Chernovik (2018) Online

Heh, you know, it's rare when a Russian film is so full of emotions. Here Chernovik achieved this. Read below my review of the movie without spoilers to the story, I do not know how well emotions will fall into the text, but I'll try. Go!

You know, I read Chernovik and Lukyanenko for a long time. It was so long ago that I honestly hardly remember the plot. The only thing I remember is that I read both books in awe and they liked me wild. The association of something incredible and fantastic, but at the same time dynamic and interesting - that's what remains of memories of books. Well, the film Chernovik directly inspired to re-read these masterpiece. To break the taste from what he saw. I told many films of Sarik in my time, but here a special case (especially the director is not Sarik). Surprisingly, the first two-thirds of the film The Draft is straight even more than not bad. Seriously. Yes, they left the idea of the book as always far and in an incomprehensible direction. Yes, there are moments that amaze with their stupidity and stupidity. Yes, to freeze animators who created special effects Night Watch and defreeze them today to create a draft - maybe not the best idea, since many studios on the knee would have been better written, since computers today are not pentiums anymore, and maybe better graphics editors forward seriously. But... The most buzz of the film is that what idiot just thought of introducing into the plot of the film and the film itself the image of biomechanical matryoshkas, the essence and meaning of which in the story are not disclosed. Maybe I have partial amnesia, but something in the books seems like it was not. This is how much it is necessary to get fumigated and the grass from which of the worlds, in order to think of such a thing? Well there is no way to describe without spoilers to the plot, this extravaganza should be seen personally. The extravaganza and its senselessness.

It's a shame in Chernovik that the sound link and rudiments of a good story in the film were. And the first half of the film, except for certain moments, they even somehow made their way through the stupidity and idiocy of what is happening. But then ... Then Sarik's virus became an epidemic that probably infected not only the director, but also writers and all the others.

To me one thing is interesting. Is the generation of people taking films in Russia today so dumb and hopeless? Well, really still at the stage of the prescribed script it does not become evident that the film is already not being produced right now, that the audience will crack the skull by slapping the palm over the forehead throughout the entire film? Well, can not this be realized and changed in advance? Well, I do not believe that I, Roman, are so clever as the navel of the earth, my friends doomed to go to the film are also unrecognized geniuses, while Sergei Mokritsky, in an embrace with the screenwriters, is the people who were taken into the profession by distribution, and not for talent. Well, okay, it's not like that. But here you go to the film and make sure - it happens. How is this possible - still do not understand. Despite the rudiments of adequacy and even some single good ideas, the film turned out to be the delirium of a gray mare. Cleaner shoot here no longer makes any sense. But in fact it was possible to make a whole movie on the basis of the novel to make Russian. God himself ordered. But the couple did not dare. They took something like Defenders-2. My sadness and grief simply do not have limits. Looking forward to a review from Badcomedian with impatience. There is where to swing at thousands of good jokes. And by the way, yes, the postscript, in the book, the plot of history with the erasure of life took only a couple of pages, immediately took off for 20 minutes. What for?

As a big fan of Lukjanenko, the author of the book and the book itself, I so wished the movie would be any good. But unfortunately it isn't. And I am very sad to give this review

First of all I would like to thank the author for a great story. For some reasons this book puts me in a special mental state, so I have listened to an audio version of it more than enough to know the story by heart.

Now about the movie. My major complain goes to the screenwriter. Almost all story lines and characters, including the main ones were changed so heavily, that the whole thing stopped to make any sense after the first 30 minutes of the movie. I probably said "whaat the hell??" 100 times watching the movie. Somehow, to my regret, bad screenwriting became an epidemic in the russian movie industry. It's like they think that if they add some visual effects to the movie, they are justified to make a sloppy work on the story, which is what a good movie is actually always about. Common guys, that is just a lazy thinking!

Ok, you might say that I am biased by the book and it's always difficult to convert a book to a movie. So what if you haven't read the book? To that I would say - it will be even worse to watch, because you will just fail to understand what the hell is going on. Characters suddenly start talking about things and calling names you've never heard before. In my opinion you will not understand motivations and the logic, so you will be left to sit and wonder who is doing what and why.

My advise - skip the movie, read or listen the book.

...as intention. Because , it has beautiful premises, an interesting story and a lot of CGI effects. And a nice cast. But, scene by scene, it becomes a montagne russe. From the high level to the down. Once. And again. The best part- the resurrection of the memories about fairy tales. Including Russian . The worlds, the order keeper, the fundamental change of life - a fear of each from us- are good points . But the problem becomes with the wrong use of obsessive love story. Sure, Dante and Beatrice or, maybe,"What Dreams may Come". But the entire architecture of film is brocked. Sure, a seductive idea with high potential. But not enough for be credible. And real seductive.

I would have never even heard of this film (or the book it was inspired of) if not for HBO Go, so thanks for that. I was pleasantly surprised to watch something that felt different than the usual American movies I watch and that had an original idea. However, even if it seems the production values are high, the script and the acting leave a lot to be desired. It's a step up from what I was expecting, though, and I hope the Russian movie industry improves and starts bringing to the public all that rich Slav storytelling that I grew up with. So many great Russian sci-fi writers and so few movies to bring them justice. But enough of that.

The story revolves around a guy who is practically removed from this life, with people who knew him forgetting him and any proof he ever existed updated. Why? So that he is made a border guard between worlds. His job is not only the menial checking and allowing traveler access, but also opening doors to new worlds. Yet by the time we learn of this, the story focuses almost exclusively on his obsession with his former girlfriend and the inane steps the organization he works for takes in order to stop that from developing. So much so that in the end, when he achieves what he had been brought to do in the first place, everything literally crumbles to dust because of this artificial conflict and drama. The story is also open ended, as Cernovik is just the first of a series of books by author Sergei Lukyanenko, same guy who wrote Night Watch and Day Watch, which also got made into high profile Russian movies. Maybe it's better to wait for a Chistovik movie and watch them back to back.

Bottom line: some serious irony there to name your book Rough Draft and a major achievement to be made into a movie. However, the film starts great and ends in a weird chaotic mess. It's like different people made the first and the second halves of the story. Plot holes abound and even the Matryoshka Daleks can't stop the feeling that someone really slacked in the end there.

Kirill (Nikita Volkov) has a great life as a very successful video game designer; he has lots of friends, loving parents and a beautiful girlfriend, not to mention a loyal dog. But one evening when he returns to his apartment, he finds a stranger there - a woman named Renata (Severija Janusauskaite) who insists that the apartment (and the dog) belongs to her. In trying to straighten the situation out, Kirill soon discovers that all of his documentation has somehow disappeared from official records, his boss doesn't know him and worse, neither do his friends or even his parents. He is now at the mercy of Renata, who instructs him to go to a tower, where he will serve as the customs officer, opening doors to other worlds. And he's very good at what he does.... This sketchy description barely scratches the surface of this film, which is full of gorgeous imagery (steampunk vehicles, graceful dirigibles and terrifying flying matryoshka dolls) and out-of-this-world fight scenes. Really fun stuff, if bewildering at times.

Keeps guessing and questioning all the time For people who didn't read the book this is a very well done movie

A new time-age is broken:Very good film only for good emotions.

I'm a fan of writer Lukjanenko. I's so easy to read his books, and imagine what is happening there. In my opinion there are a lot of untold things in this movie. What I'm glad is that quality of russian movies are getting better and better. I've expected more information about Arkan, because, Arkan is creator of our world. Well, movie is good for watching. Good for people who loves sci-fi. cheers.