That was an excellent one.

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

An action-packed slog

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This was, wasn't it? For like a twelve years straight we were glued to our television sets watching the court case play out like it was the OJ Trial...only a little more twisted and...Oh, wait, no, it wasn't.It was just an Ewan McGregor and, let's face it, after Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, A Life Less Ordinary, Velvet Goldmine...well, for a while there in the 90s her ruled didn't he? You had to watch him.I kind of gave it a 10 out of 10, not because it was the epitome of cinematic glory, but because it was just twisted fun...I sort of do that with movies that are entertaining. That's the point of buying the ticket, right? To be entertained, to lose yourself for a little while? Nightwatch did that. But it's also one of those movies where, yeah, you can sort of see it happening in real life and if it did you would be glued to the court case. The best reality show ever.The cast is good, there are a few twists and turns, but honestly it's a thriller that's just an Ewan McGregor machine when he was at his best. It's cheesy pop corn fun with a very 90s atmosphere.The cast is great, the music fits, it's never over-done, at times it's clever, at times it's funny, and at the end, like all popcorn fun, you leave entertained without the burdensome feeling that you had been taught anything or expanded your mind at all.

I must say that this is a fairly good movie to watch lonely at night. Must admit the fact that I haven't seen the original but based on the reviews on IMDb, the original must be too scary and better. This remade Hollywood version is not that scary but will keep you in pulse with the movie till the last scene. Some good performance from the lead casts. The movie features brutal murder scenes and nudity so strictly not for the underage or faint-hearted. Imo, the screenplay could have been made much scarier for a movie with such a storyline and the director could have held suspense a bit longer. The bottom line is -- "Not too scary still good to Night-watch"...

I am not into horror movies where terrible events happen in someone's mind or imagination, when nothing is going on in reality (with very few exceptions like The Others); it may be interesting to watch and share the feelings, but by the end of the film you feel betrayed and disappointed. In Nightwatch, horror film elements are combined with committed crimes, and the result is not bad. McGregor, Nolte and Brolin perform especially well, female characters seem mediocre, even Arquette, but perhaps her part was not elaborated. I would have shortened the ending: when the doer becomes known, the subsequent scenes are too protracted and the horror-crime film remains a crime feature film only. But still recommended, the film is not too long and the venue (hospital morgue) has been exploited well.

Co-writer / director Ole Bornedal's English language remake of his earlier Danish hit "Nattevagten" is pretty good stuff, a substantially atmospheric and creepy thriller that milks the ambiance of its locations for everything that they're worth. Ewan McGregor, doing a superb American accent, is law student Martin Bells, who takes a part time job as night watchman at the city morgue. His best friend James (Josh Brolin) is bored with their humdrum lives and goes about doing some reckless things, while a serial killer is haunting the city and taking the eyeballs from his victims. The movie can boast some solid suspense sequences, and is also beautifully lit (by Dan Laustsen) and scored (by Joachim Holbek). It's got some decent gore going for it, but mostly it's all about the mood with "Nightwatch". The cast is excellent all the way down the line, with McGregor highly likable in the lead. Patricia Arquette plays his girlfriend, and figures in what is one of the best moments in the film, as she comes very close to encountering the killer. Brolin is fun as the risk taking friend, and Nick Nolte offers an interesting and entertaining performance as the police inspector on the trail of the killer. Brad Dourif has a great supporting part as the grumpy duty doctor who suggests McGregor get acquainted with drugs from the "zine" family when the latter cries wolf, Alix Koromzay is memorable as a prostitute, and Lonny Chapman has a great little bit as the veteran night watchman who trains McGregor. John C. Reilly appears uncredited in the key supporting role of Deputy Inspector Davis. The build up to the finale is so strong that the ultimate confrontation & action can't quite measure up (intriguingly, our killer is identified sooner than we'd expect), but Bornedal still does an impressive job of marrying soundtrack and image throughout his film. It gets off to a great start with its opening credits, and is fundamentally a neat little story, well told and well paced with no filler to have to deal with. It's an enjoyable film that deserves another look from genre fans. Seven out of 10.