Movie Review: Day Watch

Day Watch is another take on modern fantasy but this one comes from Russia with love. It's the sequel to 2004's Night Watch, which was an international hit and a film that I enjoyed.

The film picks up where the last left off (after an obligatory ancient battle scene. Could this be extremely critical to the plot???), and not having seen Night Watch for a couple years I was lost for about the first fifteen minutes trying to remember what happened in the first. I recognized Anton, the main character of the film who is a member of the Night Watch. He was transfigured from a normal human into an "Other" in the first film and immediately caught up between the struggle to keep the truce between the Light and Dark Others. To ensure the truce is kept, the Light Others have the Night Watch and the Dark Others have the Day Watch, each police-like agencies that ensure the rules are enforced on the opposing side. In Day Watch, Anton is an experienced member of the Night Watch and is training a new member of the force, Svetlana, Anton's blonde love interest and an extremely powerful Light Other.

These Others wander freely among the human populace along the periphery, their crimes and battles undetected by normal human beings. After a beginning chase scene where Anton and Svetlana chase after Anton's son Yegor, a powerful Dark Other who sucks the life force out of people through an implanted needle and a juice box, Yegor's caregiver is found murdered and Anton is the prime suspect. Immediately the Day Watch are after him, trying to justify open war based on this alleged crime.

The Night Watch are then forced to hide Anton. Of course the best place to do this is in a woman's body. Anton is transferred into Olga's body and is told to go hide out in Svetlana's apartment. I must say that Galina Tyunina, the actress who plays Olga, does a great job of pulling off the "I look like a woman but I'm actually a man" bit. The way she walks, lights a cigarette, and watches hockey are all very masculine. Of course Svetlana has no idea that Anton is inhabiting Olga's body and she confesses her love of Anton. After this Anton can't help but reveal that it is actually him inside Olga's body and the two go on a date. On the date Anton finds another dead Dark Other and he decides that it's time to take matters into his own hands and prove his innocence.

Actually, it's more like he decides to go back in time and undo everything. The Chalk of Fate, depicted in the flashback battle scene at the beginning of the movie, is now Anton's only hope of undoing these crimes. So off he sets, trying to figure out where it is. He finds it and lo and behold it still works after all these years. Is the movie over soon? Nope, his son Yegor shows up and steals the chalk, complicating matters.

The film's climax is set at Yegor's birthday party in a large hotel in Moscow, and Anton shows up still trying to get the chalk. Eventually Svetlana shows up and inadvertently starts war and Yegor goes apocalypse all over everybody's ass, destroying most of Moscow.

Does Anton get the Chalk of Fate and save the day? Is war averted? You'll have to see the movie to find out. "But should I see the movie?" you may be asking. There are some side plots in the film I left out, like forbidden love and the scheming of the Day Watch, that make the movie feel like it was a movie and a half and probably could have been cut or diminished. Day Watch covers similar territory as other recent movies, but if you enjoyed Hellboy or Underworld then I highly recommend checking this movie out. Of course, if you haven't seen Night Watch, then that's your first stop, but it's a worthy sequel in a highly entertaining franchise.

Omaha Streetcars, dammit

So Omaha has been bandying about the idea of installing streetcars. I would love this. If it runs on rails, then I'm excited. Of course, the mayor wants to form a "task force" to study economic costs and benefits, blah blah blah, for $200,000+. I'll give you my ideas for free. Here's what I would do if mayor and the federal government wrote me a check (Like they did for our worthless but pretty pedestrian bridge).

Here's the map I made with Google maps with the routes I think would be best: Self-proposed Streetcar Routes.

Let me know what you think in the comments. Collaborating on the map could be fun.

Peace