Blood-Spattered Fun

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2018)

"Blade" set a new standard as being, in my opinion, the first good Marvel movie. Twenty years and more than twenty newer Marvel films later, it still holds up brilliantly. It's become dated in many regards, but managed to have smarmy one-liners, over-the-top choreography and late '90's aesthetics blend so seamlessly in tone with the antiquated effects that it in no way effects the score.
Rather, it has simply shifted genre from hardcore martial arts feature to a grindhouse/exploitation style action extravaganza that never fails to put a smile on your face.
Spot-on casting, gory fight-scenes and a fearless originality leave "Blade" near the top of my Superhero list for the past two decades and likely many years to come.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the sequels.