Blade: Trinity (2004)

Genre

Action | Fantasy | Horror

Director

David S. Goyer

Country

USA

Cast

Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Jessica Biel, Ryan Reynolds, Dominic Purcell, Parker Posey, Callum Keith Rennie, Triple H, Natasha Lyonne, Haili Page, John Michael Higgins, Mark Berry, Patton Oswalt, James Remar, Michael Anthony Rawlins, Eric Bogosian, Ron Selmour, Christopher Heyerdahl

Storyline

Now a wanted man by the FBI, Blade (Wesley Snipes) must joins forces with a group of vampire hunters whom call themselves the Nightstalkers to face a new enemy: Dracula (Dominic Purcell).

Opinion

I'm finally done with Blade - hopefully the won't make a new one - and I am not happy to say that these last three weeks have been a roller coaster, because the trilogy started in a very bad way, it went on rising a lot - Guillermo del Toro deserves all the credits for that -, and it finished in the worst way possible, even worse than how it started.

With a name that recalls the Matrix trilogy, Blade: Trinity is the kingdom of boredom, repetitions, confusion, and disappointment.

Third director of the trilogy and writer of the first two episodes, David S. Goyer fails on all fronts. His direction is flat, and the screenplay is even worst. The story is banal, granted, it doesn't say much, and not even the tons of bullets spilled on the bad guys can increase the film quality.

The villains are not convincing at all, both Dracula - not used properly, and made look weak - and Danica Talos - which apparently has fangs in her vagina as well, as if that was a vital information. Also, what's going on with the vampire dogs? 

The special effects have improved - thank you, progress! -, still the action scenes aren't that good. The soundtrack is spot on: bad as the rest.

The acting. Wesley Snipes seems bored, as if he had given up with the role, and his facial expression - that barely changes - is the proof of that. The two new and young faces, Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel, gave hope for something good, but unfortunately not even them manage to arouse emotions. Triple H shows off his great wrestling's skills, and his awful acting. Dominic Purcell, who plays Dracula, is the only to have fun. He really looks like he's enjoying what he's doing.

Blade II (2002)

Genre

Action | Fantasy | Horror

Director

Guillermo del Toro

Country

USA | Germany

Cast

Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela, Norman Reedus, Thomas Kretschmann, Luke Gross, Matt Schulze, Danny John-Jules, Donnie Yen, Karel Roden, Marit Velle Kile, Darren Crawford, Tony Curran, Santiago Segura

Storyline

Still pursuing his goal of slaying vampires, Blade (Wesley Snipes) forms an uneasy alliance with the Vampire Council in order to combat the Reaper vampires who feed on vampires.

Opinion

I knew Guillermo del Toro would have made Blade right, and he actually made quite a difference. In fact, Blade II not only is a huge improvement on its predecessor, but is the successful combination of horror and action, and manages to entertain.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am not saying it is an outstanding film, because it still have some problems. The story isn't as brilliant as I wished, there are still some plot holes, but at least this time the few little twists keeps you engaged, and give you the push to go all the way. The action isn't spectacular, but it is quite enjoyable.

One of the biggest problems is the CGI. The computerised characters may look good, but they seem fake, and their movements looks even faker. The other big problem is with the characters: there is no development, some of them are not intriguing at all, and Frost was definitely a better, and most interesting villain than Nomak - but at least this time Blade needs more time to defeat the enemy.

Oh, the acting. I gotta say it, I really miss the comic-dramatic version of Snipes. Comparing him with the first film, he has certainly worked on his body, but I can't say the same about the acting. Kris Kristofferson is good, but wasted because of the wrong use of his character. Ron Perlman does a good job, and he really seems to be having fun. Leonor Varela does a good job - unfortunately her character's relationship with Blade isn't used as it should have. Norman Reedus is young and cocky in the role of the clichéd Scud - it would have been great seeing him slicing vampires' throats Daryl Dixon's style.

Quotes

Blade: There's an old saying: Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.

Blade (1998)

Genre

Action | Fantasy | Horror

Director

Stephen Norrington

Country

USA

Cast

Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N'Bushe Wright, Donal Logue, Udo Kier, Sanaa Lathan, Arly Jover, Kevin Patrick Walls, Tim Guinee, Traci Lords, Eric Edwards 

Storyline

In a world where vampires walk the earth, Blade (Wesley Snipes), half-vampire, half-mortal, has a goal: protecting the human race, while slaying evil vampires. 

Opinion

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Aaron, some guy on IMDb, wrote, as I quote him, "I liked this one even more than "X-Men". In fact, this movie is sort of a cross between "X-Men" and "The Matrix" and it came out before either.". I do really love "X-Men" and "The Matrix", and just because this one was released before, I can't swallow the fact that somebody even thinks it's ok to compare those films.

But let's move on straight to the review! Blade is a dull, dragged, lifeless comic book adaptation, with lots of useless blood, that doesn't engage the audience at all, and instead of rooting for somebody, you only want this torture to end. But I get why tons of people gave this film a 10 out of 10. After all, it has lots of exploding heads and bodies, oceans of blood and lot of unrealistic fighting.

Mostly everything in this film is bad, and doesn't make sense. Blade is portrayed as the unbeatable vampire that can beat the Blood God in just a few minutes. For God's sake, after a two-hour-never-ending-screening don't we deserve something more? Why do the bad guys always attack Blade one at a time? They even wait for their turn, isn't that ridiculous? I guess I've missed something because the council members were supposed to be essential in the process, but after Frost's girlfriend kills one of them, at my very surprise, the ritual goes through. And how about Blade killing his mother with a bone? I'm sure I've missed something else, because I don't remember somebody saying vampires can be killed with bones. And at last, but not least, Karen. After Blade drank her blood - no small amount, considering how much he sucked it from her neck - she can walk like nothing happened, and she even attempts a fight with Frost's girlfriend, which, by the way, looks like a meth head. 

Wesley Snipes does exactly the same things he did in "The Demolition Man". He fights - luckily for him, Sylvester Stallone isn't his opponent this time -, and has the opportunity to show off another awful haircut. Also, he probably is at his worst in this film. He looks like he doesn't care about the film, and he moves like a robot. At least, Stephen Dorff is pretty good as Frost.