REVIEW: ‘Blade II’ (2002)

Vampire busting has never looked so good. BLADE 2 manages to up the ante on the original and take genre filmmaking to the next level with plenty of flair.

Wesley Snipes returns as the once-obscure Marvel comic hero Blade who was first fashioned into a successful film icon in 1998. This sequel wastes little time with back story and leaps right into the fray as we’re introduced to a new breed of bloodsucker that feeds on other vampires. With international horror-maven, Guillermo del Toro (CRONOS, MIMIC) at the helm, the level of gore and tension is much higher than its predecessor. Yet, it’s the action that reigns supreme with much more sophisticated choreography and camerawork.

Although Hong Kong sensation, Donnie Yen has a small role as Snowman, a member of the Blood Pack, his expert fight direction, coupled with Snipes skills and charisma renders the action to be some of the most exciting and well-crafted within the realm of recent CGI-effects laden pics. Most of the effects themselves are expertly unleashed amid dark, foreboding sets. A few fight scenes replace the actors with CGI characters which won’t fool anyone, but a consistent comic book feel to the film makes such potentially negative observations a moot issue.

The story is not unlike the first film. The apocalyptic “Blood Tide” has been replaced by genetic mutations within the vampire ranks that threaten vampire and human alike. One of the best and not-so-original aspects of the film are Blade’s pairing with his former enemies. The idea of a specia lops within the vampire ranks to combat vampire hunters is an idea too cool for words. The Blood Pack is made up of six unique vampires; Chupa, Priest, Snowman, Lighthammer, Verlaine, and Reinhardt who leads them. Also having trained with them is Nyssa who is the daughter of the Vampire Nation’s leader, Damaskinos.

Ron Pearlman as Reinhardt is a terrific addition to the cast. He also co-starred in del Toro’s CRONOS and proves to be the perfect foil for Snipes’ badass screen persona. Danny John-Jules rounds out Blade’s reluctant vampire chums and is another great addition, which may be surprising to fans who recall his stint as Cat on the British television series, Red Dwarf (incidentally, John-Jules once autographed a mouse pad for me during a visit in Seattle, thus proving that I’m a geek).

Blade also gets a new machinist side-kick in the form of Scud, played by Norman Reedus. But he’s just a wannabe next to the tough-talking Whistler. The filmmakers made a brilliant decision in bringing back Kris Kristofferson’s character who had seemingly killed himself in the first film. Kristofferson maintains a world-weary but undaunted wave of off-color remarks that, like Pearlman is a welcome, light-hearted element.

Gadget freaks will rejoice at the inclusion of more inventive tools of the trade such as UV bombs and wrist-mounted blades that expel a blood-bursting mutagen. Of course, the Reapers possess some new traits such as a tolerance to silver and garlic and a jaw-dropping bite that makes the alien hunter in PREDATOR look like a handsome guy.
Del Toro failed to create the amount of scares that I had anticipated; due mostly to the manic pace of the film, but a few twists, shocks and gross-outs will likely startle a few viewers. The action and fights are all exciting and amplified by a number of unusual camera shots that follow the action. The hip-hop/electronica-filled soundtrack compliments the film’s action and free-spirited nature.

As a whole, BLADE 2 is the near-perfect synthesis of B-moviemaking and big budget know-how. Thankfully, the film doesn’t try to appeal to a broader audience by focusing on plot or humor, although it’s in there. BLADE 2 simply throttles you with enough bloody marvelous fun to entertain just about any discerning vampire.