Competent film but little else to recommend it

Rating: 6/10 (27 January 2007)

Blade II is something of a mixed bag, being largely well made, fairly well written and passably acted, but it is in many ways a sequel that was neither needed nor asked for.
The beginning of the film contains a lot of what lets this film down, with the rescue of Whistler by Blade within the first few minutes seeming both poorly tacked on as well as unnecessary. The character went out in a respectable fashion in the first film, and to be fair the presence of the character as well as Kris Kristofferson add largely nothing to the film. The film is quickly let down once again by the poor special effects used in the Blade vs Nyssa fight, looking both fake and largely inept. This is the end of the truly cringe making parts of the film, with no real let-downs as far as plot and effects are concerned for the rest of the film.
There are the highlights of the film which do however make it somewhat better than average. The costumes are brilliant, the script isn't terrible and the plot allows for plenty of action with very little thinking required. The performance of Luke Goss is brilliant and easily the best piece of acting within the film, Ron Perlman is entertaining as always and Wesley Snipes, whilst wooden, brings the same level of performance as he did in the first film.
This film is easily the worst of the trilogy, but it is still enjoyable to watch if there are no better options, and of course is worth watching if you ever intend to watch Blade III.