Director: Stephen Norrington
Year: 1998
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
While engaged in a destructive battle with vampires, half-human/half-vampire Blade teams up with a doctor to stop a renegade and his underlings from unleashing a powerful creature from vampire lore as he tries to control his burgeoning bloodsucking tendencies from stopping him.
Review:
This one could quite possibly be one of the better additions to the vampire saga to come around in a long time, and definitely has a lot going for it due to that. Much of the positives here is on the continuing focus on action gives this one a rather fun feel with a lot of great confrontations, starting out with the spectacular assault on the nightclub as he wipes out dozens of vampires by gunshot, slashing and other weaponry as it starts the film off with such a bang that the mixture of action into the proceedings makes for some entertaining moments right off the bat. As this leads into the shoot-outs in the hospital attempting to take out the charred vampire left in that initial attack, the pace is set-up here for some really thrilling moments here from the shoot-out in their book-room following his capture and eventual escape into the train-station which has some brutal action with his dealings with them, as well as their hideout in the garage which gets some fine brutality mixed amongst the action.
Still, the best parts here is the lead-up to the final showcase battle at the ceremonial chamber, from the collection of the council and their set-up along the statues and undertaking his draining for the start of the actual ceremony where the appearance of demon skeletons from their mouths is where this really picks up considerably. Even the action is fun here with fine brawls amongst the guards and the kung-fu battle in the pit before getting to a stylish sword-fight that finishes with a great final death for the group, all of which means this one has a ton of great action scenes that make for a really fun time. What grants this one so much action-packed fun is the main story here, which is a rather novel idea and is carried across wonderfully here, from the concept of the vampires as a society, complete with a hierarchy, rules and guidelines for living undetected. This makes for a stellar universe here as it gives it a big sense of history that's richly deserved here, while other little things that come up here, like the relationship of their helpers or the underground feeding nightclub, one of the film's action highlights, has a novel ring that provides for a clever way to continue on with their heritage but mixed up with a contemporary feel that is frighteningly sensible as well as logical.
The cast here also manages to work nicely. Wesley Snipes is fun as Blade, capable of the martial arts and swordplay required for this kind of role and his black-leather look adds to his cool factor. Kris Kristopherson does well as his wise mentor Whistler, staying back handling the weaponry mostly but managing to stumble a bit with the technical jargon involving Blade's condition and the vampires. Stephen Dorff is somewhat over-the-top as Deacon Frost, doing a bit of grandstanding and posturing during his taunts and speeches but keeping this one light and fun. Even saddled with the damsel-in-distress role, N'Bushe Wright comes off rather well as nurse Karen who looks a little more comfortable in the technical jargon and gives a fine performance in the action scenes where she gets believably overwhelmed while remaining likable. The rest of the cast here does well being in the vampire court in someway, shape or form being suitably villainous. These here are the film's most enjoyable aspects, though it does have one main problem.
The film's only real misstep is tied to the explanation of how Blade survived the initial attack and how he's the way he is. This is all handled in a very back-handed way that's just thrown into the proceedings without any real attempt or effort, making his backstory all the more confusing and off-putting. Considering he's the main character, that form of explanation for a key component of the storyline is somewhat lacking and really seems to undermine the vampire's plotline involving their quest to do the same. Though some of the kills here end up providing a lot of rather fake-looking CGI gore in the process, especially in the scenes of the blood infusion granting them new powers where it looks like a red blobby mess, this is a minor flaw in an otherwise entertaining effort.
Overview: ****/5
Frankly, this is quite fun in terms of being a fine, action-packed horror effort that offers plenty to like in numerous areas alongside the fine action. There isn't a whole lot to drag this down, so those looking for a fun counterpoint in the genre or appreciate those kinds of genre mashups should give this a try while those not really into these types of films should heed caution.
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