This might sound weird--but although I'm giving this film a 3, and I might seem overly critical of it (I have a lot to say about this film), I want most of you to add it to the top of your list of movies to see. It's so worth seeing, and so utterly different than what Hollywood is going to throw at you this summer, I highly urge you to see it. Remember, it's a sequel, though.
Some of you might remember Last year's brilliant piece, "Night Watch."
I gave it a 4. I loved it. Bloody brilliant. This is the sequel, "Day Watch." In case you don't know--these movies are Russian films that broke every box office record that exists in Russia. They're loosely based on a series of 4 novels (only recently have the first few been translated into English) and they're awesome. But,
you have to see Night Watch first. Go rent it. It's out on DVD. What are you waiting for? There's a voice over at the beginning of Day Watch that will explain the first movie, but you really need to see Night Watch first. Trust me, it's worth it. It'll seem weird at first, but go with it. Its a crazy fantasy story set in modern-day Moscow. It's a weird amalgamation of LOTR, The Matrix, and X-Men, with lots of other cool stuff thrown in the mix. And a car drives across the side of a building.
As for this sequel, parts are incredible, parts are disappointing. In the sequel, back are the mysterious "Others," powerful beings who have fantasy powers (turning into animals, spell casting, vampirism, future-seeing, etc.) who can choose the side of Light or Dark. Back are all the main characters: Anton, a Light Other, whose son Yegor is a super-powerful Other, Gesser and Zevulon, the leaders of the Light and Dark (respectively). Remember the witch Svetlana who almost accidentally destroyed the earth in "Night Watch"? Turns out she's an uber-powerful Light Other, to rival Yegors power, and she's now being trained by Anton. Olga, the Owl-woman with a secret past is back as well, and the rest of the supporting cast. Also, back are the cool subtitles that interact with the action on screen in really cool ways. Props to whoever did these subtitles, it really adds to the experience of the movie.
First, the good: When it comes to tone, mood, and ambiance, this film is unmatched. This thing pulls you into an incredible visceral world of awesomeness, right from the first frame. The feeling of immersion is incredible. The characters are interesting, and differ greatly from typical Hollywood action stereotypes we're used to. The acting is awesome and perfect. The story is multi-faceted, and you have to pay attention. The special effects are freakin' sweet, and way different that the way American films approach special effects. Go see it!
Now, I do have some nitpicking to do. Apparently, Fox has taken both of these films and edited them down somewhat. In Night Watch, about 20 minutes was cut, in this film, I think over 30 minutes or so has been cut, and some parts have even been re-written. This only confirms that Fox is the most evil, vile corporation that exists, and their entire purpose for being is to screw over artists and audiences worldwide. If you wish, view the evil vampires in this film as representations of Fox executives. On the other hand, there are sections of this movie--nuances of writing and staging--that loose their effect on a non-Russian audience. Apparently, if you're familiar with typical Russian lifestyles, politics, and products, then this movie is much funnier and incredibly nuanced. It's cultural specificness is not a detriment to the writing, though, it just shows that we're not educated enough.
On the other hand, there are some problems with the writing--namely, the fact that this movie isn't nearly as character driven as it could be. I really wanted to get into these characters heads, explore their motivations, but that doesn't really happen unfortunately. So much plot is going on that there's not much time to explore the inner workings of the characters, which is a shame. Even though there's not time, the movie feels pretty long, mostly because of the incredible amount of subplots they're weaving. There was so many 'B' stories and subplots going on that I assumed they were laying groundwork for a third movie (more on that below). But lo and behold, they wrapped up everything. I mean, everything. I guess we're left to fill in the blanks of WHY these characters were doing what they were doing (particularly Zevulon, I was fascinated by him and wanted to know what his real agenda was, but alas...) and why certain characters were in love with each other.
Seriously--so many ideas and concepts are introduced, that you could make a living off exploring just a few of them through a dozen films, books, etc. I hear there are plans to make a TV show, which I think would be great, because I think these characters and concepts would probably work MUCH better in a serialized format, taking its time, rather than trying to cover so much ground in a big fat movie. This world is so awesome, I'd love to spend several seasons of TV exploring it, or read serialized comics about it, or whatever else they wanted to do (although it'd be real hard to separate these characters from the actors that portray them). There will be a third movie, but there is talk of filming it in America with an all English cast, which is pretty much the worst idea I've ever heard.
Although the ending provides ultimate resolution to the plot (and the ending is pretty freaking cheesy, look out) I was left with a lot of questions about the plot, and the more I thought about it, the more giant holes it appeared to have. It's not that the gaping plot holes couldn't be explained (with a world like this, it'd be easy to explain some of the problems) it's just that they didn't. Also some really big concepts (like the impartial Inquisitors between Dark and Light, and the breif mention of the "Greater Powers") were glossed over and not explored at all. I don't know how I would have preferred it, though. There's so much exposition already that more would have been overwhelming, but there's just so much I wanted explained--and so much I wanted to see that I didn't get to. For example, Tiger Cub and Bear, two of my favorite characters from the first film, have I think 2 lines here. And you still don't get to see Bear turn into a bear. Also, the idea of "The Gloom" is barely used at all.
Yeah, this movie has some problems, but the fact remains that this film creates one of the coolest worlds I've ever seen. Go check it out (after seeing Night Watch first) and get immersed in something you've never seen before.
Let's see if I can make this section more useful:See this movie if:-You like fantasy films, especially dark fantasy (vampires, etc.)
-You like films like LOTR, The Matrix, X-Men, Constantine, etc.
-You like lots of weaving plot, and don't need large character exploration.
Don't See this movie if:-You like things ultra-realistic, and you don't like fantasy
-You absolutely hate the idea of reading subtitles while the movie is spoken in a foreign language
-You haven't seen "Night Watch"
In the 1960's, Ciudade de Deus, a Brazilian slum in the Rio de Janeiro, is one of the most dangerous places on earth. The children learn at an early age how to run with a gang, and when the changing of the guard takes place, a brutal crimelord, Li'l Ze, takes power. Gang warfare rips families apart and incessant violence spills innocent blood. Things spin out of control as Li'l Ze begins to weed out the opposing gangs and raise up a new generation of murderers. 
