Blade II

There are some types of movies that you walk into expecting a lot of killing,a lot of swearing and snappy dialogue. Blade II is this kind of movie, and it is great. The plot is great, (albeit a little predictable)and some of the computer graphics are extremely noticeable, but altogether this is a great action movie. So many people die a body count would be impossible. The second to last fight scene is unbelievable. Blade puts the icing on the cake when he vertical suplexes the last security guard through a plate glass floor. The music lines up perfectly with the fighting, and I was very impressed with the way the Reaper looks and feeds. A GREAT SEQUEL TO A GREAT MOVIE!!! Looking forward to a trilogy!!!

Blade and his alter ego Wesley Snipes are back yet again to battle the vampiric scourge terrifying the world of the humans. But this time he helps...that's right, you heard me...helps the vampires fight a mutant vampire that prefers feeding on vampires over humans. Well, to spin a long (actually not that long or terribly complicated) story, Blade is...Sorry I cannot say anymore or I might give away too much of the plot - and you know movies like this are plot-driven. This film is exactly what you would expect. Gobs of blood, tons(maybe even more!) of CGI's kicking heads in, bashing heads in, splitting bodies, turning into sparkling dust, and so on and so on and so on, cute one liners with Wesley twisting his neck a lot, and lots of techo-weapons designed to do everything and anything to the body. Is it a great film? Get real. Is it entertaining? Yes, somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me I must confess. Snipes never seems to take his role or what is going on too seriously with his low-key, stoic acting. Kris Kristofferson is back as Whistler. You might remember he died in the first Blade movie, but through some plot contrivance that was designed for us not to really understand - he is back and much older and somewhat wiser for wear. The rest of the cast is acceptable EXCEPT for Reedus who is annoying. Ron Pearlman seems to be having the most fun hamming it up as a villainous vampire out to get Snipes. All in all not a bad way to spend an hour or two.

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'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.

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).