The Blade is dull.

Rating: Null/10 (12 December 2002)

3.5 out of 10
Blade's opening segment, an action-packed gun/martial arts battle set in a blood-drenched nightclub, is a knockout action sequence. It's fast-paced, stylishly directed, and edited for maximum intensity. It's also the movie's only watchable scene. The rest of the film devolves into a silly tale about reviving blood gods and whatnot, most of it incomprehensible junk that serves as filler in-between the action, which quickly grows redundant.
The movie is packed to the brim with stunts and fight scenes, but most of them lack the precious sense of fun that makes the best of action movies exhilarating (the recent Equilibrium wildly succeeds with its action in comparison to where Blade resoundingly fails). Director Stephen Norrington has an eye for stylish visuals, but fails to bring invigorating energy to the proceedings. As the lead, Wesley Snipes is brooding and bland, a complete failure from a dramatic standpoint. His impending crisis is neither engrossing nor particularly interesting, just another bland subplot in this soulless action thriller.