Full of breathtaking effects but a shallow plot

Rating: 7/10 (24 July 2008)

This Hollywood film of the same Russian director who made "Night Watch" and "Day Watch " is very similar in effects to his two-part sequel but lacks in depth of the plot. As usual, Timur is at his heights in turning one effect after another but the screenplay although interesting, is quite shallow for a Russian taste. What should we expect from Hollywood screenwriters anyway? When they started talking about the "Assassins" - I thought they would go further to their roots - in the Alamut Castle in Iran, where the first "Hassassins" - Islamic ultra sect - was formed. (The word "assassins" comes from the name of this sect). If the Hollywood writers didn't know this, at least Timur could have helped. But no, they made it into a fraternity without much connection with history. Pity. Also, this idea of killing people who would do harm in the future is the same as in "Minority Report." On the positive side, the unexpected "table-turning" in the middle is quite refreshing. Also, one cute moment in the movie when the Russian guy is helping the main character to recover in some kind of pool, he is singing a famous Russian lullaby! That was funny but surely nobody except Russians could appreciate the irony.