Day Watch

Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Screenwriters: Timur Bekmambetov
Starring: Konstantin Khabensky, Mariya Poroshina, Galina Tyunina, Viktor Verzhbitsky, Zhanna Friske
Running time: 132 mins
Certificate: 15


Russia is generally associated with communism, a freezing climate and vodka strong enough to make Gazza shudder at the prospect of necking a mere shot of the stuff. But a thriving film industry? For decades the nation’s cinema was largely ignored on the global stage until the release of 2004's Night Watch - a bona fide action-fantasy blockbuster that dazzled audiences around the world. The long-awaited sequel is now upon us, and impressively builds upon its predecessor with a mix of audacious direction, appealing performances and a bonkers plot.

Ah yes, the plot. Does it really matter that much in a film of this nature? The purists out there will argue that a movie is only as strong as the script, and that is generally true. Yet in Day Watch the convoluted narrative is fairly tricky to follow at times, but oddly doesn’t detract from enjoying the film as long as you can differentiate between the forces of good and evil. This mirrors the central battle in the film - between the forces of Light and Dark - who have forged an uneasy truce in their bid to share control of the world.

The central protagonist Anton (the likeable Konstantin Khabensky) struggles to keep this intact, for his young son Egor has defected to the Dark side and is seemingly destined to throw the world into turmoil. Can the mysterious Chalk of Fate be retrieved in time and can Anton get the girl he has eyes for without being stuck in someone else’s body at the time?

The visual style of Day Watch overwhelms the substance, with director Timur Bekmambetov’s keen eye reminiscent of Luc Besson’s early works, particularly in its power to evoke a dark, European and comic book feel to the action set pieces. An advertising aesthetic is also at work, particularly when cars are on screen. In the build up to outrageously sexy vampire Alisa (a commanding Zhanna Friske) making her grand entrance, her shiny vehicle zooms along the vertical exteriors of buildings before crashing through a window many storeys up. How long before Bekmambetov is signed up by Ford?

Two magnificently realised sequences bookend the film, with armoured warriors riding horses through castle walls and Moscow being unexpectedly ravaged in apocalyptic fashion. Throughout, we barely have time to catch breath - which certainly stops any plot-related head-scratching at times.

Annoyingly, a grating heavy metal soundtrack seems to kick in whenever the action does. The eye-popping camerawork, frenetic editing and diegetic sounds are more than enough to heighten our senses, so the unsubtle thrashing cacophany serves to overloaded the senses. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Mute button in cinemas?

Cleverly, Day Watch breathes new life into that old cinematic cliché of the body swap. In a bid to escape a certain death at the hands of the Dark ones for a murder he didn’t commit, Anton and Olga swap skins to both hilarious and poignant effect. The poor bloke, in female form, discovers that his infatuation with fellow Light crusader Svetlana is mutual when she unwittingly reveals her feelings to him when In female guise. She then asks him to fetch her a towel in the shower…not knowing who she is really talking to.

Falling short of matching superior fantasy flick The Matrix in terms of fusing state of the art visuals and an engaging plot, Day Watch nonetheless offers many simple, visceral pleasures for the viewer and an extremely satisfying denouement thanks to a little bit of chalk. Many governments have feared a Russian onslaught over the years, but any cultural invasion should be welcomed if films such as Day Watch can be made.