Quite ambiguously, the audience and critics accepted the film "The Dark World: Balance". Actors received more positive reviews than the picture itself and its serial version. Consider what caused this situation.
The idea that became the series
After the release of the film "Dark World", the idea immediately appeared to make a prequel. Director Oleg Asadulin turned to the famous science fiction writers Marina and Sergey Dyachenko to write a script for a feature film in the style of urban fantasy.
These science fiction writers are quite famous not only in the CIS, but throughout Europe, thanks to their books in this genre. Therefore, they were so keen on writing the script that they created it in two versions: for a widescreen film and a television series.
Filming went in parallel. Many scenes from the series were included in the full-screen version. The actors of the Dark World: Balance worked simultaneously on two projects. It was an interesting experience for them.
The filming process took only 118 days, which is relatively short, given the fact that two full films were being prepared for release simultaneously.
A few words about the plot
The actors of the film “The Dark World: Balance” have realized a fantasy universe in which otherworldly shadows burst into the real life of ordinary people, devouring their vitality. Of course, there are special guards protecting the townsfolk, unsuspecting of the dangers that always haunt them.
Shadows enter our world through a special portal guarded by three former builders who once accidentally found it.
The main character of the film is Dasha. She is able to see shadows among people. But the main upheaval of history is that the ancient magician is trying to remove the protective dome over the portal and open up unlimited access to shadows in our world. To do this, he uses different methods.
Each new series reveals a separate story, but through the entire series there is a development of the main storyline of the opposition of positive and negative heroes. But according to many opinions, it is poorly developed and has a number of errors, clichés and hackneyed plot tricks characteristic of this genre.
Preparing for the filming process
To make the actors of “The Dark World: Balance” look natural, the developers specially invented a separate story for each hero, created a system of symbols, and thought out a whole set of rituals for dark forces. The director himself was personally involved in applying protective drawings to the body of actress Maria Pirogova, who played the main character Dasha.
An ancient statue was also created specifically for filming. Its parts were treated with special chemical compounds and paints to create the effect of an ancient artifact.
The Dasha amulet was also designed just for this painting. To make it look natural, it was made of real silver using precious stones.
Thanks to all this, the actors of the series “Dark World: Balance” so precisely got used to the images that it was their work that the audience liked the most.
Cast
For the main roles in the project, the director chose young and talented artists who were maximally revealed in their images. More than 60 girls claimed to be the main character, but Maria Pirogova was the most suitable. She corresponded to the idea of the film crew about Dasha as much as possible.
Let's take a closer look at The Dark World: Balance (TV series). Actors and roles in it were distributed as follows:
- the first guy, Dasha Mishu, was played by Makar Zaporizhsky, known to viewers for his work in the TV series Daddy’s Daughters, Youth, Method;
- the second guy Dasha (Seeds) was embodied by Pavel Priluchny, who also appears quite often on television;
- Peter Syomak reincarnated as an ancient sorcerer who opposed the main character.
But even the talented play of the actors did not save this project: it is considered a failure, although it received considerable amounts from rental in Russia and Ukraine.
Tricks and special effects
In the process of working on the picture, the actors of the Dark World: Balance were repeatedly exposed to danger. An ambulance was called 50 times on the set. But, fortunately, no one was seriously injured.
The trick when the young Dasha drops out of the bus on the bridge was removed from the first take. It was performed by a stunt girl. But over the stage, when the main character is under water for a long time, they worked for more than 10 hours in a special pool. All this time, the actress was in the water.
The university building, in which the main events take place, was “mounted” from three architectural objects. The basis was taken by Moscow State University and the Theater of the Russian Army, supplemented by computer graphics.
The foundation pit for the construction of the RSU is the Domodedovo quarry. The episode was filmed all night. During this time, the actors were in an artificial rain.
Impressions of the actors
There is not much information on the Internet about the project "Dark World: Balance". Actors, photos from the shoot and other working information were not widely advertised due to the failure of both paintings. But the artists themselves respond positively to work in the project.
For some of them, this was the first experience in a fantasy film, so they were happy to try themselves in the new role of wizards and keepers of peace of mankind.
The guys became friends. They continue to communicate today. Some of them met at the sites of new projects. Previous work experience helps them more likely to interact with each other in new ways.
Viewers reviews
Many of those who watched the film and the series note that they especially liked the actors of The Dark World: Balance. It was their charm and ability to get used to the role that became the most positive moment of both projects.
But the plot was criticized. Experts note that it is predictable, and its development is full of stamps and tricks from other paintings. For example, some shadows suck out vital energy from people in the same way as Yegor did from Day Watch.
The film has references to famous films. As in The Matrix, there is a Prophet who says the same phrase: “Don’t worry about the vase.”
Also, attentive viewers noticed a number of inaccuracies and film loops. For example, the RSU building is located on the Sparrow Hills, but Dasha, in a hurry to meet her mother at the observation deck, takes a taxi for some reason, instead of taking a little less than 10 minutes.
Traveling in time in one of the series, the student does not let go of the bottle, but in each new shot it changes to a new one, although it should remain the same.
Despite all the shortcomings, it is worth noting that both the film and the series deserve attention. It is worth looking at least once to plunge into a fairy-tale world that can surround us in everyday life.