Die Geschichte des Films ist natürlich unglaublich dramatisch und der Film hätte dementsprechend gut werden können. Was mir diesen Film jedoch gründlich verdorben hat, ist die Sprache im Film. Zwei Bergsteiger aus Berchtesgaden haben in den 30er Jahren sicher nicht hochdeutsch gesprochen! Weil sie es im Film aber tun, wirken die beiden Hauptdarsteller nicht authentisch.
Schade drum.

Auch wenn die Geschichte etwas melodramatisch ist, sind die Kostum und Set details fabelhaft. Auch das es in Maja gesprochen wird bringt noch etwas autentisches zu Film

Surprising depth and quality for this genre
As one of the most successful russian films at the box office, Wächter der Nacht, has merit. The story may seem typical for the genre: a troubled hero finds himself caught between the forces of good and evil in a perpetual battle for justice. But there is a depth to this film not seen in many other films of this type. Partially a critic of russian society it is more a grey movie than pure black and white. The mood, cinematography and acting are unexpectedly good. Some unconventional film language is used, but I found it a refreshing view into new russian film movement that uses Hollywood technics to speak to the local russian fans.
A lot of the story goes unexplained, so I can't wait for the sequel which will certainly get a larger budget.

A great season opener for Sci Fi Fans
Though I am a SciFi fan, there are few SciFi TV series that I think deserve my attention. I really liked Star Trek Next Generation (TNG) but was bored by Deep Space Nine. I didn't really like Star Gate SG1, but Atlantis is great. This episode starts from the middle of the invasion of the wraith and launches a story which will probably seed many new episodes this season. You have gotta start with this disc, and hope the next one comes soon afterwards.

Better than expected
Though Ron Howard is not one of my favorite directors as I find he is often to melodramatic and pandering to the lowest common denomenator, he has directed some good films in the recent past. Among these I would count A Beautiful Mind, The Missing and Cinderella Man. The true story is inspiring, but not very challenging. What I particularly liked were the very realistic fight scenes which were kept pretty close to the actually matches. The ever so multi-facited Renee Zellweger, plays decidedly low key and lets Russel Crowe take the acting laurels.