The all inclusive vampire-action-sci-fi package

Rating: 7/10 (10 January 2009)

Vampires have been hands down the most popular subject of "monster" related films and books for centuries, their popularity going as far back as the early 1700s though their origin much, much earlier. "Blade" is what happens when classic vampire lore meets 90s action movies, a fusion of stylized action and vampire myths. Yes, Blade--the vampire hunter-- carries a shotgun that fires off silver stakes. While stylized action and certainly vampires are nothing new, together they pack an highly entertaining punch.
The Blade universe is a modern one where vampires live among men, turning them to vampires only at a rate that is enough to ensure their survival. But one of these turned vampires, Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), wants more for the vampire race and studying an ancient vampire bible, learns of a way he can awaken a blood god that would turn the world population into vampires. Standing in his way is Blade, (Wesley Snipes) a vampire-hunter who is born a sort of half-vampire (his mother was bitten during pregnancy) and possesses all their skills with none of their weaknesses. Hating the creature buried inside him, Blade is motivated to kill them, straight up.
Blade is one of those mysterious, dark, cold and emotionless protagonists. That makes Wesley Snipes perfect for the role. It helps to have not so good actors in these stoic roles because they play them better than anyone else (take Keanu Reeves in "The Matrix" for example). While Blade of course is forced to get in touch with his emotions in the film, this of course is not of our concern. What is of our concern is that Snipes kick a lot of ass and look cool doing it, which he certainly does. Sometimes quite humorously, which is always a plus of stylized action. The only other performance worthy of mention is Kris Kristofferson who is typecast as the grumpy old human vampire hunter who makes all the gadgets and would rather shoot himself than become a vampire.
Stephen Norrington (whose biggest credits include creature effects work for James Cameron's "Alien") brings Blade's world to life. Norrington brings you everything you could want in a vampire action movie, even if you don't know what that is yet. It's sleek, cool, very bloody and moves at a strong pace. For one thing, "Blade" doesn't get dull. David S. Goyer, who wrote the script based on the relatively unknown Marvel Comics character, gives you exactly what you expect from an action script without going overboard on the one-liners. The intrigue of the vampire lore he's created is enough to help you get by the few annoying parts that come up in addition to the unnecessary swearing that was likely included solely because the action would guarantee an R rating anyway.
"Blade" is not a consummate action hero movie, certainly not by 21st century standards the way the market for these films has exploded and produced some incredible films, but it's fast-paced, entertaining and full of goodies for people who like action and vampire mythology. The special effects are strong for 1998 capabilities too, which doesn't hurt. Basically, it's enough to emerge a winner despite some bad acting and its predictable action hero plot and script. Not even just a winner, but some of that predictability still scores big points even if it's familiar because the movie is very cool.