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.

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.

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-

Sequels are always tough but I personally love sequels, sometimes even a bad sequel is good just because you missed the characters. Blade 2 brings Wesley Snipes back as a kick-butt action hero who is also part Vampire...how can you go wrong with a story line like that? I will say Blade 2 doesn't touch how good Blade was. Blade was a deep story, packed with action, and depth, and was so fascinating and dark. Blade 2 keeps it's dark appearance which is very good...I would hate to see Blade go soft on us. It's a relief that they also went out of their way to bring back Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) who gives us a anti-hero...something just not right about his character and yet he's like Blade's only weakness because of his love for his mentor and father-figure. In this story, Blade is approached by the Vampires seeking his help this time. Something is hunting the Vampires and ripped them to shreds and in the process creating something worse than a Vampire. They are called Reapers. Blade agrees to join a squad of mercenary Vamp killers who were trained to kill him originally and work with them to rid the world of these Reapers who will eventually turn on humans. Blade still doesn't let his guard down and doesn't trust his new allies. This is the basis of the story. The story is very shallow and could have been written so much better. It had so much potential and I just think they got through it as quickly as possible. Fortunately for them it's action packed, and the fight sequences are still pretty good. But for the most part the savior is Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson returning in their roles. They save the movie they make it worth while because they are just great super hero's. Otherwise the movie is lost in RIDICULOUS special effects, that I could do sitting at home in front of my Desktop computer. The effects are computer generation and they show, you can pin point exactly where the real people end and AI takes over. It's annoying and campy. The music is just absolutely lost in this one. In the original Blade the music is unbelievably complimenting the story line and Blade. It's thumping and exciting and makes you heart race. In this one, the music is barely a part of it. Blade's sudden use of a magical gun that explodes Vampires into little computerized sparkles of dust is just plain stupid. Now can you believe after all those things I just listed that I would still tell you to go see this movie??? As I said, the original characters make it worth while and some of the new Vamps are interesting. I sincerely hope they carry on the Blade franchise but I hope they go back to the original Blade to continue from and not Blade 2. Definately go see it for action and just because Blade rocks but don't be surprised if it's not quite what the first one was. I give it a 7/10

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.