Movie Review by David Paiz
Posted: April 2002

Critic Score: B+

Last time he fought against his sworn enemies....This time he will fight with them.

"...a really rather brilliant vomitorium of viscera, a comic book with dreams of becoming a textbook for mad surgeons." - Roger Ebert

Dracula, Nosferatu, Blacula, and Lestat...

These names and many others have long dominated the realm of vampire fiction and the countless films that have dealt with various aspects of vampire lore.

Having said that, let me now say that I have seen the future of vampire cinema - its name is Blade (Wesley Snipes).

At the risk of making a truly cheesy pun, I’ve always been a sucker for a good vampire flick. From Bela Lugosi to Christopher Lee to Stuart Townsend, something about the genre has always fascinated me.

In recent years, efforts by film auteurs like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez ("From Dusk Till Dawn"), and veteran horror/sci-fi director John Carpenter ("Vampires") had seemingly breathed new life into a genre that had been taken hostage by Anne Rice. As much as I love Rice’s tortured characters and gothic visions, over the past two decades there has been next to nothing new being done in the world of vampire films.

Even Joss Whedon’s wildly successful TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (probably my biggest guilty pleasure) often borrows heavily from Anne Rice-ean themes.

I have to confess that up until very recently, especially after seeing the Wes Craven produced flop "Dracula 2000," I was starting to get a bit burned out on my beloved bloodsuckers.

But no more.

Based on a minor character from the classic 1973 Marvel comic book, "Tomb of Dracula" (one of my all-time faves) - the films "Blade" and "Blade II" have given vampire cinema a much-needed swift kick in the ass.

As much as the first movie succeeded on many levels, "Blade II" just tears it to shreds. Not only does it exceed the original, it is quite possibly the best sequel of its kind ever made.

As is generally the case with most sequels, "Blade II" picks up right where the first left off. After destroying the maniacal vampire Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), the vampire-human Blade sets out to find his friend and mentor Whistler (Kris Kristofferson).

Aided by a dope-smoking tech-head named Scud (Norman Reedus), Blade finally tracks Whistler down and frees him from a group of vampires that had been holding him hostage.

Just when Blade and Whistler thought they could kick back and have a cold one, they are ambushed by a team of stealthy, ninja-like vampires bearing a message from Damaskinos (Tcheky Karyo) - the ancient leader of the vampire nation.

Blade is told that the vampires have been targeted for extinction by the Reapers - a meaner, nastier mutant strain of vampire immune to garlic and silver.

To defeat this new menace, Blade agrees to join with the Bloodpack - a hardcore vampire hit squad led by the wise-cracking Reinhardt (Ron Perlman) and Damaskinos’ own daughter, the alluring Nyssa (Leonor Varela).

Here's what Ramses Rivera of WhiteCygnus.com had to say about the film:

"I thought the movie was awesome! The only thing I was disappointed with was the fact that Donnie Yen ("Iron Monkey," "Once Upon A Time In China 2") didn't do much. The man is a GREAT martial artist and unfortunitly his talents were not present in Blade II. At times the martial arts was a bit to fast but I thought the choreography was great. If you want action, I highly recommend Blade II."

But things are less than harmonious with the Bloodpack who resent having to take orders from Blade - the guy they’ve been trained to kill. Despite this, they somehow manage to put their grievances aside to confront the Reapers - led by the bloodthirsty Nomak (Luke Goss).

Without going into specifics, the mutant vampires were pretty damned gruesome. Think of a cross between "Alien," "Predator" and something from David Cronenberg’s remake of "The Fly" and you’ll get an idea of what I’m talking about.

Wesley Snipes punctured his hand, tore cartilage in his knee and paid a very painful price in this making of this film, and it shows. The fight sequences, of which there are several, are fast, furious and exceedingly well-choreographed.

After a series of bloody, action-packed confrontations with the Reapers, the good guys seemingly manage to defeat the blood-sucking mutants. At this point, I was thinking that the movie was about to end but alas, Blade finds out that he has been used by Damaskinos and he is taken prisoner by the vampire lord.

From here Blade discovers the shocking truth about the Reapers and the action spins hard and fast toward a final, bone-shattering confrontation between Blade, Nomak, and Damaskinos.

Although he initially hesitated to take on the project, Director Guillermo de Toro ("Mimic") did a masterful job visualizing David S. Goyer’s rock-solid screenplay. On the big screen, "Blade II" plays out like "The Matrix," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and "Alien: Resurrection" as seen through the lens of an Anne Rice acid trip.

The overwhelming success of "Blade II" paves the way for del Toro’s next big project - the long-awaited screen version of another comic book character - "Hellboy" and yes, a third "Blade" movie at some point in the not too distant future.

Cool, high-tech gadgetry. Humor. Action scenes that would make Jet Li’s head spin. Gut-churning gore. "Blade II" has something for everyone, but it is most definitely not for children under 13.

So what are you waiting for?!

Go! Go see it now! Go see it yesterday! If you’ve seen it already, go see it again, at any rate it’s gotta be better than "Van Wilder," or "Panic Room!!"