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Day Watch is the second part of a trilogy of Russian flicks, and it is exactly what the first movie was trying to be, a super-slick action flick filled with cool imagery that is just plain fun to watch. Day Watch is a vast improvement over the extremely vacuous and bland Night Watch. Director Timur Bekmambetov has patched up all the holes of the leaky vessel that was Night Watch and crafted a wonderful film, which while a little empty in meaning, is still a thrill to watch.

This second part of the trilogy picks up where the last film left off. The sleazy Night Watch dude, Anton, from the first film is back, but this time with a personality. Anton must fight to keep the two opposing parties of supernatural beings from tearing apart Moscow and starting a war, by finding something called The Chalk of Fate… I know, “Chalk of Fate” sounds like something lame from a Harry Potter title, but it’s actually pretty cool. Anton must figure out a way to get it on with his sexy bitch Svetlana while still winning his son over to the forces of good. The best part about this plot is that it doesn’t focus so much on the played out good vs. evil aspect of the first film and simply treats its characters as if they are real people with some actual depth to them instead of cheap Russian knock offs of The Matrix.

After Night Watch, I wasn’t too impressed with Timur Bekmambetov’s direction. Sure he had the visuals and the special effects down, but the pacing and enjoyability of the first film weren’t impressive at all. Bekmambetov appears to have matured a little as his film never stops to take a breath, mixes in a new element of humor, and creates rich, deep characters that you actually care about. At two and a half hours, the film is surprisingly engaging and I never had my eye on the clock waiting for it to be over, which is a good indicator of just how enjoyable the film is. In addition to the improvements over the first film, Bekmambetov continues to excel with action sequences and stunning imagery. If you liked the action in the first film, just wait until you get your hands on this movie, because there are some truly mind-blowing sequences.

The acting in the film is quality all the way around. Bekmambetov even manages to make the people look attractive as opposed to the homely “butthole of fashion” Russian look that all the characters had in the first film. Konstantin Khabensky reprises his role as Anton, the driving force of the film. Khabensky’s performance is drastically improved over the last film as he no longer stumbles around the world like a lobotomized version of a man. Khabensky actually manages to bring a level of emotion to his character which makes the film and the character all the more sympathetic. Maria Poroshina also reprises her role as Svetlana, an “other” that is drastically growing in power and will one day rival the love interest of her life… she never gets naked which is unfortunate, but that doesn’t matter because she still manages to carry her character with a solid performance.

Day Watch is a fun flick to watch, and I would recommend reading a detailed synopsis of Night Watch before you watch it… because the first film sucks. On its own, Day Watch is a prime example of what foreign filmmakers are capable of with action sequences and special effects that rival, if not blow out of the water, the crap that is churned out of Hollywood every summer. It’s no surprise that the skill of Bekmambetov has caught Hollywood’s eye and that the third film will be filmed in English… which will probably spell disaster for the franchise, but at least it will look cool.

Final Synopsis: Day Watch is far superior to Night Watch. If you enjoyed the first film, you’ll definitely enjoy Day Watch. On its own, the film is worth a watch, even though you may miss out on a lot of subtleties if you haven’t seen the first film. I definitely recommend a rent.

Points Lost: -1 for a lightness on meaning, -1 for the lame “chalk of fate” element, -1 for a some seemingly random coincidences/motivations on the part of the characters, -1 for an ending that is a little disappointing

Bonus Points: +1 for some kickass mass destruction

Lesson Learned: Don’t help your kids when they get in trouble.

Burning Question: Uhh, is it just me, or does the end of this movie negate both films and make them absolutely pointless?

Tags: 2006, cult classic, foreign, foreign horror, foreign movie, horror, horror movie, latest movie review, recent, russian, sci-fi, science fiction, timur bekmambetov, vampire, vampires