| Wesley Snipes Blade |
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[Image taken from The Blade Website] I must admit that I wasn't really expecting much from Blade, the latest comic-book-character-based movie. Partly, this was because most other movies of this genre stink (including the Batman movies). And partly because I have an aversion towards Marvel Comics (the Microsoft of the comic book industry). But, because Blade combined two of my favorite things (Wesley Snipes and vampires), I figured I had to see it anyway. And, in fact, it was just a little better than I was expecting. Blade is about the character, Blade, who is a half-vampire who hunts full vampires. This is not a particularly original idea (comic book readers may see similarities between Blade and, say, Black Lamb or Vigil). But, the Blade story is still interesting, nonetheless. First, Blade's origin is pretty cute/clever: his mother is bit by a vampire while pregnant. Although she doesn't survive the subsequent childbirth, Blade does. He is eventually trained by another vampire hunter (played by Kris Kristofferson) who also develops a "serum" which keeps Blade as human as he can be. Unfortunately, the serum is addicting. Additionally, Blade is slowly developing a tolerance to it (making it more and more difficult for him to remain human). With this as the backdrop, the movie focuses on a renegade vampire who is seeking to end the secrecy under which the vampires have lived. In a convoluted plan to become some "blood god," Deacon Frost, played by Stephen Dorff, goes about taking over the vampire hierarchy and otherwise wreaking havoc. Also in the movie are N'bushe Wright as the love interest and Traci Lords in a vampiric cameo. But, there were a few things that I didn't particularly like about the flick. First, I didn't really like the reintroduction of Blade's mother as a vampire. Actually, it makes a lot of sense (if she was bitten by a vampire, wouldn't she become a vampire?). But, the way it was handled seemed too contrived and superficial. The producers should have focused more on that subplot and the interaction between Blade and his mum or left it out altogether. As it is, they blew a potentially great plot for a sequel in typical Hollywood fashion. The second thing I didn't like was the ease in which Frost takes over the vampire hierarchy. One would think that the other clans were far more powerful than they were portrayed. While the rebellion was central to the storyline, it would have been far more believable if Deacon were portrayed as being much more influential within the vampire populace than he was. It would have made more sense if they had Deacon seduce certain members from each clan, for example, to help with the coup. And, finally, I didn't much like the ending. The disposal of Deacon-turned-blood-god was too formulaic for my tastes. It just didn't seem like the blood god was all that powerful compared to a normal vampire. I feel that the writers should have developed the idea of what the blood god is and what he can do much better. In the end, it seemed so anti-climactic to me. So, ultimately, I felt the movie was just okay. I certainly enjoyed watching Wesley do his thing; but, the rest of the movie was nothing special and could have been done much better, in my opinion.
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