Hopefully, when you view this movie you won?t be near any sharp objects, lest you be tempted to slit your wrists.
When I first heard they were making a sequel to the original Blade, I expected very little. Well, my expectations far exceeded the reality of the drivel I fell asleep on, not once but twice.
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, this action-packed vampire horror flick doesn?t even come close to generating the excitement and suspense of the original, directed by Stephen Norrington.
For those of you who are not familiar with the original, Wesley Snipes plays Blade, the son of a human mother and a vampire father. This blend of two species, gives him a power no ordinary vampire possesses ? He is able to function normally during the day, hence the moniker, ?Day walker?. As an act of revenge (His mother was impregnated against her will.) he has made it his life?s mission to rid the world of all vampires.
He is able to function and not succumb to the ?thirst? (hunger for blood) thanks to his friend Whistler, as played by Kris Kristofferson. Whistler has created a serum with which Blade can inject himself, and be relieved of his inhuman desire for blood. Now that you?re up to speed, let?s skip to part two.
This movie begins with a brief narrative by Wesley Snipes, bringing us up to date on what has happened since we last saw him. This is punctuated with approximately 15 minutes of non-stop vampire slaying. His weapons of choice haven’t changed. Silver bullets, a sliver boomerang type contraption that he flings so often, cutting off the heads of the vampires at a distance (Too bad the writer wasn’t in the line of fire.) And then of course, there is the proverbial silver blade.
This opening sequence is so frenetic; edited in such a choppy manner, I had to press reverse on more than one occasion to figure out what had just happened. In less than 5 minutes he?d managed to slay at least 20 vampires? 30? I lost count. And the special effects which were innovative in the original, are used to excess. How many times can you see a vampire slain, and his body disintegrate into golden sparkles, before you cease to be impressed? But to add insult to injury, in addition to rehashing to excess, the special effects of the original, they have added computer generated effects, which look cheap, fake and dated. Where is Industrial Light and Magic when you need ’em?
PLOT:
Blade, renowned and feared by all vampires, is summoned by the King of the vampires to his lair. It seems a rare viral strain has infected a vampire Jared Nomak (Luke Goss), making him into something of a ?super? vampire. His kind not only feeds on blood, but rather, feeds on the blood of ordinary vampires. Once bitten by one of these so-called super vampires, ordinary vampires become super as well (yawn).
This means as soon as they have successfully transformed all ordinary vampires into super vampires, their next targets will be humans ? Which will in effect destroy the human race. So, therefore, you guessed it ....the two opposing forces join together to fight a common enemy.(Who conceived this crap?) I won?t give the entire plot, in the event that you just might find this flick enjoyable, in which case I suggest you not spend money on renting this, but save up for a few sessions with a good therapist.
One of the most annoying things I found with the movie is the Blade character. Where once he was dark and brooding, sophisticated and wise, here they have allowed him to infuse the character with too many Wesley Snipe-ism. Here he is hip, flip, and very annoying.
If you are a fan of movies of this genre ? See it if you must. But be afraid. Be very very afraid, and I don?t mean of the film ? Just perhaps the cost of the rental. $3.50 per night for this monstrous mess can make anyone fearful ? Fearful of ever renting again.
Also stars: Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela and Daz Crawford in pivotal roles.