Reviewed by: Movieman
I will say up front that I am not a fan of the "vampire" genre so I usually will not review these kinds of films but when I heard about the sequel for Blade, I was intrigued. The original was pretty good and had its moments but I liked it for Wesley Snipes who made the Blade character his own. Scott Norrington directed the first one but was replaced by Guillero del Toro who along with new cinematographer Gabriel Beristain, made Blade II into a visual masterpiece.
Blade II begins with a massive killing by Nomak (Goss), a new breed of vampire who not only feed off of vampires but they become just like him like zombies. To combat this new enemy, the vampire organization seeks out Blade to lead a group of specially trained vamps to fight Nomak.
The film, however, boxed itself in a corner last time around, so they created the story that Whistler (Kristofferson; The Joyriders) was taken by the vampires and used for blood supply and such before Blade rescues him and returns him to normal. This part was the only thing I questioned but once you get past that, the film is a lot of fun.
Blade II looks like it came straight from the page of a comic book with amazing visuals and some colorful characters. Wesley Snipes does a great job and like other comic book "super heroes" in the movies, he makes it believable. I am a fan of movies inspired by comic books and this film is only a notch below Batman (that's saying something for me) along with Snipes compared to Michael Keaton.
The martial arts action scenes abound the film for about an hour and forty-five minutes of the two-hour film. The martial arts in the original was slow and taught while Blade II improves on it and makes it enjoyable and not disjointed from the plot (unlike M:I 2).
I've already commented on Wesley Snipes' performance but the supporting cast also contributes. Kris Kristofferson takes his Whistler character, which is resurrected in a dumb way but is forgivable when you see how much he adds to the film. There is a gem in actress Leonor Varela as she makes her first appearance in a big budget film of this magnitude (she also was in The Tailor of Panama). Varela not only makes a deadly vampire but a capable love interest for Blade. There's a particular scene where she and Blade connect as he sacrifices a little to save her life, something that you wouldn't think would be affective, but is none the less.
Some credit needs to be given to director Guillermo del Toro who undertakes a possible successful franchise and makes it better than the original thereby setting the tone for future sequels (#3 is being planned). I would equate Toro's direction with John Woo and someday he may get that notoriety of being a martial arts action director.
Overall Blade II is an early summer bash with tons of action and violence that strays away from the normal vampire horror films. Kris Kristofferson has less to offer this time but he still does a good job and Varela also gives a good performance. I recommend Blade II to any of the fans from the original and those who don't mind a lot of gore and violence, otherwise this is not your cup of tea.
Special thanks to Movie - Vault
