Blade (1998)

Super Campy Fun....

I've been doing my own reading and retrospective on vampires over the last couple of weeks after seeing "I am Legend" with Will Smith. So I decided to go back to the iconic source. Having not read Dracula in years, I decided to read it again and began by comparing it to the contemporary (1992) movie version...Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" starring Gary Oldman. When I initially read the story as a child, I focused more on my stereotyped "Dracula as performed by Bella Lugosi" and not Stoker's original version. Reading Stoker in the original again I was charmed by the writing style and mores of the times. It holds up well. I then watched Coppola's movie which was tarted up and sexualized for today's audience. While Oldman's over the top performance is great fun to watch, the book is so much better. And if I were Stoker, I would be turning in my grave since the movie version barely follows the book and yet is "Bram Stoker's Dracula".

I then dragged Blade out of my movie collection. It is great campy fun. The first club scene is absolutely classic and really sets the mood for the rest of the movie. This is my favorite Wesley Snipes movie and he really delivers. And I love Kris Kristofferson's dissipated, whiskey voiced as Blade's compadre. The action drags a little bit in the middle, but the end is satisfying, and the bad guy really radiates "evil bad". So you are cheering Blade to the end. Yes, I know this is a B movie, and it has nothing to do with the iconic original dracula. But if you love vampire movies, I recommend this highly. It holds up well even though it it a decade old. February 10, 2008

"Great Modern Superhero Vampire Movie"

Even though this is a bloodbath, it is sleek and stylish, and the good storyline makes this a great modern vampire movie. The superhero aspect of this is part of what makes it so good. I didn't particularly like the sequels to this, but my husband and I both loved this movie. We had to wait to watch it until the kids were in bed, since this is way too grown up for them. But we loved it, and were never really drawn to vampire movies before. This DVD is great and has something like an alternate ending, the La Magra sequence, but it actually comes a little before the true "end" of the movie. The actual end of the movie is the same as the theatrical release, which is the one I remember seeing on TV too. Even though I never really liked vampire movies, this story is so good that it makes me want to hunt down some of the comic books. December 6, 2007

The Daywalker

Blade is an excellent niche in the market of Vampire tellings and tales. Wesley Snipes plays the part of a Daywalker, a vampire that has a genetic altering which allows him to withstand sunlight and the other various nuisances that the Vamps of the night have to deal with.

Blade is heavy on imagery and action, with a cast that is also great! Kris Kristofferson and Stephen Dorff are seen early and often and their characters bring a lot of strength to an otherwise simple storyline. Snipes as a vampire hunter is superb, and his character has a nice no-nonsense approach at taking on the vamps, which are seeing a rise in power and a change in the ranks take place that could mean the end of all mankind.

The storyline that follows Dorff's character trying to decipher an ancient vampire code was well done, and added to the supporting structure that the vampires needed in order to make them feel like something more than just "humans with fangs" who suck blood. Dark and Gothic with a sense of balance in the fact that everything within the plot seems to work very well, there are no loose ends, no sub plots that go nowhere and not a single character shown that doesn't have an impact in the impending outcome of the story. Battle scenes are early and often, with a wide variety of hardware and weaponry showcased by Blade (Snipes) and the few who stand behind him and his stand against ultimate domination by the Vampires. Blade is different, and does its best to stay away from common clichés considering how often stories regarding vampires are portrayed, therefore making it somewhat unique and having rewatchable value.

November 11, 2007

Great

This first installment is the best of the trilogy. Blade is the series that inspired many other 'dark-vampire' type movies that would follow for many years later but nothing tops the original bad-to-the-bone vampire killer Blade. A modern day super hero at its finest. October 11, 2007

Outstanding movie

"I give her 50/50 do you remember Mr Crispy at the hospital" great halloween movie. October 3, 2007

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