Now, I’m probably a casual fan of Blade at best. I’ve really only been exposed to his movies, that Spike TV series (yes, he had a TV show and it was weird), his guest appearances in cartoons, and a few comics like Mighty Avengers. I haven’t really read any of his solo work, but that should change soon. For those who don’t know, Blade first appeared in 1974 in Tomb of Dracula as a black vampire hunter who wasn’t a half-human/half-vampire hybrid yet. That came in the 90’s where Marvel started to use him more. The first time I saw him was in the 90’s Spider-Man cartoon where Spidey was going up against Morbius.
New World Pictures got the rights to do Blade in the 90’s when Marvel was selling off film rights for money. David Goyer took on the writing duties for all the films. As for Blade himself, Wesley Snipes took up the challenge. Blade was eventually released in 1998 and was well received. I remember seeing this play a lot on TBS back then. Blade 2 came in 2002, and Blade: Trinity was released in 2004. I vaguely remember that the VHS for Blade 2 was jacked up, so I missed out on part of it. As for Blade: Trinity, I think I saw it on MTSU’s Movie channel or I rented it from the Hollywood Video down the street. I was sad when they closed up. So, how do these three hold up?
Blade
Blade was released in 1998 and directed by Stephen Norrington. We get introduced to Blade (Wesley Snipes), a human/vampire hybrid who has all the strengths of vampires and none of the weaknesses. We find him and his mentor, Whistler (Kris Krisofferson) in New York taking out vampires and trying to save human lives.After he saves the life of a hematologist named Karen (N’Bushe Wright), he ends up crossing paths with an upstart in the vampire nation called Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff). Blade and Karen end up finding out that Frost wants to conduct a ritual to bring forth a blood god that’ll ravage the world and give vampires unlimited power.
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| "Hi there. I'll be your 'bad brother from another mother' for tonight's festivities!" |
I don’t remember when I saw this last, but this was one hell of a blast. It actually still holds up now. While the story is a bit simple, it still throws a lot at you. We’re introduced to Blade and this seedy dark underworld of vampires. It can be a lot, but it wasn’t too confusing. I think I read some review where someone compared this to the Matrix, and I can kind of see it with its grim tone and themes of something dark controlling the world. Also, the kung fu and black clothes fit in.
Wesley Snipes owns the role of Blade… and no, I'm not one of those “There’s only gonna be one Blade” guys either. Dude just did so good that it’ll be tough to see anyone else in the role. I think I threw him on a list of the best cast comic book characters years ago. He can be sullen, grim, cool, and sometimes a little funny. I liked his interactions with Whistler and Karen, who were also cool characters in their own right. I also thought the villains were well done here with Stephen Dorff coming off like a smarmy baddie. I also liked his entourage of henchmen.
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| I read that Snipes wanted a black actress in the role of Karen, and Wright brought it. Cool lady. |
The cinematography was pretty unique with weird colored tones. The visual effects are mostly good. You get some early CG and some of it is okay. The fight scenes were pretty top notch. Snipes got to show off some of his martial arts skills here, and that final fight against Frost and his henchmen was so good.There really isn’t too much to dislike. The only things I can really think of is that the story isn’t the best and that some effects don’t look that good. While fun, the last act was also a little rushed. Still, the cons definitely pale in comparison to the pros here though. Blade is a classic.
Blade 2
Blade 2 was directed by Guillermo del Toro and takes place a couple of years after the first movie. At this point, Blade is still hunting vamps. He’s also searching for Whistler who disappeared in the last movie. After he finds him, he gets a special invite from the head of the Vampire Nation. It turns out that a mutated vampire by the name of Nomak (Luke Goss) has been going around attacking other vampires and turning them into beings called Reapers. Since it’s a threat to both humans and vampires, Blade reluctantly joins the Bloodpack, a group of vampire assassins. As they face off against the Reapers, Blade finds out this fight is more complicated than he realized.
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| You could say that they're some kind of... Suicide Squad... |
Blade 2 isn’t as grand as the first one, but it is still a pretty good movie. While the story is simple, the movie keeps up with the same high-octane action that the first one had and even has more kung fu vibes. I actually found out recently that Donnie Yen (Snowman in the movie) also provided some fight choreography, and it is awesome. As usual, Snipes rules in the role of Blade, and he feels more chill in the role this time around. He also gets a bit of a love interest in Nyssa (Lenor Valera) and she was a cool character all around.
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| Ah, yes. Nomak is using the age-old "Talk to the Hand" technique. Even Blade is shocked by its use. |
In fact, the place where the movie excels most is the characters and their interactions. Whistler is still grumpy as ever and even gets some good time to shine. Blade’s interactions with the Bloodpack were hilarious. The group itself was full of cannon fodder, but the one who stood out most was Reinhardt (Ron Pearlman). It got me wondering if Del Toro already had stuff in mind for Hellboy which was released a couple of years later. We even get a BPRD reference with Scud (Norman Reedus). Jared Nomak (Luke Goss) was a cool, conflicted villain that really put Blade to the test. I thought the plot involving him, Nyssa, and the head of the Vampire Nation was interesting. By the way, Nomak was originally supposed to be Morbius but film rights got in the way.
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| While they don't get too many moments together, those two seemed sweet. Blade met the first vampire he could actually tolerate. |
Guillermo Del Toro stepped in the director's chair and did a solid job with giving another unique vibe to the franchise. This definitely felt European and also felt like Hellboy was in the next city. We also got some cool homages to vampire lore. As I said above, the fight scenes were awesome. Blade and Nomak’s final battle could go down as one of the best final fights. The CG we get here is okay in places, but it does stick out at times. As for my dislikes, I did feel like the story was kinda bare bones, and there wasn’t much development for the characters. It felt like the direction, acting, and action were carrying the movie at times. Overall, while it isn’t the first one, Blade 2 is a solid movie overall.
Blade: Trinity
The final Blade movie was released in 2004 and directed by David Goyer himself. This time, Blade is on the run from everyone, vampire and human, after he killed a familiar (a human pawn for the vamps) in public. He gets captured by the FBI and Whistler is killed, but is saved by a new hunter group called the Nightstalkers. One of their members is Abbie (Jessica Beal) who’s the daughter of Whistler, and Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds), who was once a vampire. They have a new way to deal with the vampire problem. Meanwhile, the group of vampires that framed Blade have awakened the first vampire: Dracula… or Drake. Depends on whether you know him. Their plans are to use him to eventually become like Blade and ultimately subjugate the human race.
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| I imagine this is how Wesley Snipes read the script. |
I remember seeing this back in college, and I can see why I haven’t watched it in almost 20 years. I can’t call this dreadful, but it is definitely down there with movies like Superman 3 and Thor: The Dark World. It ain’t “Fant4Stic” bad at least. The concept itself isn’t a bad one with having Blade face Dracula since they did it in the comics. I don’t know how you screw that up! In fact, I heard that the movie was supposed to be darker and take place in a dark future… that sounds good, but then that could also get jacked up too. Just look up Highlander: The Source for example. The look of the movie was so generic and the fight scenes, while choreographed well, were cut up in the edits. The dialogue was also not good.
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| My introduction to Ryan Reynolds... no wonder I don't like him much. |
Snipes does the best with what he’s given, but you can tell that he’s kind of done. Production for this was pretty hectic with him and Goyer barely speaking. It also doesn’t help that he’s saddled with two sidekicks that feel like someone wanted to bring in the MTV crowd. Jessica Biel was alright as Abigail, but she felt lacking. As for Ryan Reynolds’ Hannibal King… let’s just say I think this was what made me have such an aversion to Reynolds and Deadpool in general. Dude couldn’t just shut up. It also didn’t help that these three had no good chemistry with one another. Oh yeah, Whistler is wasted but at least goes out in style.
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| For a tragic scene, having Blade repeat "Use It" made it more funny . |
The villains suck, and yes, I had to add the pun. The Talos’ siblings and their lapdog (played by wrestler Triple H) were lame. They lacked any coolness or threat that the other villains had. They honestly felt like joke villains. Then, there’s “Draaaaaaaakee” who also left a lot to be desired. I guess Goyer wanted to change up Dracula by making him more of a warrior, but he even sucks at that! Dominic Purcell is a fine actor, but he really had nothing to work with in the role… hell, none of the villains did, and they can act well too.
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| Man, this version of Dracula was so bad. |
While this movie is bad, I can’t hate it too much. On its own, it’s just a generic action movie. Blade does get a couple of good one-liners in. I did think that Abigail and Hannibal weren’t horrible, and I even got a couple of chuckles from Reynolds. While the fight scenes weren’t edited well, they were at least somewhat entertaining. There were also a couple of plot points that I thought were well done like the vampire's "final solution" for humanity Overall, this movie is definitely a low point to end the trilogy on.
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In the end, the Blade trilogy is fun even if Trinity fumbled the ball in the end. Currently, Marvel brought back Wesley Snipes as Blade in Deadpool and Wolverine, which I still haven’t seen yet. You can guess why if you’ve read to this point. They also tried to have a new Blade in the MCU, but that kinda hasn’t happened yet. I bet Marshasala Ali will give up the role at some point since Marvel shockingly doesn’t know what to do with Blade. Even if we don’t get that, at least we have the trilogy and even that short lived tv series. Well, I gotta eat Andy’s and Aaron’s candy. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.
Also, don’t ice-skate uphill.
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