'Blade' is perhaps not great art, but certainly great fun...

Rating: 5/10 (19 June 2005)

Wesley Snipes stars as Blade, an immortal 'day-walker' who considers it his mission to hunt vampires. Blade's mother was bitten by a vampire during her pregnancy, which passed a variety of powers on to her son. Blade benefited from the best attributes of both vampires and humans, and grew up to be a vampire hunter in order to avenge the death of his mother, and to find the means of becoming "human" once more. Snipes does his best "Terminator" impression by hiding almost all of Blade's emotions beneath a macho facade. This approach works on a certain level  it makes Blade a more dangerous and ambiguous figure, but it also prevents the audience from connecting with him. But, before he can dream of becoming completely human, he must deal with the new leader of the vampire nation, Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), whose stated goal is nothing less than the complete domination of the world. Despite being over-the-top, Stephen Dorff fails to imbue Frost with the ferocity necessary to make him a memorable villain. Blade is aided by Adam Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), who provides him with a range of high-tech solutions. The grizzled sidekick lays down a nice character role performance for the future installments.
N'bushe Wright is simply boring. The supporting cast includes the internationally known Udo Kier as the vampire whose position Frost inherits, and ex-porn star Traci Lords as Frost's long-toothed mistress.
A fine combination of action, science fiction and horror, 'Blade' is one of the best comic book adaptations to date. The performances in Blade are serviceable. While hardly deep or cerebral, they manage to capture much of the spirit of the original comic book and succeed in not turning it into a children's cartoon. The film provides plenty of action and effects, fights and blood. The violence is successfully broken up with a variety of one-liners and humor.
The atmosphere is so well-developed that it's easy to forget how derivative and monotonous the plot is, and to get lost in the darkness of Blade's paranoid, vampire-filled world. Blade is fueled by a kinetic energy, and there are scenes, such as the opening dance club sequence, the "Blood Bath", that functions as exotic, erotic assaults on the senses. Ultimately, that all turns out to be a rich icing on a half-baked cake. Blade has the capacity to dazzle, but it also will leave many viewers dissatisfied. Stylish and entertaining, 'Blade' is perhaps not great art, but certainly great fun.