Hello, all!
Much as I enjoyed the first entry in what became the BLADE trilogy, the rule of thumb that I’ve mentioned earlier in this “series,” specifically, that a movie of this sort is only as strong as its antagonist, applied very much to the first film. Stephen Dorff is an interesting actor, but he doesn’t have the kind of on-screen presence to be much of a foil for Wesley Snipes’s “Daywalker,” and the somewhat perfunctory fight at the end of that film only proves the point. BLADE II, however, ups the ante in the baddie department with the “Reapers,” an enemy that preys on humans and vampires alike.
Looking back over the films I’ve suggested so far in this self-indulgent “series,” it seems that many of them are squarely in the fiction camp. That’s not to say that Jason Bourne is some historical character, of course, but that those films that are trying to maintain at least a façade of realism are similarly constrained by it. With fiction, then, there’s really not a great deal of risk of stretching the suspension of disbelief past the breaking point, so long as the film plays by the rules of the universe it creates.
In BLADE II, the conceit is clever and, within the context of the BLADE universe, makes an awful lot of sense. To wit, the same “Daywalker” who cut a swath of medieval destruction through the ranks of a pile of vampires in the first film now has to team up with them against the mutual threat of the aforementioned Reapers. There are some twists that you probably could see coming a mile away, but they really don’t detract from the film since they’re still enjoyable.
Given the premise of the film, that a highly infections pandemic is turning vampires into the Reapers, it may be worth revisiting now that recent events have made such a notion seem a little bit less like science fiction. Or maybe that won’t add anything to the film to you. If it doesn’t, that’s okay, because there’s a decent enough story to drive the narrative, and it also could be said to relate to recent events to some extent. That’s not to say that it’s some kind of prophetic film, of course, but to allude to the old axiom that art imitates life… or vice versa.
Anyway, if you’re a fan of action flicks set in a sci-fi or horror milieu, it’s hard to go wrong with either of the first two BLADE films. Marvel must have wanted to experiment with something a bit less kiddo friendly, and they ended up producing a very solid pair of films. The third one sucked… no pun intended. So, stick with the first two… you’ll probably want to watch the first one prior to the second, actually, not only because it’s pretty dang good but also because it helps to establish contexts that matter a bit for the characters in the sequel. Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - THE DARK KNIGHT; Day 2 - DESPERADO; Day 3 - THE ROAD WARRIOR; Day 4 - X2: X-MEN UNITED; Day 5 - TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY; Day 6 - DAWN OF THE DEAD; Day 7 - DEADPOOL 2; Day 8 - HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX; Day 9 - STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN; Day 10 - THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS; Day 11 - CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER; Day 12 - ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES; Day 13 - PADDINGTON 2; Day 14 - RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET; Day 15 - LETHAL WEAPON 2; Day 16 - FINAL DESTINATION 2; Day 17 - FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE; Day 18 - NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION; Day 19 - THE RAID 2; Day 20 - THE BOURNE SUPREMACY; Day 21 - SPIDER-MAN 2; Day 22 - EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN; Day 23 - X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST]
Much as I enjoyed the first entry in what became the BLADE trilogy, the rule of thumb that I’ve mentioned earlier in this “series,” specifically, that a movie of this sort is only as strong as its antagonist, applied very much to the first film. Stephen Dorff is an interesting actor, but he doesn’t have the kind of on-screen presence to be much of a foil for Wesley Snipes’s “Daywalker,” and the somewhat perfunctory fight at the end of that film only proves the point. BLADE II, however, ups the ante in the baddie department with the “Reapers,” an enemy that preys on humans and vampires alike.
Looking back over the films I’ve suggested so far in this self-indulgent “series,” it seems that many of them are squarely in the fiction camp. That’s not to say that Jason Bourne is some historical character, of course, but that those films that are trying to maintain at least a façade of realism are similarly constrained by it. With fiction, then, there’s really not a great deal of risk of stretching the suspension of disbelief past the breaking point, so long as the film plays by the rules of the universe it creates.
In BLADE II, the conceit is clever and, within the context of the BLADE universe, makes an awful lot of sense. To wit, the same “Daywalker” who cut a swath of medieval destruction through the ranks of a pile of vampires in the first film now has to team up with them against the mutual threat of the aforementioned Reapers. There are some twists that you probably could see coming a mile away, but they really don’t detract from the film since they’re still enjoyable.
Given the premise of the film, that a highly infections pandemic is turning vampires into the Reapers, it may be worth revisiting now that recent events have made such a notion seem a little bit less like science fiction. Or maybe that won’t add anything to the film to you. If it doesn’t, that’s okay, because there’s a decent enough story to drive the narrative, and it also could be said to relate to recent events to some extent. That’s not to say that it’s some kind of prophetic film, of course, but to allude to the old axiom that art imitates life… or vice versa.
Anyway, if you’re a fan of action flicks set in a sci-fi or horror milieu, it’s hard to go wrong with either of the first two BLADE films. Marvel must have wanted to experiment with something a bit less kiddo friendly, and they ended up producing a very solid pair of films. The third one sucked… no pun intended. So, stick with the first two… you’ll probably want to watch the first one prior to the second, actually, not only because it’s pretty dang good but also because it helps to establish contexts that matter a bit for the characters in the sequel. Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - THE DARK KNIGHT; Day 2 - DESPERADO; Day 3 - THE ROAD WARRIOR; Day 4 - X2: X-MEN UNITED; Day 5 - TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY; Day 6 - DAWN OF THE DEAD; Day 7 - DEADPOOL 2; Day 8 - HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX; Day 9 - STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN; Day 10 - THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS; Day 11 - CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER; Day 12 - ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES; Day 13 - PADDINGTON 2; Day 14 - RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET; Day 15 - LETHAL WEAPON 2; Day 16 - FINAL DESTINATION 2; Day 17 - FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE; Day 18 - NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION; Day 19 - THE RAID 2; Day 20 - THE BOURNE SUPREMACY; Day 21 - SPIDER-MAN 2; Day 22 - EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN; Day 23 - X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST]
