Blade

Year: 1998
Directed By: Stephen Norrington
Written By: David S. Goyer

RYAN’S REVIEW

This movie was made early during a popular trend in good action movies of the time.  Martial Arts, techno music, and stylish black clothing.  It’s a formula that I enjoy greatly and still do, it worked for The Matrix very well but even before then it was done here, with Blade. This movie was also made before vampires became so mainstream, before Twilight and True Blood. I think we are all a little sick of vampires these days and for good reason but they have long since had a place in our culture.  Movies like Interview With A Vampire, The Lost Boys, and this film’ just to name a few really good ones. There will never be any shortage of vampire films coming out of Hollywood.

Blade was also ahead of the game when it came to comic book films.  Blade is a character in the Marvel universe and this came out years before both Spiderman and X-Men. This movie was made in 1998, shortly after Batman & Robin had tanked the Batman franchise, it wasn’t really a good time for the genre.  This movie proved how cool comic book films could be, and while it wasn’t a financial success at first it slowly became a cult hit as time went on.

David S. Goyer wrote the script for this film so of course it is awesome, one of his many good films as far as I am concerned.  Wesley Snipes was also very enthusiastic about the part and you can see that by his portrayal of the lead character. Wesley Snipes is an utter badass in this movie, slicing and dicing with his ninja sword and drop kicking the shit out of vampires and cops alike.  Stephen Dorff is a vile and sinister foe bent on conquering the human race.  It’s one of his better performances, there was talk briefly of a Deacon Frost spin-off but it never materialized. Kris Kristofferson plays a gruff and tough side kick of sorts to Blade. The only problem I have with this movie is how forced the semi-love story is.  N’Bushe Wright is not bad at all in the movie but her relationship with Blade seems out-of-place and she has no chemistry with Snipes.

This movie is dark and cool, full of fighting, hot women, and violence. This is a rare R rated comic book film and that sets it apart from the others.  It’s more dangerous and more fun.  While I didn’t really dislike either of the sequels to this film I definitely didn’t like them.  Something wasn’t right about them, this film was better made, or maybe the other two were just too different from the one I loved.  This is a great movie and definitely worth your time.

AMBER’S REVIEW

Blade. I have seen this movie so many times because Ryan loves it so much. I can never remember that much about it except that Wesley Snipes is in it, he is half vampire and half human, and it was playing one night in high school when I visited Ryan for the first time. I don’t really like this movie, but it is more personal than anything. I know that people love it and it has become a cult classic for people. They don’t make three of them for no reason if nobody likes them. While I appreciate its value, this movie just wasn’t and isn’t my “cup of tea.”

NEXT MOVIE: Blade Runner (1982)