Import/Export: Night Watch (2004)

 Random chance has won the day and I'm finally covering a Film that I've always Wanted to.

That's kind of a lie- I just wanted to use the pun.

This is Night Watch, a 2004 Film that made Timbur Bekmambetov's Career in America.  It led to a Sequel and a slew of American Films that...exist.

He just had a Film out this Year with Chris Pratt, but it wasn't the one with Yoshi in it.

This one is loosely based on a 1998 Novel, but is more known as one of the many 'Everything you know is wrong' Films that were popular in the wake of The Matrix/Men in Black.

Anton is a guy who discovers what is going on and is now a part of things.  Can he survive and solve a mystery that proves to be personal?

To find out, read on...

In a strange Cold Open, we get narration about how there was a big battle between the Dark and the Light.

The Dark Leader loved to fight, but the Light one didn't and forced a truce, establishing the Night Watch and Day Watch to enforce it.

It cuts to 1992 and a guy is paying a Witch to do something terrible to his Girlfriend who left him when she got pregnant with another guy's kid.

Strangers- who he spotted briefly earlier- run in and stop the ritual, saving the baby.

They are then surprised to find out that he can see them.

The Film then abruptly jumps ahead 12 years...what?!?
It will be important later, but there had to have been a better way to do this.

In any event, the guy is an Other- people with powers- and, like all of them, must choose between Dark and Light.  No gray here.

He's a Seer (he gets vague visions of the future) and has worked for the Light during this time.

In spite of that, he's kind of terrible at the job.  How is this just NOW becoming an issue?

He stops a Vampire pair from feeding on a kid, but gets nearly killed.

Backup arrives and he inadvertently kills the Male Vampire with light, causing him to turn into a statue and crack like a Twilight Vampire.

That's a thing in multiple Films?!?

The main Plot involves a woman who is apparently a Tempest.  She's cursed and causing all sorts of evil/danger around her.

Separately, there's talk of a strong Other who will be the key to balance.
You know, like Anakin was.

I'm sure that this won't come up later.

The kid from earlier is still being targeted- I wonder why.

The Lady Vampire was put back on his trail and our Hero (alongside his new Companion) save him from 'The Gloom' (a vague, dark presence).

It isn't easy.

Also she was pretending to be an Owl when he first met her.

While trying to find the source of the curse for the lady who's a Tempest, our Hero discovers a shocking truth.

The Witch lied to him!  The kid he nearly killed was actually his own.

12 years ago, you say.  

Hmm...

Our Heroes are split up to protect the kid- since the Vampire is still loose- and figure out who cursed the lady.

As it turns out, the answer is...kind of stupid.

Our Hero goes back to save the kid since the Lady Vampire got him in her grasp.

They stop her, but then the head of the Dark shows up.

A fight ensues between our Hero and him, which leads to the bad guys revealing the (misinterpreted) truth to the kid- who is actually our Hero's Son!

The kid chooses the Dark and...well, see how they resolve this in the Sequel.

The End.

A Film that is full of style and flair, but is there more to it?

The big draw of this Film is the idea of the Plot (not necessarily the execution) and the crazy visuals.
The latter seems to have become strongly associated with the Director- for better or worse.

Being known for one thing only can't backfire, right M. Night?

The Plot is all sorts of bizarre and jumbled, which is not exactly helped by the constant visual distractions.  Don't get me wrong- many of them are great, but they are distractions.

Little things- like showing a car driving- requires CGI shots of the engine combusting, for example.

If you get past the visuals, the Plot is kind of silly and disjointed.  The time jump really telegraphs the twist too.

The Film seems to have big aspirations, lots of ideas for crazy visuals and a general idea of a world to build, but it never quite came together for me.

Maybe in the Sequel.

I'll leave you with this real shot from the Film...done in Virtua Fighter?!?

It's also a key moment in the climax.

Next up, a look back at an out-of-print Film from the early '70s.  The Plot reminds me of one of my Top 10 Favorite Films, so...I'm hyped.  Stay tuned...