Blade 2
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Written by: David S. Goyer
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman

While the track record for films based on comic books has not been too great over the years, things are really starting to look up. X-men was a pretty solid movie, and the upcoming Spiderman film definitely has potential. Tons of other comic books are now being tapped for future productions.

The movie Blade was a bit of an unexpected winner as far as comic book adaptations go. The comic book wasn’t even all that well known, but it made for a damn good action movie, and was successful enough to demand a sequel. The thing I’m not sure about is whether or not this sequel makes for a good comic book movie or a bad one. I think for the most part it falls into that loveable category of being so bad that it is good, and yet, there are moments where it is actually, truly kind of cool.

The first Blade movie was a dark, exagerrated action flick, kind of like a b-movie version of Batman. Blade 2 continues down this path, and in fact there is more than one instance where the viewer is reminded of Batman. Not only does the film have a somewhat gothic atmosphere to it, but Wesley Snipes plays Blade as a vigilante-type who is every bit as vengeful and remorseless as Batman was. His sidekick Scud also refers to him as “the Dark Knight” at one point which makes for a clever double meaning (Blade of course being one of only a few black comic book heroes currently in existence). There are a few moments where they used orchestrated music that reminded me of Danny Elfman’s Batman score, I only wish they would have used it more often, because they really overdo it with the hip-hop and techno soundtrack the rest of the time. It’s not that it doesn’t suit the movie, but it just makes it feel cheap and trendy, as opposed to being classic and timeless.

In case you missed the first Blade movie, all you really need to know is that it is based on the Marvel comic book of the same name, about a vampire hunter who is half-human and half-vampire. In the world of Blade, vampires have all the classic weaknesses such as garlic, silver and sunlight, and they also have superhuman strength, but other than this they look and act just like your average human being. (Well, they have those pointy teeth too.) Did I mention that since Blade is only half-vampire he has all of their strengths but none of their weaknesses? This is why the vampires call him “Daywalker”, and it is also what makes him such a fearsome adversary for the blood-suckers. That and his kick ass arsenal of high-tech custom-made vampire killing weaponry.

To put yet another new twist on the vampire mythology, Blade 2 introduces a mutation to the story. There are a group of creatures known as “Reapers” on the prowl, and they feed on both humans and vampires alike. They are similar to vampires, only they are stronger, can climb walls like spiders, and are immune to silver. Their need for blood is also much more acute than normal vampires, so they must feed at least once a day, meaning they will spread their virus across the Earth in a very short period of time, quickly wiping out all humans and vampires. Clearly, it is in the interest of both the vampires and Blade to set aside their differences and work together to eliminate this menace.

Enter the “Bloodpack”, an elite vampire task force that was originally trained to track and kill Blade, who are now forced to accept Blade as their team leader. These guys have some of the most hilarious names I’ve ever heard, including Reinhardt, Priest, Snowman, Lighthammer, and Chupa (or was it Tupac?) Basically they all just look muscular and carry around big guns while giving Blade attitude. Blade keeps them in line by attaching an explosive device to the back of Reinhardt’s head and threatening to detonate it whenever he acts up. I’m telling you, only in comic books could such a thing be plausible.

You realize quite quickly that there is little to no story in Blade 2. There are plot twists designed to surprise you, but if you give any of them a second thought you will find that they make no sense. You need to accept the fact that the film is basically 3 long action scenes sandwiched together. I don’t know if anything in this movie resembles the comic, but the characters are all pretty stereotypical and flimsy. Blade’s sarcastic young sidekick Scud reminds me of why Chris O’Donnell was horrible as Robin. He tries to be too hip — I mean, he calls Blade “B” for crying out loud.

Blade 2 is directed by Guillermo del Toro, who has an eye for the dark and grotesque (he previously directed Mimic). He also seems to have a strange fascination with the Powerpuff Girls and yellow lighting in this film. A quick glance at the Internet Movie Database reveals that he is supposedly slated to direct a future movie adaptation of the Hellboy comic book as well. Interesting.

Needless to say, the horror elements of this movie are pretty well done. There are some tense scenes, such as a hunt for the Reapers in an underground sewer system that is executed well. I enjoy the way del Toro constantly cuts back and forth between different groups of characters to prolong the suspense. Also, there is plenty of the gore that is so often lacking in movies with a horror theme nowadays. The Reapers looked quite gruesome, using a convincing combination of computer graphics and traditional methods. There is even a Reaper dissection scene that reminds me of something out of the X-Files. Great stuff.

However, they definitely went way overboard with computer effects in this movie. The vampires turn to dust after exposure to sunlight, and just like in the first Blade movie, it still looks really fake. It reminds me of the terrible special effects in The Mummy. The action sequences in Blade 2 are mostly just a blur, as the cameras pull in too close and move too quickly to really allow us to see much of anything. Of course, this is probably just to cover up the fact that the computer effects look really bad. They did generate some unique camera angles during the fights that were kind of interesting though, and at times they were able to successfully create the illusion of vampires fighting at superhuman speeds. A lot of movies have tried copying the style of The Matrix action sequences, but so far no one has been able to duplicate it.

One thing that rules about the fight scenes is that some of them seem to have been choreographed by someone from the WWF. I suspect that they couldn’t recruit a martial arts expert, or the actors didn’t have time to train, so instead they had to resort to a whole lot of elbow drops. At one point Blade actually suplexes a bad guy, shattering a glass floor below him. How awesome is that? It was a little disappointing to see the vampires act like a bunch of wimps in this movie though. Their strength was really downplayed in order to make the Reapers seem even more threatening.

Perhaps the best thing about Blade 2 is the dialogue. I don’t know where they came up with this stuff, but it pretty much rules. Kris Kristofferson rivals the almighty Kurt Russell with some of his lines as Blade’s crotchety old mentor, Whistler. Take, for instance, an early scene where Blade rescues Whistler from the vampires and brings him back to his hideout, where he introduces Whistler to Blade’s other sidekick, Scud. Whistler’s response: “Where’d you dig up this shitbird?” I don’t want to spoil some of the other good lines for you, but Ron Perlman delivers some brilliantly crude one-liners in his role as Reinhardt, and Wesley Snipes once again plays up Blade’s exceptionally bad attitude while maintaining a decidedly straight face.

There’s really not much to dislike about Blade 2, other than perhaps some of the questionable computer effects and the large number of holes in the plot. If you are the kind of person who is easily frustrated by events in movies that defy logic or reason, then Blade 2 ain’t your bag. But hey, if you like action movies with a dark horror edge, then get ready for a “heck of a ride”. — Sean