Plot Wesley Snipes dons his leather jacket for the second movie instalment of Blade. There is a new kid on the block and his name is 'The Reaper'. An adapted Vampire with a stronger bloodlust that preys on vampires as well as humans. Vampires who survive but are bitten by the Reaper will mutate to Reapears. The new expanding population threatens the existence of vampires, and soon there won't be enough humans in the world to satisfy the bloodlust. Blade is summoned by the Shadow Council to form an alliance with the vampires and lead the Bloodpack, an elite team of vampires trained in all modes of combat, to defeat the Reapers. Blade's team of Scud, Whistler and the Bloodpack are the only line of defence who can prevent the Reaper population from wiping out the vampire and human populations. The only problem they need to overcome is how to kill the reapers.
Analysis Blade 2's biggest weakness is a plot with a number of holes in it, but its strengths overwhelm this and we are treated to a solid piece of horror/action that follows on two years after the original movie had ended. Character design is fantastic with so much detail spent on each characters costumes and equipment which is all complimented superbly by the comic-book style inner city sets. The gadgets that Blade shares amongst himself and the bloodpack are first-class.
The primary "bad guy" of the film, the head reaper, is played by Luke Goss. The same Luke Goss who made the 80s boy band 'Bros'. How could this man be feared? But to be honest he is covered in so much make up you wouldn't realise it was him until his part is credited. But again he's a superb character and I won't spoil the surprise by letting you know the reapers hidden features and abilities. None of the trailers show off their most important feature, which will both shock and amaze you when you see it.
The gore effects are amazing, with excellent blending between computer effects and classic methods. It's a worthy 18/R certificate, trust me. The choreography in the fight scenes is seamless. Snipes and his bloodplack slay what ever gets in their path as guitar and dance fusion tracks blast out in the background. The fighting is very violent and graphic. The computer animation is much improved from the original. The cut scenes where Blade is fully animated are quick and don't spoil the film too much with only one scene displaying that, "wait a minute have we not just switched in to arcade beat em up mode?", kind of moment.
Key Area |
Rating (out of 5)
|
Comment |
Action
|
|
Some damn fine reaper slaying action. Precision choreographed fight scenes leaving you breathless.
|
Thrills/
Tension
|
|
You don't really have time to fear the reaper as the action overwhelms the tension.
|
Violence/
Gore
|
|
Yes, some scenes are best described as sick. Vampires feeding on themselves, reapers reaping, blade slaying and bone snapping by the dozen.
|
Bare Flesh
|
NONE
|
Blade has no time for this sort of thing.
|
Plot
|
|
Some plot holes, but expect twists and double-crosses a plenty.
|
Verdict
Wesley Snipes has a much larger budget on his side for Blade II. A story that's got some floors but in the whole it flows nicely, twisting and turning frequently without losing the audience. It leaves nothing to the audience's imagination as all the slaying is carried out on screen with the camera rarely panning away. Gore factor 10 captain!!!
|
|
Facts, figures and boobs
1. |
Plot holes: Nyssa tells Blade that she is a "pure blood" (born a vampire) but she has a scar above her lip. According to the logic of the movie, a pure blood vampire would never scar. |
2. |
During the final battle where Whistler throws Blade his sunglasses, Whistler's actions in the background are inconsistent, revealing that it was not a straight throw-and-catch and that some editing trickery was used. |
3. |
In the final movie credits we see the amusing line "No real reapers were harmed during the making of this film." |
4. |
In the Vampire HQ when Scud hits Whistler the second time, we hear the sound of the punch first before we see the hit. |
What other people thought of this film: - |
Malicethunder |
This movie was like the absolute greatest, my honest favorite light hammer (Daz Crawford), don't get me worng Wes Snipes is sexy but something justs gets me with big buff bald guys, much like Vin diesel but light hammer is tattooed and very rugged, gothic like so therefore much much sexier...
|
Teestat |
Just answer me one question. Why hire one of the finest Fight choreographers in the business (Donnie Yen) only to appear briefly in the film?
|
Alan Morrison |
One of the best movies ever, awesome action, awesome acting, good cast, good sets, props, storyline good everything. 5/5 |
|