Day Watch aka Дневно́й дозо́р (Dnevnoi Dozor)

If you liked the original Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor), you will enjoy this flick. Those of you who were lukewarm about the first, this one will appeal more to you. Much of the original East European film character of the original is missing in this flick and the overall feel has been Hollywood-ized with more mainstream characters, less atmospheric, less of the bizarre and eclectic, less of the dark comedic aspects, and less grime -- environmental and human. It does possess a more mature plot structure and film elements compared to the first and makes it easier and more enjoyable to follow at times.

Much that worked for the original is missing in this sequel. Unfortunately, the unusual incorporation of the subtitles in the original has been thrown away for an English dubbed audio track, which fails as those always do. So, if you want the experience, the preferred route is to go the Russian language track and make do with the generic subtitles at the bottom. The dark comedy aspects of the original film are also greatly toned down making for more of the generic action type movie that's a bit heavy on the melodrama. This film doesn't laugh at itself nearly so much as the original and could pass itself off as a generic Hollywood blockbuster were it not for a few absurdities making themselves known -- the Yo-Yo of the Apocalypse and a Ferris wheel serving duty as Godzilla, for a couple of instances. For the fans of the original, it is evident the people behind this sequel wanted to give the original cast the opportunity to reprise their earlier roles. Basically, it would appear that most everyone from the first managed screen time in the second and spotting them in the background adds to the experience.

Watch it if you like the first or watch it if you didn't hate the first and feel like something different from the Cruise Clone popcorn flicks. At the very least, you'll get to hear Gesser yell out "Who's your daddy?" in Russian.

- JP