Daywatch

Neptune Theater, 6/8 9:30 PM
Lincoln Square, 6/10 9:15 PM

Watching the sequel to a film you haven’t seen is always tricky, but with today’s precedents about vampires, I thought I’d catch right up to Timur Bekmambetov’s Daywatch. Well, I’m not sure I ever really caught up with if all the dark other’s are also vampires, or if the light other’s were sometimes vampires, or the extent of powers in general, but it hardly mattered. Daywatch is an impressive film on many levels. It starts like so much Hollywood drivel (see Underworld) with a highly convoluted back story/mythos that doesn’t really make much sense or matter too much. You’ll be too busy oohing and ahhing at the neon grit that suffuses the movie. Moscow came alive for me in this movie like no other.

The characters were nicely drawn and the actors all gave memorable performances. The special effects were creepy and imaginative and the movie made the most creative use of subtitles that I’ve ever seen (the titles also got a giddy little nudging from Stacey sitting next to me).

I’m returning a movie unwatched to Netflix in order to get the first, and see if I can catch up with the story. It scarcely matters. If you saw Nightwatch last year, then you’ve probably already got Daywatch on your list, and if not, believe me, you don’t have to understand a movie’s back story to thoroughly enjoy it.