and camera wizardry. Stand out for me is the journey of a small bolt as it falls from an airplane, down through the night sky until it eventually comes to rest in someone’s cup of coffee! With the arrival of Night Watch it’s clearly time for Lucas, Jackson and the Wachowskis to look over their shoulders – there’s a new trilogy in town and it kicks cinematic ass!
soulmining rating: ****
No comments:
Post a Comment