“Blade II” has some of the loud, silly, pop-culture feel you could expect from a movie based on a comic book, but unfortunately this vampire thriller starts off as a wild hoot and then sucks the blood out of its fun.
Wesley Snipes revives his role as the title character, Blade, the half-vampire half-human who, this time around, gives more of a performance than he did in the first film, even letting a smile loose a few times.
In this new update of Blade’s quest to destroy all vampires across the world, he is approached by liaisons of the vampire nation in an urgent need to join up with their sworn enemy to destroy a greater threat, a new breed of vampires called Reapers, faster and stronger than the originals and now immune to such things as garlic and silver.
Convinced that once these Reapers destroy vampires they’ll turn on humans, Blade, Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) and Scud (Norman Reetus) agree to work with an elite group of vampires known as the Bloodpack to destroy them. The Bloodpack, many of whom hate Blade, consists of some great actors as well as great characters that don’t get enough screen time or character development. This group could have a film made just around them, but high hopes like that seem doubtful.
As Whistler, Kris Kristofferson looks like the 1960s dragged on for a century — he’s too old and looks like he’s been through hell. And aside from being rescued from Blade in the first few scenes of the film, he does little besides take a punch, over and over. He could have sat this one out, but for some reason the script called for his boring character.
“Blade II” actually came close to winning me over in terms of claiming it better than the original, but in the end, it dies short of the same attitude and possible reality to the world of vampires. It just goes too far, too long.
2.5 / 5 Stars
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Norman Reedus, Leonor Varela, Luke Goss
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
