Day Watch
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: June 1, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
9
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
It's a high-energy blast. Read full review
80
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Like its predecessor, the movie is a joyous celebration of extravagant pulp and post-Soviet kitsch, joyously trafficking in gore, loud cars, ladies' stilettos and excess for its own sake. Read full review
75
PremiereGlenn Kenny
The crazy fantasy world of this saga is plenty compelling and quirky. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
While the sequel to "Night Watch" is an imperfect film, it's always interesting. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Anyone looking for sleek futuristic action and production design should keep walking. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Though Day Watch seems less shocking and overwhelmingly strange than "Night Watch," it's another rocking mix of gritty thriller and glitzy sci-fi, once again in the vein of the director Bekmambetov's idols Quentin Tarantino and the Wachowski brothers. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
For all the vampires and blown-up cars, you'll see no sadism for the hell of it, only an oddly sweet-tempered mix of hyperbole, understatement and profoundly Slavic philosophizing about guilt, freedom and responsibility. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyGregory Kirschling
The sequel is a minor wackjob head trip. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
Though overlong, there are many stunning special effects, including a car chase up the side of a building, as well as the sort of wild animated subtitles that turned up in "Night Watch." Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Putting an entertainingly outlandish spin on "Matrix"-style action, Bekmambetov leans toward flamboyant special effects and operatic overacting. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Ranks as one of the most elaborate, stunt- and effects-filled summer movies currently in the theatres. Unfortunately for its box-office prospects, it's also in Russian, which narrows its audience to action junkies with a foreign film bent. Read full review
60
Village VoiceNathan Lee
The worst thing Bekmambetov has picked up from his American models is the tendency of megasequels to aggrandize material grown enervated, to compensate for thinness by spreading out. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Day Watch does dazzle and even at times amuse. But its imagination is limited. The backstory is shallow and pat. Its characters are mostly one-note. And everything goes on much too long at 133 minutes. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
The story is pure gobbledygook. Read full review
50
VarietyLeslie Felperin
Bursting with incident and FX, Day Watch will delight fans of its predecessor, "Night Watch," but further annoy those antipathetic to the Russkie-made supernatural franchise. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
Unfolding in a decrepit, present-day Moscow, Day Watch dazzles and confuses with equal determination. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Day Watch falls prey to the curse of most sequels in which "more" is often a thin concept stretched beyond its limits and misconstrued to mean "bigger and better." Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Bekmambetov introduces too many elements, losing interest in them or using them inadequately. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
Like the dream it so closely resembles, it's fairly distracting while it's going on, but it fades into forgettable nonsense by the light of day. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
I wasn't exactly engaged, but this time boredom never took over. Read full review
38
Miami HeraldPeter Debruge
Like Russia's answer to "The Matrix" and "Lord of the Ring"s trilogies, Day Watch offers the second chapter in an epic battle between the forces of Light and Dark, the result of which is a gaping gray area where nothing much makes sense. Read full review
More From This Movie

59 Critic Reviews

6.6 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL