Directed By: Stephen Norrington
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson
Tag line: "Against an army of immortals, one warrior must draw first blood"
Trivia: Marv Wolfman, the original creator of the Blade character, unsuccessfully sued Marvel and New Line for $50 million after the release of this film
Vampires and action-packed fight scenes may, at first, seem like strange bedfellows, but some of the better movies to feature bloodsuckers over the past 20 years have also had their share of high-octane thrills. Films like 30 Days of Night, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Underworld have plenty of excitement, but to date, no vampire film has kicked as much ass as 1998’s Blade.
A half-human / half vampire, Blade (Wesley Snipes) has dedicated his life to hunting every vampire on earth. Aided by his partner Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), Blade has managed to kill a number of bloodsuckers over the years, but little does he know he’s about to face the most difficult challenge of his life. It seems that Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), himself a vampire, is bound and determined to summon an ancient vampiric God, thus paving the way for his kind to take over the earth. After rescuing Dr. Karen Jenson (N'Bushe Wright), who’d been bitten by a vampire, Blade sets to work looking for a way to defeat Frost and, in the process, save mankind from a fate worse than death.
The opening sequence alone, in which our hero walks into a rave and starts slaughtering vampires by the dozen, makes Blade worth the price of admission. And in addition to the thrills, the movie features one hell of a performance from its leading man. As Blade, Snipes is the perennial badass, a loner who never lets his guard down and a warrior capable of taking out every vampire he encounters. Aside from his handiwork in the opening scene, Blade’s final showdown with Deacon Frost (complete with a swordfight and plenty of martial arts action) is one for the books.
Based on a popular Marvel comic book series, Blade is more of an action movie than it is a horror flick (while they definitely get the adrenaline pumping, the film’s battle scenes are never frightening). But even if it does come up short in the scares department, Blade has more than its share of pulse-pounding excitement, and as a result is an incredibly fun movie to watch.
