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Night Watch

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Night Watch

R

Released Jun 27, 2004

1h 55m

Horror

Fantasy

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

59%

Tomatometer

128 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Hundreds of years ago there was a battle between the Warriors of Light and the evil Warriors of Darkness. Realizing that they were evenly matched, the two sides agreed to a truce. The fragile peace between good and evil is kept in place by two groups: the Day Watch and the Night Watch, each monitoring the opposing side. Now Night Watch member Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky) finds himself at the center of a prophecy that may mark the end of the delicate balance between the two sides.

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Critics Consensus

This Russian horror/fantasy film pits darkness and light against each other using snazzy CGI visuals to create an extraordinary atmosphere of a dank, gloomy city wrestling with dread.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

The punchy, nonstop visual effects crowd out coherent storytelling.

Oct 20, 2009

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David Edelstein

New York Magazine/Vulture

For a good hour and change, the film is a big toy box that teases you out of the Gloom.

Jul 7, 2007

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Matthew Leyland

BBC.com

A highly promising curtain-raiser to an ambitious trilogy.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 4, 2006

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Adele Hartley

The List

There are plenty of stunning set pieces here... but in its repetition and thinness, this, the first of a trilogy, does not bode well.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 27, 2019

Full Review

Nestor Hidalgo

Sensacine

An energetic pyrotechnic show full of visual effects. [Full Review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Oct 17, 2018

Full Review

David Broc

Fotogramas

The director knows how to give a certain self-parochial sense to the story that helps oxygenate the delirious, labyrinthine and insane script, capable of causing more confusion amongst viewers. [Full Review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Oct 17, 2018

Full Review

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Paul M

A fairly misunderstood film… It should have been marketed as an action fantasy and not a horror film. It’s got some of the trapping of a horror film but fits better outside of that framework. This is an extremely creative and singularly unique film but won’t be for everyone unfortunately. It’s quickly paced, clever and at times quite brutal.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/12/25

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MaxJohnson W

Brilliant fusion of multiple genres. Must watch in Russian with English subtitles as the English dub is an embarrassment to all voice talent. It must be paired with the sequel: Day Watch. The twink-themed vampire hollywood production hijacked the title of the third movie: Twilight Watch. Production was abandoned.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/12/23

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Larry H

Excellent story of good vs evil. The dubbing was obvious, but the voice actors are good.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/29/23

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dick n

Not bad for an rather un-heard of early 2000 movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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colin m

Not very interesting.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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john p

I was half-expecting low-budget theatrics, stilted acting & non-inventive plot but I just wanted to see what Russian horror/fantasy -- INSTEAD -- I found a well-done, well acted, supremely well-done special effects, tight acting, oodles of action, creepy-wild plot and now I ready for part 2 "Day Watch" of the Trilogy. This movie did so well in Russia and then globally that part 2 will be done with more moolah in the USA. I just hope, as happened with "The Highlander" series, that this trilogy doesn't go sour after its superb first movie. I heartily recommend this to sci-fi, horror, fantasy, adventure-action and even thriller drama fans. DVD is two-sided to allow Widescreen w/ English language to be seen or the original.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Timur Bekmambetov

Director

Konstantin Khabenskiy

Anton Gorodetsky

Vladimir Menshov

Geser

Viktor Verzhbitskiy

Zavulon

Galina Tyunina

Sorceress Olga

Zhanna Friske

Alisa Donnikova

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Synopsis

Hundreds of years ago there was a battle between the Warriors of Light and the evil Warriors of Darkness. Realizing that they were evenly matched, the two sides agreed to a truce. The fragile peace between good and evil is kept in place by two groups: the Day Watch and the Night Watch, each monitoring the opposing side. Now Night Watch member Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky) finds himself at the center of a prophecy that may mark the end of the delicate balance between the two sides.

Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Producer: Konstantin Ernst, Anatoly Maximov
Screenwriter: Timur Bekmambetov, Sergei Lukyanenko, Sergei Lukyanenko
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: Bazelevs Production, TABBAK, Channel One Russia, The First Channel
Rating: R (Language|Disturbing Images|Strong Violence)
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Action
Original Language: Russian
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 27, 2004, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Feb 17, 2006
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.5M
Runtime: 1h 55m

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