Big Picture Big Sound

The Film

Day Watch picks up one year after the events of Night Watch.  Main protagonist, Anton (Konstantin Khabensky), still an agent with Night Watch, the protectors of good, now has Svetlana (Mariya Poroshina) as his trainee and romantic interest.  Caught in the middle of the uneasy truce between the Light and Dark Others, which is now even closer to being broken, Anton must keep his son, Yegor (Dimitry Martynov) who has chosen the path of darkness, from being arrested by the Night Watch for killing normal humans, a violation of the truce.

As events unfolded in Night Watch it was revealed that Yegor was the Great Other prophesied to come into the world and choose a side, thus tipping the balance of power between the forces of Light and Dark forever. Now, in Day Watch, Anton not only must fight to regain the trust of his son, but also, along with Night Watch, try to preserve the truce and once again keep the world from destruction and falling under the control of the Dark Others.

Anton discovers the resting place of an ancient artifact from Central Asia known as the Chalk of Fate, a magical chalk that can be used to rewrite history. As both sides battle to gain control of the Chalk, another Great Other fighting for the side of Light is revealed. Zavulon (Viktor Verzhbitsky), leader of the Dark Others and the Day Watch, manipulating circumstances from the beginning, has been maneuvering things so that the two Great Others will meet in a battle at Yegor's birthday party that will decide the fate of the world. Anton and Night Watch must once again try to stop these things from happening and save the world from destruction.

Just as in the first installment of this cinematic treatment of Russian novelist Sergei Lukyanenko's fantasy tetralogy, the story can sometimes be a little confusing, but this is one of the rare instances where a sequel is superior to its predecessor. Director Timur Bekmambetov once again shows off his skills, honed over many years in the commercial world, creating a fantasy world of spectacular visual effects on the slightest of budgets. Yet, just as before, the world of Day Watch is grounded more in the mundane lives of real Russian people than the mystical landscapes of films such as Lord of the Rings making it that much easier to relate to on a human level.

In its attempt at mimicking big budget Hollywood, Day Watch still falls just a bit shy of the thrills that one might expect, but this second film tells a more solid tale that is easier to understand, regardless of one's cultural heritage, and is another welcome calling card to the world of Russian cinema.

The Picture

Day Watch arrives on "Blu" in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with an AVC/MPEG-4 encoding averaging around 30Mbps. Day Watch, unlike its title implies, takes place mostly at night, in dark, shadowy locations and as such good black levels and shadow details are a must. Well, never fear, because this transfer hits the mark in both areas with a good balance of deep blacks and well-delineated shadow details.  Contrast is set well showing no signs of blooming and saturation is also superbly set, from the glowing mid-tones of Yegor's birthday party to the few scenes of daylight, colors and flesh tones are natural. The film's grain structure is consistent throughout, offering a good film-like quality. Details, though a little bit soft in long shots, are otherwise above average picking up the finer qualities of clothing and skin. Compression artifacts are thankfully absent, which seems to be the norm for BD releases and that's a very good thing.


The Sound

As is standard for Fox, Day Watch comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless mix of its original Russian language track in addition to English DTS 5.1 and French & Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 dubbed mixes. The lossless mix is wonderfully dynamic with deeply resonant low frequencies and a spacious sound stage full of lush ambience. The dialogue is clear and never lost in the mix even during the most active scenes and there are plenty of discrete sound effects and musical sound effects panned into the surround channels for a panoramic sound experience. Some of the grunginess in the high frequencies that was apparent on Night Watch has been tempered for a much smoother sounding mix overall.  Most of all, the sound matches the material very well.

The Extras

The extra material on this release is minimal and consists mainly of various trailers for the film. The commentary and making-of featurette offer some interesting facts about the filmmaking process but will hardly be worth going to more than once or twice at best.

The extras available on this release are:

• Commentary by Director Timur Bekmambetov -- This audio commentary is actually more of an interview taking place over the film and is surprisingly more engaging than the director's audio commentary from Night Watch. The director reveals some interesting tidbits about the filming of Day Watch, including the fact that about 70% of the filming was done during the filming of the preceding Night Watch film. Unfortunately, the commentary is only available as an accompaniment to the English dub version of the film.
• The Making of Day Watch (4:3/standard definition) -- This behind-the-scenes featurette finds the cast and filmmakers discussing the themes of Day Watch and offers a glimpse at the set design and visual effects work.
• TV Spots (4:3/Standard definition) -- 16 television spots for Russian television.
• Theatrical Trailer (2.35:1/high definition) - The original English-language theatrical trailer.
• Russian Trailers (4:3/standard definition) -- 6 original Russian trailers for Day Watch.

Final Thoughts

Day Watch, the second part of the "Watches" trilogy, much like The Empire Strikes Back, is actually a stronger film than its predecessor and is another fine example of the coming of age of post-Soviet Russian cinema. This Blu-ray release offers a high quality level of picture and sound that should please even the most discerning of home theater enthusiasts.

Where to Buy

• Day Watch: Unrated on Blu-ray Disc (Amazon.com)

Product Details

• Actors: Konstantin Khabensky, Mariya Poroshina, Vladimir Menshov, Galina Tyunina, Viktor Verzhbitsky
• Director: Timur Bekmambetov
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Audio/Languages: Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS 5.1, French & Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English, Cantonese, French, Korean, Russian, Spanish
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Region: A
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Blu-ray  Release Date: September 9, 2008
• Run Time: 146 minutes
• List Price: $39.99
• Extras:
  • Commentary by Director Timur Bekmambetov
  • The Making of Day Watch Featurette
  • Russian Trailers
  • Enhanced for D-Box Motion Code Control Systems