Written by Puño Estupendo

In 2004 Russian director Timur Bekmambetov surprised the fantasy world with his film Nochnoy dozor, translated for our English senses as Night Watch. The film did surprisingly well over in the U.S. and garnered a lot of attention from the geek community. When was the last time you remember a Russian fantasy/action/horror film making the rounds? Exactly my point, it was quite an accomplishment.

In Night Watch, Bekmambetov created a modern Moscow that was inhabited by a supernatural community broken into two warring factions. Those of Light have battled those of the Dark for longer than any of us have been around and the film's central character was Anton Gorodetsky, a member of the forces of Light. However, if haven't seen it, there's not a whole lot of reason to watch Day Watch, its 2006 sequel, because it starts running right out of the gate and doesn't stop to catch you up on what's been established previously. This is awesome if you have a fantastic memory for Night Watch, but if you don't, you might want to re-watch it first.

At the beginning of Day Watch there is a flashback sequence of the 14th century warlord Tamerlane and his attempt to gain the Chalk Of Fate. Whoever has it can use it to write their own destiny and control the fate of the world. These things are usually a mixed blessing and you know right away that the Chalk is going to play a big part somewhere down the line.

Cut to modern day Moscow and Anton is on patrol with his overly eager trainee Svetlana. A call comes from dispatch and asks them to investigate an attack by a Dark One which throws the viewer right back into Bekmambetov's world established in the previous film. The heavies are reintroduced and Anton's problems pick right back up.

Konstantin Khabensky handles the role of Anton effortlessly and makes you very sympathetic with everything that happens to him. He's definitely a tragic figure but you want him to succeed; you want things to go better for him than they did in Night Watch. It also doesn't hurt that a great ensemble cast surrounds him. Mariya Poroshina's Svetlana flows well with him onscreen and the charisma there helps pull you into the troubles coming their way.

And man, Anton's about to have some major troubles. Bummer for him and his pals, good stuff for you and me.

Now not wanting to give a play-by-play, and as I'm not reviewing Night Watch, I'm just going to lay down the good and the bad here. Day Watch is shot beautifully. It's got style and a really nice cut to it and even though we've seen the look before, that doesn't mean it's not well done. Though a little slower in pace than I'd like at times, the cast keeps you involved. Everyone seems to have an interesting face and they're so not Hollywood. The acting is well done and is what gets you through the slower spots.