Blade II

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.

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 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-

I'm not sure why the overall rating of this is lower than Blade 1. I guess b/c the first one is original and perhaps many people's expectations were higher than expected. My assessment is that Blade 2 is superior to the first and an improvement in many areas.

First is the expanded story and cast, it includes a tactical unit of elite warriors. That was definitely a plus and very interesting. Next it dives much more into the vampire lore, as even Blade himself mention in the film it takes us deeper into their operation, their world. And thirdly, the mutation into the reaper strain was a plus and a logical step in the overall lore.

But what I appreciate most is how by introducing the squad, it demonstrated that yes other vampires can fight as well. That had always been an issue in the 1st movie b/c just b/c Blade is a hybrid and has all the vampire strength, why is it all the vampires were nothing more than background units that were so easily killed? This 2nd movie we finally see how formidable they can become.

Overall I'm quite pleased with this story, the action, and the overall plot. A much better improvement upon the 1st film.

8/10.

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.