Blade II

I have a weak spot for comic-book action. Something about the mix between today and the supernatural has always drawn me to it. And i found the first "Blade" to be one of the more entertaining in the genre.

Blade (Wesley Snipes) has been looking for his old-time companion Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) for a long time. Whistler was taken captive by vampires and Blade has slaughtered his way through the vampire clans of several countries to find him. Now though there is another threat to the human race that also affects the vampires themselves. Soon Blade is given an offer he can't refuse, resulting in a unholy alliance between the vampires and their greatest enemy.

Guillermo del Toro is a man with what the Germans would term "fingerspitzengefühl". He's got that special feeling for what works on screen, especially when it comes to movies like this one. Blade 2 refines most of the elements seen in the first Blade movie. This is a violent and action-filled journey into a comic-book world and del Toro is not taking any prisoners. Wesley Snipes seems to enjoy himself as Blade and most of the other actors also seem to blend in nicely in the mood of the film.

There were only a few minor flaws that bothered me. Most of all the sometimes shaky CGI-work. Some of the special effects look cheap to say the least. Especially the use of digital "stand-ins" for the actors that are used in some action scenes to spice them up a bit. All in all though this is an entertaining ride in it's overblown testosterone-rich way. I rate it 6/10.

Blade II amps up the action and intensity to make a worthy sequel to its innovative predecessor. The decision to have Blade team up with vampires in this film was brilliant and really ratchets up the tension. The addition of Guillermo Del Toro in the director's chair adds a certain flair as well. The villain is a little lackluster compared to the first one, but still offers something unique. Blade II is a fun and creative sequel that continued to push the modern superhero genre along in the early 2000s.

Beneath the streets, behind facades, above the law; conglomerations old and new, slash, shear and saw; unseen but all around, vigilant of every sound, taking lives, destroying chances, tooth and claw.

But a new strain has evolved and it bites back, renders vampires into beasts weapons can't crack, an allegiance is convened, to destroy the new obscene, with a violent and quite viscous, counterattack.

One of the more accomplished takes on the vampires taking over the world genre, with one of the more accomplished, and even to this day spectacular incarnations of a vampire slayer there's been.

The blood flows proportionally.

Other than the explanation of where he came from, who he and everyone else is, at the beginning, this film stands nicely on its own. for those of you that know the first one, then this opening explanation will be a little irritating (and a tad confusing, but it becomes clear later). The opening does smell strongly of franchise potential, being repeated in all the inevitable sequels still to come. Once past this though, we are lead through a massive fight and action scene that sets up the whole movie. and warns anyone who can't stand Hong Kong action scenes that they are probably watching the wrong screen.

The movie is essentially a platform for Snipes to have fun with his most renowned character. And he does so with very entertaining results. The movie has reasonably well rounded characters, suspicion piled on top of everyone, some amazing set pieces and a good sense of humour. The impact of all the blood and guts is reduced by the obvious fantasy of the fights (wires and SFX a lot of the time), but its still pretty powerful.

The lead performances are all very good, although some of the peripheral characters are a little too hammer horror. Luke Goss demonstrates great potential, although you would need to see him without the make up, body doubles, and special effects to really judge. and there is occasionally that urge to shout "when will I be famous." and the pure blood female vampire who takes a shine to blade is well worth being bitten by.

Overall it feels less like a sequel and more like a stand alone movie. with this in mind, I think its in fact better than the original (a rare example of the exception that proves the rule).

Blade 2 takes what made the first Blade film good and transforms it into a different country with different characters (outside of Blade and Whistler) and a possibly deeper feel, and it works without going into the bad sequel range.

This time, the vampires Blade (Wesley Snipes) has been hunting down for so many years want to make a truce so that he can help them kill a new breed of monsters called reapers, which if you want a brief description are creatures that look like half vampires half zombies and half, whatever, with a chin that opens up a big damn mouth that before attacking it's prey could resemble a mini-sarlac pit (star wars reference). Blade reluctantly agrees, knowing full well that the vampires could turn on him and Whistler if things go wrong.

Overall, Blade 2, for the fans of the first one, will not dissapoint them. It contains enough imaginativeness and gore effects to brighten the most down of horror film and comic book enthusiasts. The film also contains some of the best makeup I've seen in a while in a horror movie. A-