Night Watch 3/5 or 4/5 reviewed by Chris (JoePunchface)
Lucky for me, I am the second Crew member to review this movie so I won’t have to give you much story or plot background on Night Watch. I would like to point out though that I AM reviewing this movie second because I saw it AFTER Mike though oddly enough, I was the one that discovered this film and TOLD Mike about it. That is right; he went and saw it first without me…AFTER I was the one that even put it on his radar before he knew what a Night Watch even was! Ok, sorry, had to get that off my chest. He DID make up for it by going and seeing it again with me last night, so I still think he is cool. ON WITH THE REVIEW!!!
Night Watch
-Limited Release-
Chris’s review:
First and foremost I must explain my rating of this movie. In my title I do the worst thing a reviewer can do and give this movie a “tweener grade” of 3/5 or 4/5. Allow me to elaborate for you. As the Hankinstien explained in his review, this is the first movie of a trilogy. AS the first movie in a trilogy which will only further develop the world presented here, Night Watch would easily earn a 4/5. It is VERY deserving of that ranking. However, if you went in to this movie not expecting it to be a beginning of an epic story you might be disappointed. Thus, as a stand-alone film, Night Watch is probably a 3/5. Again, by all means this is a 4/5 movie (possibly pushing the barrier of a 5/5 once the trilogy is complete) but for the time being it is a weaker 4/5.
OK, explanation made. Now, why do I think this is such a good film? Well, Mike nailed a few of my points, which I agree with him on so I will only brush over them again before going in to some of my own DIFFERENT points that make this a great film.
As Mike mentioned, this is a great dark fantasy type of movie, but it never pushes that SO hard that you get tired head. Most movies you see with vampires, wizards, witches, shape shifters, etc., there is always a good amount of “explanation time” where the film makers feel they have to lay out all of the “rules” for you. “This wizard can do this, this, and this, but not this or this,” is a good example. There is always an attempt to make you understand the limitations of the powers of characters with “special powers.” NOT Night Watch! Night Watch throws you into this world and lets you make your own assumptions based on what you see. There are rarely scenes where a character sits down and explains the entire science, metaphysics, and “rules” of the world you are in. That is wonderful in my opinion. That lends itself to a more “real” feel. Mike also pointed out that though this is an “action” type movie it does not conform to standard practices in that vein either. The film is not just a vehicle for big time action sequences and mind blowing special effects as many action films are. What I mean by that is this is not a movie with a minimal story line just so they can blow up a car or do some wire fighting. If anything the action takes a back seat to the story and does not draw attention to itself but instead serves to move the story along further. That too was a refreshing approach to film making in this “genre” if you will.
Now, let me hit you with the most impressive bit of information in my opinion. This film was made for an estimated budget of 4.2 million dollars. An ACTION film, with GREAT special effects, WONDERFUL cinematography, SWEET settings, and SUPERB character actors (though unknowns from all accounts) was made for 4.2 freaking million dollars! That, my friends, is staggering. Let us compare Spiderman 2 which had a boisterous estimated budget of 200 million. I think the visuals of Night Watch are every bit as eye popping as Spiderman 2 but for an unbelievably lower price tag. Please also consider the cost of the following indie type movies that had NO special effects and were nothing more than characters acting out situations with a few cameras in the room:
Sideways had a budget of 16 million.
Good Night and Good Luck came in at 7.5 million.
It boggles the mind that such a visually captivating film could be made for so very little. If nothing else, it speaks to the supreme craft of this film because not a single special effect looked cheap or weak. You will see things in Night Watch that you have never seen before and each time you will be wowed.
I applaud those crazy Russian film makers. They have started something which has the potential to be nothing short of greatness if they hold true to the course.
Chris’s recommendations:
See this movie if…
-You can still remember what a fun experience it was the first time you saw the Matrix.
-You are a sucker for a good vampire/fantasy movie…especially one that is well done.
-You speak Russian and want to look cool in front of your friends/girlfriend.
-You want to go to a movie and continually be forced to utter this phrase under your breath: “Dude, that was awesome!”
Don’t see this movie if…
-Sci fi/Fantasy makes you doze off because you can’t handle using your imagination.
-You won’t sit through a film where the actors don’t speak your language because the mighty God himself decreed that ONLY English is an acceptable form of spoken word.
-Your action movies need to follow this formula:
Bad ass, tough guy hero + Big breasted, somewhat dim-witted damsel in distress + Two dimensional, “I know that guy is evil” bad guy + 2 or 3 very large, very unexplainable explosions + a nice, neat, tied up with a bow-on-top ending where America wins = One hell of a movie going experience.
Night Watch
-Limited Release-
Chris’s review:
First and foremost I must explain my rating of this movie. In my title I do the worst thing a reviewer can do and give this movie a “tweener grade” of 3/5 or 4/5. Allow me to elaborate for you. As the Hankinstien explained in his review, this is the first movie of a trilogy. AS the first movie in a trilogy which will only further develop the world presented here, Night Watch would easily earn a 4/5. It is VERY deserving of that ranking. However, if you went in to this movie not expecting it to be a beginning of an epic story you might be disappointed. Thus, as a stand-alone film, Night Watch is probably a 3/5. Again, by all means this is a 4/5 movie (possibly pushing the barrier of a 5/5 once the trilogy is complete) but for the time being it is a weaker 4/5.
OK, explanation made. Now, why do I think this is such a good film? Well, Mike nailed a few of my points, which I agree with him on so I will only brush over them again before going in to some of my own DIFFERENT points that make this a great film.
As Mike mentioned, this is a great dark fantasy type of movie, but it never pushes that SO hard that you get tired head. Most movies you see with vampires, wizards, witches, shape shifters, etc., there is always a good amount of “explanation time” where the film makers feel they have to lay out all of the “rules” for you. “This wizard can do this, this, and this, but not this or this,” is a good example. There is always an attempt to make you understand the limitations of the powers of characters with “special powers.” NOT Night Watch! Night Watch throws you into this world and lets you make your own assumptions based on what you see. There are rarely scenes where a character sits down and explains the entire science, metaphysics, and “rules” of the world you are in. That is wonderful in my opinion. That lends itself to a more “real” feel. Mike also pointed out that though this is an “action” type movie it does not conform to standard practices in that vein either. The film is not just a vehicle for big time action sequences and mind blowing special effects as many action films are. What I mean by that is this is not a movie with a minimal story line just so they can blow up a car or do some wire fighting. If anything the action takes a back seat to the story and does not draw attention to itself but instead serves to move the story along further. That too was a refreshing approach to film making in this “genre” if you will.
Now, let me hit you with the most impressive bit of information in my opinion. This film was made for an estimated budget of 4.2 million dollars. An ACTION film, with GREAT special effects, WONDERFUL cinematography, SWEET settings, and SUPERB character actors (though unknowns from all accounts) was made for 4.2 freaking million dollars! That, my friends, is staggering. Let us compare Spiderman 2 which had a boisterous estimated budget of 200 million. I think the visuals of Night Watch are every bit as eye popping as Spiderman 2 but for an unbelievably lower price tag. Please also consider the cost of the following indie type movies that had NO special effects and were nothing more than characters acting out situations with a few cameras in the room:
Sideways had a budget of 16 million.
Good Night and Good Luck came in at 7.5 million.
It boggles the mind that such a visually captivating film could be made for so very little. If nothing else, it speaks to the supreme craft of this film because not a single special effect looked cheap or weak. You will see things in Night Watch that you have never seen before and each time you will be wowed.
I applaud those crazy Russian film makers. They have started something which has the potential to be nothing short of greatness if they hold true to the course.
Chris’s recommendations:
See this movie if…
-You can still remember what a fun experience it was the first time you saw the Matrix.
-You are a sucker for a good vampire/fantasy movie…especially one that is well done.
-You speak Russian and want to look cool in front of your friends/girlfriend.
-You want to go to a movie and continually be forced to utter this phrase under your breath: “Dude, that was awesome!”
Don’t see this movie if…
-Sci fi/Fantasy makes you doze off because you can’t handle using your imagination.
-You won’t sit through a film where the actors don’t speak your language because the mighty God himself decreed that ONLY English is an acceptable form of spoken word.
-Your action movies need to follow this formula:
Bad ass, tough guy hero + Big breasted, somewhat dim-witted damsel in distress + Two dimensional, “I know that guy is evil” bad guy + 2 or 3 very large, very unexplainable explosions + a nice, neat, tied up with a bow-on-top ending where America wins = One hell of a movie going experience.
posted by Joe Punchface at 11:44 AM
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