| Blade II (2002) Dir: Guillermo del Toro Cast: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Luke Goss, Donnie Yen, Leonur Varela, Norman Reedus Rated R, Approx: 108 minutes. A New Line Cinema Release |
| 1998's Blade was a huge surprise. It was both a minor box office success and a freshly written comic book horror film. It had some startlingly memorable action sequences, a very interesting take on modern vampires and featured a cool performance from Wesley Snipes in the title role not to mention a meaty turn by Stephen Dorff as villain Deacon Frost. Where Blade was very well made and surprised genre fans and mainstream goers both, a sequel was obviously inevitable. This bloated follow up succumbs to the "more is better" philosophy and while helmed by an interesting director and reuniting stars Snipes and Kristofferson, Blade II is a jarring, obnoxious and strangely empty mess of a film. Filled to the brim with wild (if incredibly fake) fight scenes, a lazy plot made up of clumsy twists and unbelievable double crosses, this hokum is salvaged only by an engaging cast headed up by Snipes who grows more comfortably into the character of Blade and provides the major reason to endure this sloppy effort. |
| It's two years after the events of the original film and in a 'convenient' plot device, we learn that Blade's partner or sorts, Whistler (Kristofferson) is alive having been turned into a vampire. As Blade tracks him down and converts him back to humanity (in an astoundingly effortless manner), we discover that a new breed of vampire in the guise of The Reaper (Luke Goss) has been rampaging, spreading its unique disease to other humans much to the chagrin of the vampires. It seems that this new strain of vampire is drastically different from that of the more traditional sort. The Reaper feeds on both humans and vampires and needs to feed many more times a day than the original creatures. Recruited by the vampire 'Shadow Council' (headed by the master vampire, who coincidentally, is perhaps the pansiest vampire in the history of vampire films), Blade must team with the Blood Pack, a band of efficient vampires originally trained to kill Blade, together, they must hunt the Reaper and its rapidly increasing pack of members in an effort to render them extinct. |
| Blade was a fresh action/horror thrill ride that featured some excellent action sequences but didn't skimp on an interesting storyline, which was at the heart of the proceeding. Instead of building on the fascinating 'vampire dynasty' of the first film, this sequel dispatches with any real good ideas in favor of more martial arts sequences, throws more gore around and adds a hip hop soundtrack for good measure. While not deleterious to the film itself, those factors exist instead of a good (or at least mildly interesting) story; they even manage to rid the film of its humanity. Snipes' Blade has very little depth this time out and though he looks pretty cool in the role, David Goyer's screenplay offers no room for his development. There's even a trite romance between the character and a female vampire (Leonur Varela) that is given little more than a few minutes devoted to it and ends up playing out as nothing more then a mere afterthought. Another downer is Kris Kristofferson stepping back into the role of Whistler with very little to do. Other than act really crotchety and mumble expletives, Whistler stumbles around for no real reason other than the fact that he and Blade have some nice chemistry together. Although their relationship is severely played down from what was in the original, it's one of the better aspects of this sequel. Kristofferson is pretty amusing here, but ultimately his survival makes little sense. |
| What's really surprising about this sequel is how laughably phony the fight scenes look. The majority of martial arts action featured throughout the film often resembles a video game (watch for the early fight between Blade and two ninjas) and further chokes in an embarrassing climax where our hero and villain resort to corny wrestling moves (I'm not joking) as they battle to the death. This may indeed be a comic book film, but the action was a lot cooler and more effective when it was stylish (as in the original) without looking absurd. Blade II is a primary example of Hollywood attempting to duplicate the original's success formula by serving up more, more, more in terms of action, but in their attempts, forgot to provide a story worthy of following up the original. The viewer is left merely with excuses to jump from action scene to action scene and while this is perhaps exhilarating at the start, by the time our characters battle a wave of vampires at a nightclub (in the film's best scene; reminiscent of the original film's opening) and the viewer realizes that the story isn't going anywhere (except to that predictable finish) new, the duration of the film becomes an endurance test. |
| More undiscriminating viewers will probably enjoy the nonstop pumped up action (however unconvincing it may infact be) the film provides, but not only is it devoid of any real substance, but features a number of annoying inconsistencies that perhaps I may have been able to overlook had something better been offered in the way of plot. To name a few, the new vampires' hearts are encased in a bone shelling and yet no bullets can shatter the shelling (even when hundreds are fired at it at one time), and of course, by the time one character sells out Blade, not only does the twist make little sense, but exactly why Blade trusted him in the first place remains a huge mystery. |
| If it weren't for the presence of Snipes, Kristofferson and notably Ron Perlman (as the leader of the vampire 'Blood Pack') who makes for a great villain, Blade II would be a total turkey. Snipes clearly relishes this role and hopefully if a Blade 3 gets off the ground, more justice will be done to his character and the film itself. Contrasting Snipes' Blade is Perlman's Reinhardt. The actors play off each other well and Perlman is obviously having a ball throughout playing the villain with a rugged glee. With a cast this good, it's a shame that the film wasn't a great deal better because as it stands, it's hardly watchable. |
| It's pretty surprising to see Spanish director Guillermo del Toro (Cronos, The Devil's Backbone) at the helm of this joke. Also behind the Miramax pile of feces Mimic (which del Toro says was altered considerably by the studio), it's interesting to note that del Toro's work with big budget studio films are the only negative notches in his post. Although he gives Blade II a somewhat successful comic book look and feel, it's not enough to salvage the overall product. Maybe things would've been even more dreadful had another director been behind the camera, as it is, del Toro keeps things moving (although not fast enough), possibly in an effort to cover up the overall emptiness of the production. |
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| Matt's Rating: * (out of 5) |
| Reviewed by Matt Serafini 03/25/02 |