BLADE II
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: Guillermo del Toro directs but unfortunately does not write this sequel to BLADE. There is lots of fighting filmed with some style but only about five sentences worth of plot in the entire film. Wesley Snipes recreates the title character whom he subtly interprets as righteous, mean, and undefeatable. Ironically an all-action film that drags. Rating: 3 (0 to 10), -1 (-4 to +4)
America has George Romero, John Carpenter, and Wes Craven. Canada has David Cronenberg. Italy has Dario Argento. Ironically none of them has a record for quality like Mexico's much lesser-known Guillermo del Toro. He has made three very stylish films to date: CRONOS, MIMIC, and THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE. I was not fond of BLADE, directed by Stephen Norrington, and had no desire to see the sequel until I heard Guillermo del Toro had directed. Sadly his hands appear to have been tied by a dull script that needed del Toro more than he needed it.
As we learned in BLADE the world is ravaged by evil vampires, but they are kept in check by Blade (played by Wesley Snipes) who is the half-breed that resulted from his pregnant mother being attacked by a vampire. Blade conveniently has all the special powers of vampires, but none of the limitations like allergies to sunlight and garlic. Vampires in this world are preternatural, getting their powers from a special blood type, though inconsistently they do have some supernatural powers that seem like they cannot possibly be related to blood type. In battle Blade can do many things because though he is a vampire he is also a "daywalker." Kris Kristofferson returns as Whistler who knows many things because he walks by night.
In BLADE II Blade and his vampire enemies form an uneasy non- aggression pact in order to fight against a new kind of vampire that feeds off of both humans and vampires alike. These new vampires are anatomically different from humans and vampires with a modification that should, among other things, totally destroy their ability to speak distinctly. The story, which is actually slow with the gaps filled by battles and characters posing for dramatic images, then works itself out with no untelegraphed surprises. Watching the film is like spending an evening at the fights and knowing at the beginning of each fight who is going to win.
Visually, del Toro has managed some reasonable touches. That is not surprising since del Toro films are known for their atmospheric visuals of a dark world. The film does get a nice Eastern European atmosphere by being filmed and set in the Czech Republic. When a vampire is killed he does not just fall to dust but from the inside burns to embers. Most settings seem to be in some dark European nether-world. Some rather athletic vampires move like super-ninjas, but are a little too obviously digital images.
What is supposedly the most innovative are the computer-enhanced fight scenes. That is not a feature I can tell you much about. For me the fight scenes are just passable because they do not interest me a great deal. It is like asking me to tell really good dishes from ones that are just okay in Inuit cuisine. The fights staged do however get the job done, though they take a lot of film time doing it. The new vampires are fairly gross-looking, if that is an accomplishment. This film may have subtleties in aspects I do not appreciate. Del Toro is certainly a director who creates subtleties I do appreciate in his other films. Here he has created a big comic book for the screen with a lot of fast cut dark bang up scenes.
The film brings back Wesley Snipes as Blade. He looks mean, and is fully up to the athletic requirements of the film which are considerable, and the acting requirements which are minuscule. Snipes snarls as convincingly as any actor alive and the script asks for little more than that. Kris Kristofferson seems a little tired, but that may be what the part calls for. Playing master- vampire Rienhardt is del Toro veteran Ron Perlman.
Perhaps the proceeds of BLADE II will help to fund del Toro's next film, HELLBOY. In any case, del Toro is writing that one and by the release date I will have forgotten that he was involved with BLADE II, which I rate a surprising 3 on the 0 to 10 scale and a -1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net
Copyright 2002 Mark R. Leeper
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