6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
A man who serves in the war between the forces of Light and Dark comes into possession of a device that can restore life to Moscow, which was nearly destroyed by an apocalyptic event. The second installment of a trilogy based on the best-selling sci-fi novels of Sergei Lukyanenko, entitled Night Watch, Day Watch and Dusk Watch.
Starring: Konstantin Khabenskiy, Mariya Poroshina, Vladimir Menshov, Galina Tyunina, Viktor VerzhbitskiyThriller | 100% |
Action | 72% |
Horror | 50% |
Fantasy | 11% |
Foreign | 10% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Russian: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional)
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
This review of Day Watch contains spoilers for both Night Watch and
Day Watch.
You were warned.
After enjoying Night Watch,
finding myself drawn into the world it created, and eager to see the resolution to that film's
cliffhanger, it was with high expectations that I screened Day Watch.
Pardon the pun, but the experiences were, literally, like night and day, except with a reversal of
the meaning usually therein understood. Night Watch
created a gritty, enthralling world of opposing supernatural beings struggling to maintain an
uneasy
peace amongst themselves, introduced a myriad of good characters with whom we became
emotionally invested, and wove a story of high intrigue and fascination, replete with plenty of
scrumptious violence and action. Day Watch returns these characters, introduces some
new ones, and builds on the foundation laid in the first film, but is never as riveting as the first.
Frankly, it's not even all that interesting, and the film features an ending that is one of the bigger
letdowns I've seen, rivaled only by the 140 or so minutes that precede it.
Can I make it so that I never saw 'The Love Guru?'
Day Watch arrives on Blu-ray with a 2.35:1-framed, 1080p high definition transfer. I find it odd that a sequel tied so closely to the original would be presented with a drastically differing aspect ratio (though Alien and Aliens puled it off), but since the two films take on radically differing tones, I suppose it only makes sense, in that regard. Nevertheless, Day Watch offers a fine looking transfer, one that is slightly superior to its predecessor. Detail remains strong in this release, and is perhaps slightly improved over what we saw in Night Watch. Colors also appears a bit stronger, and blacks come across as somewhat deeper. One scene that stands out occurs in chapter five as Anton and Sveta are in a restaurant, one of the pivotal locales in the film. Anton's woven sweater looks absolutely amazing, with a wonderful texture and realism, not to mention depth, and facial details are remarkable as well. Indeed, fine details, in both close-ups and in distance shots, look very good throughout Day Watch. Flesh tones remain accurate in the film, too. Day Watch, like Night Watch, is a grainy film. It's presence is always visible, and some scenes sport more than others. The transfer does lose sharpness here and there, resulting in some inconsistent soft shots that creep up now and again, but on the whole this transfer is a superior one.
Day Watch is presented with a Russian language DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack (as well as a lossy DTS English dub and English subtitles), and proves to be quite the sonic experience. The lossless track features an incredibly powerful sound design with a fantastic use of each and every speaker to create a wholly immersive sound field. Just as robust if not more so than the previous outing, Day Watch features a nonstop assault of intense sound effects and music that sounds wonderful in every regard. Bass is deep and tight with some awesome rumbles, chapter 10 offering a prime example of subtle lows used to great effect. The film's famed car-in-a-building scene (you'll know it when you see it) sounds amazing, with excellent fidelity, dynamics, and precision as the squealing of the tires and the revving of the engine are so precise and exciting, not to mention the myriad of other effects that accompany the scene. Dialogue reproduction is consistently strong throughout. Day Watch is quite the listen with an impressive sound design sure to please.
Day Watch contains significantly fewer supplements than did its predecessor. First up is a commentary track with director Timur Bekmambetov. This begins as more of a question and answer session where Bekmambetov responds to queries about what's going on in the film, the inspirations to create the films, the absence of firearms in the films, and plenty of other worthwhile information and interesting tidbits, such as a scene with a roomful of famous real-life Russian Science Fiction and fantasy writers. There are some very long gaps in the comments, however. The Making of 'Day Watch' (480p, 26:08), like the making-of feature found on Night Watch, is a Russian-language piece with English subtitles. The piece examines various aspects of the production, ranging from the exciting opening sequence of the film to an examination of the film's climactic action sequence. Plenty of interviews with the cast and crew take us through the piece. Concluding the supplemental materials are 16 television spots (480p, 6:02), a 1080p English language trailer (2:32), and 6 Russian language trailers (480p, 6:18). This feature is also D-Box enabled.
Day Watch proved to be most disappointing as a follow-up to the engaging Night Watch. Silly, predictable, meandering, and oftentimes boring, Day Watch is an uninspired sequel to a movie that deserved better. Although I found the story line not sufficiently compelling, particularly following a screening of Night Watch, 20th Century Fox's Blu-ray release certainly comes up to the standards expected of the format. Featuring stellar audio and video transfers and a few supplemental materials, fans won't be disappointed with this film's presentation on Blu-ray. As much as I would have liked to, I cannot recommend Day Watch. It's predecessor, Night Watch, is definitely worth checking out, and if you enjoy that one, your curiosity will be piqued and watching Day Watch will be inevitable. Who knows, perhaps you'll enjoy it more than I did.
Unrated | Nochnoy Dozor
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1999
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Director's Cut
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1994
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