"Nochnoi Dozor" aka "Night Watch" (2004) directed by Timur Bekmambetov and based on the cult novel by Sergei Lukyanenko.
This Action / Fantasy / Horror / Thriller begins many centuries ago with the great battle between the forces of Darkness and Light - The Good and the Evil. No one can win that battle and the forces keep truce controlling each other's actions during the Night and Day watch. Skip to Moscow, Russia of 2004 - the balance between the Dark and the Light is just about to collapse because the Chosen one who would either save the world if he joins the Light or destroy it if he goes with the dark forces has been born but does know his destiny yet. Sounds familiar, does it not? "Lord of the Rings", "The Matrix", "Star Wars" - yes, "Night Watch", the first entry in the trilogy brings to mind all these celebrated movies but it has very distinguished look and feel to it, "horror-fantasy-down-and-dirty-Moscow-style". The film also explores (at least it tries to) Mikhail Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita" territory and reminds of the popular Russian cult novel by Vladimir Orlov, "Danilov the Violist" in the way both beloved books combine bitter realism of life in Moscow with darkly humorous fantasy. I have to admit that I did not expect much but I was pleasantly surprised. The movie was entertaining, funny, and at the same time very dark, unsettling, and gripping. It is not a perfect movie (its director is a little too much in love with the MTV style camera movements and cuts) but it's got many interesting sequences and special effects. The B/W animated part was brilliant and it alone makes the film worth of watching.
Some jokes are hilarious. My favorite was the one about two vampires that fell in love and wanted to enroll in the teaching college together.
P.S. I will certainly watch "Dnevnoi Dozor" aka "Day Watch" when it becomes available.
This Action / Fantasy / Horror / Thriller begins many centuries ago with the great battle between the forces of Darkness and Light - The Good and the Evil. No one can win that battle and the forces keep truce controlling each other's actions during the Night and Day watch. Skip to Moscow, Russia of 2004 - the balance between the Dark and the Light is just about to collapse because the Chosen one who would either save the world if he joins the Light or destroy it if he goes with the dark forces has been born but does know his destiny yet. Sounds familiar, does it not? "Lord of the Rings", "The Matrix", "Star Wars" - yes, "Night Watch", the first entry in the trilogy brings to mind all these celebrated movies but it has very distinguished look and feel to it, "horror-fantasy-down-and-dirty-Moscow-style". The film also explores (at least it tries to) Mikhail Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita" territory and reminds of the popular Russian cult novel by Vladimir Orlov, "Danilov the Violist" in the way both beloved books combine bitter realism of life in Moscow with darkly humorous fantasy. I have to admit that I did not expect much but I was pleasantly surprised. The movie was entertaining, funny, and at the same time very dark, unsettling, and gripping. It is not a perfect movie (its director is a little too much in love with the MTV style camera movements and cuts) but it's got many interesting sequences and special effects. The B/W animated part was brilliant and it alone makes the film worth of watching.
Some jokes are hilarious. My favorite was the one about two vampires that fell in love and wanted to enroll in the teaching college together.
P.S. I will certainly watch "Dnevnoi Dozor" aka "Day Watch" when it becomes available.