Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Night Watch: Among normal humans live the "Others" possessing various supernatural powers. They are divided up into the forces of light and the forces of the dark, who signed a truce several centuries ago to end a devastating battle. Ever since, the forces of light govern the day while the night belongs to their dark opponents. In modern day, the dark Others actually roam the night as vampires while a "Night Watch" of light forces, among them Anton, try to control them and limit their outrage. Day Watch: Only one thing stands between peace and Armageddon: the supernatural agents of "Day Watch", who fight to control the armies of light and darkness. When the son of a senior "Night Watch" officer turns to the darkness, forces beyond the imagination are unleashed and the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

These are the first two films in a trilogy based on the popular novels. Both represent the most successful Russian films to date and most likely the highest budgets ever seen in Russian cinema. The films have a vision that is way over the top in style, action and imagery. At times it works really well but sometimes it borders on a bit too much excess cheese. The stories are quite imaginative and the characters are great. There are big differences compared to American cinema, but that only helps the freshness of the material. You can see where a lot of the vision of Wanted came from, which is from the same director. It will be interesting to see where the third and final film, Twilight Watch will go since the second film did seem to tie things up pretty well.

Both films are very similar in their visual style but the production values on the second film are slightly better. The HD presentations are a bit hit or miss and seem to be limited by the filming style more than anything. I did notice some light posterization from time to time and some light digital artifacting was seen too but neither was overly distracting. Detail can be exquisite in close ups and the intense contrast ratio delivers a very dimensional image but some of the longer shots are on the softer side. Colors dazzle with vivid hues that really add to the mood and gloom of the film. Overall the image does waver a lot, but both films have never looked this good.

The original Russian soundtrack is delivered in DTS-HD Master Audio but unfortunately the stylized subtitles are not included. Both mixes are quite aggressive with lots of low bass and intense dynamics. Surrounds provide plenty of ambiance and add a lot to the more intense action sequences. The mix is very inventive and bolsters the strange mix of action and comedy with its playfulness. Both are strong presentations with the second film coming out a notch ahead due to the obvious increase in budget.

Extras are a bit more inclusive on the first film than the second. Both feature director’s commentaries and a behind the scenes look at the production but the first film extends its breadth with deleted scenes and a look at the trilogy. Both are enhanced for D-Box and both feature the trailers.

This is shaping up to be quite the series. While not for everyone the frantic mix of action, horror and incredible visuals does put this up there as one of the most original trilogies of recent years. Fox has done a great job with the presentation but I’m still bummed we didn’t get the stylized subtitles.