Blade II
Year: 2002
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Kris Kristofferson, Norman Reedus & Wesley Snipes
Runtime: 117 mins
BBFC: 18
Published: 11/04/23
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Kris Kristofferson, Norman Reedus & Wesley Snipes
Runtime: 117 mins
BBFC: 18
Published: 11/04/23
1998’s Blade wasn’t anything special when it came to action movies, in fact it was arguably below average. But in comparison to a lot of the superhero films that came before it, it set a new precedent for what was possible if the source material was done justice. With the success of Blade it seemed inevitable that a sequel would be in the works, but in between Blade and it’s 2002 sequel, the aptly titled Blade II, Fox had released X-Men into the world and the bar had been significantly raised. With Sony’s promising looking Spider-Man releasing just a couple of months after Blade II, the pressure was truly on to make a sequel that not only topped the first film but could hold its own against two of Marvel’s juggernaut IP’s.
After rescuing a very not dead Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) from a vampire prison in Prague, vampire hunter Blade (Wesley Snipes) catches wind of a dangerous new foes threatening both the vampire and human worlds. Known as Reapers, they believe themselves to be superior to all, and led by Jared Nomak (Luke Goss) they seek to conquer.
Blade must go against his impulses and work with an elite group of vampires known as the Bloodpack, and along with some new tools made by his assistant, Scud (Norman Reedus), he must eradicate the Reaper threat.
After rescuing a very not dead Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) from a vampire prison in Prague, vampire hunter Blade (Wesley Snipes) catches wind of a dangerous new foes threatening both the vampire and human worlds. Known as Reapers, they believe themselves to be superior to all, and led by Jared Nomak (Luke Goss) they seek to conquer.
Blade must go against his impulses and work with an elite group of vampires known as the Bloodpack, and along with some new tools made by his assistant, Scud (Norman Reedus), he must eradicate the Reaper threat.
Blade II is just a total mess of a film, and I’m not even really sure where to start with it. I suppose firstly, let’s address Whistler. In the first film he’s killed off by Deacon Frost, except in the first few minutes of Blade II we learn that actually he wasn’t killed off and that he was instead turned into a vampire, but not only that, Blade has a ‘vaccine’ that will turn him human again. Now, excuse me for being pedantic, but if Blade and Scud have managed to create a ‘cure’ for vampirism, then why haven’t they just mass produced it and dispersed it to eradicate the vampire threat instead of continuing to have Blade go out and kill them? Secondly, Whistler doesn’t do an awful lot in Blade II so it seems entirely pointless bringing him back anyway!
So next up, the Reapers. I like the idea of there being this threat that is dangerous to both humans and vampires and Blade needing to co-operate with vampires to vanquish it. However, the Reapers are just stronger vampires. They aren’t day walkers like Blade is, they just take a bit more of a battering to die. Silver doesn’t seem to do an awful lot to them, but UV light is just as deadly, so the film essentially boils down to the Bloodpack just shining torches at Reapers rather than getting into exciting fight sequences.
But on top of all this, the whole Reaper storyline and how they came to be is so poorly explained that I really didn’t care about any of it. Plus, the Bloodpack seem to want to kill Blade more than they want to stop the Reapers so it’s all just a bit messy really.
So next up, the Reapers. I like the idea of there being this threat that is dangerous to both humans and vampires and Blade needing to co-operate with vampires to vanquish it. However, the Reapers are just stronger vampires. They aren’t day walkers like Blade is, they just take a bit more of a battering to die. Silver doesn’t seem to do an awful lot to them, but UV light is just as deadly, so the film essentially boils down to the Bloodpack just shining torches at Reapers rather than getting into exciting fight sequences.
But on top of all this, the whole Reaper storyline and how they came to be is so poorly explained that I really didn’t care about any of it. Plus, the Bloodpack seem to want to kill Blade more than they want to stop the Reapers so it’s all just a bit messy really.
None of the characters are likeable, and the dialogue is atrociously bad. Along with the poor production design, I felt like I was watching a feature length episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer rather than a Marvel movie. Nobody likes each other, they all just growl short and meaningless rubbish at each other, every single performance feels as though the cast are putting on their first school production rather than being established actors in a Hollywood movie. It would be laughable if it weren’t so sad.
To add insult to injury, as previously stated the film looks like it was cobbled together on a shoestring budget, and that’s likely because a lot of the budget went to Snipes’ paycheck and to the rubbery and overused CGI effects. None of the combat is satisfying to watch, it isn’t as bloody as the first film, the Reapers look like they’re wearing rubber William Shatner masks…it’s just a total disaster.
What’s strange is that Blade II was relatively well received in 2002. Stacking it up against its contemporaries I can’t understand why as this is without a doubt one of the worst superhero films I have ever seen. The third act does present some somewhat satisfying action scenes, but it’s too little too late, and even then, it’s sub-par compared to what the first film offers up.
Blade II is best forgotten about. Whilst the first film was instrumental in getting Marvel and the superhero-action genre on its feet, the sequel almost undoes all the good that film did by seemingly doing everything it can do be bad. I hated it, and that’s really all I have to say on the matter.
To add insult to injury, as previously stated the film looks like it was cobbled together on a shoestring budget, and that’s likely because a lot of the budget went to Snipes’ paycheck and to the rubbery and overused CGI effects. None of the combat is satisfying to watch, it isn’t as bloody as the first film, the Reapers look like they’re wearing rubber William Shatner masks…it’s just a total disaster.
What’s strange is that Blade II was relatively well received in 2002. Stacking it up against its contemporaries I can’t understand why as this is without a doubt one of the worst superhero films I have ever seen. The third act does present some somewhat satisfying action scenes, but it’s too little too late, and even then, it’s sub-par compared to what the first film offers up.
Blade II is best forgotten about. Whilst the first film was instrumental in getting Marvel and the superhero-action genre on its feet, the sequel almost undoes all the good that film did by seemingly doing everything it can do be bad. I hated it, and that’s really all I have to say on the matter.