Blade (1998) & Blade II (2002)

Have you heard of Blade? He's the scourge of the vampire world and is what they refer to as a "Daywalker" - he has all of their strengths....NONE of their weaknesses.

And he's played by Wesley Snipes, have you heard of him? He was one of the bigger action stars of the '90's back when action stars were actually a thing which would draw folks to go to the movies.  The lore of Blade and the charisma of Snipes seemed to be an ideal match at the time and twenty-five years ago this month, we saw the release of that first Blade movie (starring Snipes in the titular role) which was directed by Stephen Norrington.  It was not only a surprise hit at the box office but it also earned the distinction of being THE first successful feature film adapted by a Marvel Comics property.....and obviously was far from the last.  It co-starred Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, and N'Bushe Wright.  

Four years later came the release of its sequel directed by Oscar-winning genre legend Guillermo Del Toro - both Snipes and Kristofferson returned to be joined by a pretty impressive extended cast including Ron Pearlman, Leonor Varela, Norman Reedus, Luke Goss, and the legendary Donnie Yen.  In honor of the 25th Anniversary of this seminal cinema property, what better way to celebrate than a special DOUBLE-FEATURE review of those first two Blade movies! 

 Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

BLADE - 1998

Directed by Stephen Norrington (Audio clip)

Starring Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N’Bushe Wright, Donal Logue, Udo Kier, and Sanaa Lathan

BLADE II – 2002

Directed by Guillermo del Toro

Starring Wesley Snipes, Ron Perlman, Kris Kristofferson, Luke Goss, Leonor Varela, Norman Reedus, Thomas Kretschmann, Matt Schulze, Danny John-Jules, and Donnie Yen

Genre: Superhero Action Thrillers

Have you heard of Blade? He's the scourge of the vampire world and is what they refer to as a "Daywalker" - he had all of their strengths....none of their weaknesses.

And he's played by Wesley Snipes, have you heard of him? He was one of the bigger action stars of the '90's back when action stars were actually a thing which would draw folks to go to the movies.  The lore of Blade and the charisma of Snipes were an ideal match for two movies released in 1998 and 2002....and together, they make a pretty nifty double feature. :)

A lot of folks forget or don't even realize that Blade was the first successful Marvel movie and was also the first successful black superhero movie as well...it was all about timing. In the second half of the '90's, Wesley Snipes' star was fading a bit as he was just in WAY too many forgettable action programmers in a row by this point - Boiling Point, Murder at 1600, the somewhat underwhelming Fugitive sequel - but he was still a star and at a time when most comic book properties were struggling to get green-lit, he was JUST the right fit for a second tier Marvel character in a mid-budget programmer from a fledgling studio like New Line.

And that first Blade film is SUCH a film of its time: long leather jackets, techno music, half-rendered CGI, kinetic John Woo-like action, and douchey, chain-smoking, "edgy" wanna-be stars like Stephen Dorff - it's got it all. :) There ARE some very dated elements as we even catch our hero doing the Kevin McCalister shoulder pump at one point but that's ok...for the most part, his is a relatively effective wordless performance. Occasionally he does utters dialogue in a Stallone-like guttural growl with some dialogue gems like "It's open season on all suck-assses" or the now legendary, "Some motherf#$kers always trying to ice skate uphill." which when you think about it....remains a universal truth. 🤔 (Audio clip) 

It's the rest of the cast that does much of the dramatic heavy lifting and they all pretty much bring the heat: Kris Kristofferson is all profane gravitas as his mentor/Q Whistler, N'Bushe Wright ends up pretty effective as our audience avatar Dr Karen Jensen as she not only attempts to develop a cure for vampirism but also gets in on the action, Donal Logue playing a homicidal vampire version of Donal Logue, and then.....there's DORFF. :o 

That's Stephen "The Dorfman" Dorff to you of course as the snively villain Deacon Frost....always chain-smoking, unshaven, and often shirtless, this character is pretty much a walking '90's grunge cliche who on paper shouldn't work. But Dorff makes him fun to watch with pure "Don't trust anyone over 30!" flair as he pretty much dishes out every line with disdain..he gets to deliver endless monologues about how vampires should be ruling the planet which all do a nice job of laying out the scope and absurdity of this world.

And director Stephen Norrington does a nice job of building that world - it's clear that his background was in visual effects because even though several of the CGI F/X look quite dated, they still all blend together with the costume and set design to maintain a sleek, blood-red infused universe which feels lifted right out of a comic book. ;) The film isn't perfect - clumsy exposition and logic gaps throughout - but it's still a relatively straightforward story effectively told. 

Then four years later came the superior sequel from Oscar-winning director Guillermo Del Toro and after having now seen most of his more acclaimed films (Pan's Labyrinth, Shape of Water) along with the more commercial genre stuff (Mimic, Pacific Rim, Hellboy), I can say that Blade II REMAINS the best pure genre film Del Toro has directed. 

Tonally, it periodically drifts into pure early '2000’s silliness especially with some Fast & Furious-like needle drops but....for most of its runtime, this bloody yarn hums at full power as we watch Blade leading the Blood Gang (stylish vampires lead by Ron Perlman who was BORN to play this character, Reinhardt....also including a younger, spry Donnie Yen who also did a lot of the martial arts choreography) into dark spaces to evade and take down a new mysterious strain of blood-sucker known as the "Reapers."  

As the tension and carnage in this story escalates, Del Toro brings us the closest we have ever come to the muscular action sequel upgrade majesty that was previous episode Aliens....which is pretty high praise coming from me. :) I swear the only thing missing from making these sequences even more effective is the sound of motion sensors escalating and Bill Paxton freaking out...it's genuinely fun and scary stuff! 

The rest of the cast is strong across the board including a returning Kristofferson who's still gruff and profane, Leonar Varela doing the most she can with a somewhat underwritten role as a Blood Pack member whose allegiances end up being pulled in different directions, and a post-Boondock Saints, pre-Walking Dead Norman Reedus playing Blade's new smarmy weapons guru Scud. And of course there's SNIPES...he's actually better in the sequel really playing to his strengths of being an intimidating physical presence who can slyly wink at the absurdity of his surroundings without actually saying anything.

Of the two films, it's actually the first Blade which has the better action climax but then there's a stirring scene towards the end of Part II which REALLY demonstrates the emotion that Del Toro is so adept at bringing to genre films like these. We see Blade holding the body of a dying character as the sun comes up in the distance and it's a genuinely beautiful moment...and rewatchimg it now, it KINDA feels like this particular moment was lifted for the ending of Black Panther 16 years later which itself was a great moment in that movie.

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film) & Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie): 

Regarding their soundtracks, both movies are just wall-to-wall with techno, trance, electronica….whatever we were supposed to call fast-paced dance music around the turn of the century and it was all mixed with modern hip-hop too.   And for both movies, wouldn’t you know it…..THE best standouts are notable sequences taking place in clubs run by vampires.  For the first Blade, this category is a no-brainer as the movie kicks off with one of the more memorable opening sequences of any comic book movie that I can recall...the underground rave club for vampires.  There’s blood raining overhead from sprinklers, Traci Lords luring in fresh meat, and as blood is now pouring everywhere…..especially on the one unsuspecting victim lured in by Ms. Lords….fangs coming out, and suddenly....there's Blade, armed with silver bullets and kitana, out to take out the trash. It's a great hero introduction and Snipes really delivers the physicality demonstrating his martial arts moves with fluidity and flair.

As for the music we hear overhead?  Well it comes one of the great New Wave bands to come out of the 1980’s…..Salford, England’s own New Order.  And the song which we also hear during the trailer is a pulse-pounding remix of their 1983 single, “Confusion” (Audio clip) 

As for Blade II, there's one nice moment about halfway through which has Blade and the Blood Gang scoping out a vampire club (which itself has a lot of grisly imagery of several vamps "feeding" off of each other with sliced open wounds exposing veins and spines no less!)...Perlman's Rhinehart who is itching to kill Blade trains his laser sight on him from several feet away whispering to a fellow vamp that he could take him out right there...Blade reflects the laser sight right back as him through his handy utility belt as he grins back at him. The catchy techno which we hear playing over this moment is from a pair of DJ’s who hail from Germany named Reinhard Raith and Tommy Serano….officially known as VooDoo & Serano.  And the name of this fast-paced number is fittingly “Blood is Pumping.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

Now back to those Reapers in Blade II…..they are lead by Nomak who is played effectively by British genre veteran Luke Goss under gobs of unrecognizable make-up.  Nomak has a couple of compelling moments and is given a pretty interesting backstory though I do wish Goss was given more to do with the role besides scowl and occasionally deliver exposition.  He’s just not given that much to do as the MAIN villain and he ends up being completely overshadowed by the Blood Gang.   From a personality standpoint, he provides Blade II with a serviceable villain….but he’s no Deacon Frost.  

And back to that first Blade movie….Sanaa Lathan of previous Brown Sugar plays a critical role as Blade’s mother…..whom he has long thought was dead.  Unfortunately, she’s BARELY in the movie, it’s basically an extended cameo for the lead-up to the climax.  Seeing that Lathan is a top-flight actress, this COULD have been a truly impactful scene in the movie but unfortunately her character isn’t given much more to do than simply glower at the son she hasn’t seen in decades. 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film): 

When it comes to the legitimacy of this franchise, it IS the second movie which kind of brought it as it had a real budget with a real auteur behind the camera…..resulting in even higher box office and more acclaim.  It also ramped up the horror element to a new level.  And a lot of that is due to the make-up work for those Reapers which is where Del Toro and crew REALLY outdo themselves...these Reapers are apparently a more hyper-addicted strain of vampire which is stronger, faster and a genuine threat to the vampires, this world's version of Wite Walkers if you will. ;) The design on them is truly next-level: picture a pale, bald zombie-like human with a chin that literally splits open during feeding and out of that chin comes Predator-like mandibles emitting a neurotoxin paralyzing the victim surrounding a worm-like extension with fangs that sucks out the victim's blood....it's all very gooey and gross and organic-looking and pretty amazing to watch!  And it’s ALL Del Toro!

For delivering with an Aliens-like sequel and for helping to cement Blade as a comic book movie property which is now never gonna go away – come on Feige, make it happen already – Guillermo Del Toro is the MVP. 

Final Rating (Blade): 3.5 stars out of 5

Final Rating (Blade II): 4.25 stars out of 5

Both films remain strong entries in both the comic book and vampire genres and we probably have the success of these films combined with the mega-success of Spiderman (which came out the same year as 'II) to thank for the current market dominance of the Marvel brand today...for better or worse. :( Apparently, the Disney/Marvel machine will be launching a PG-13 (how??) reboot of this character in the not-too-distant future with Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali taking over the Blade role...Ali is a great actor and strong starting point for such a reboot but consider me skeptical that they will be able to duplicate the artistry and sheer joy behind these first Blade movies! Oh and apparently there was a third Blade movie released in '04....yeeeah, haven't heard good things and just haven't seen it.....🤫

Blade is currently streaming on Tubi

Blade II is available to Buy or Rent on All Online Platforms

And that ends another BLOOD-SUCKING review!