Now Blade has a Soul...

Rating: 7/10 (28 August 2002)

Blade I was what I call a good rental for "popcorn eater": good action scenes, descent acting but nothing more. Blade II is what I call a true motion picture, a cinematic experience. How many sequels (in the horror genre) are better than the original movie? Moreover how many good comics adaptation do we know of? "Few" is the answer for both questions and Blade II might be among those "few". It is a multi-layers movie where the action/horror fanatic will have what they're looking for, a Vampire/Kung Fu flick (and that's fine) however those of us who are asking for more than just another Blade sequel might discover a very thought through movie blend in a myriad of details with extraordinary fight sequences (thanks to Donnie Yen) and a "design" feel to it. Obviously the main critic against Blade II is a very "simplistic" scenario when you know from the beginning what is going to happen: the story is about Blade (Wesley Snipes) who is half vampire, half human and refuses his vampire nature trying to fight the "bloodlust" he suffers. His hatred for the vampire and therefore half of himself is unlimited. In this sequel Blade forms an uneasy alliance with the vampire nation in order to face an even greater enemy: the reapers who feed on vampires as well as on human (who are luckily to us close to Blade's heart). The scenario is simple but not simplistic and Guillermo del Toro "tour de force" is to give volume to this scenario by blending it in a very design atmosphere exploring the notion of "Duality". Blade's duality is obvious: he is fighting half of himself like a metaphoric evil within each and every one of us. The secret of his redemption does not lie in what he is but in what he does and what he feels. His quest for humanity ends at the same time as his hatred for the vampires but moreover for himself. On the opposite the reapers are bodies/corpses, their reasons for being are purely physical, basics (they live to feed) their appearance pushes the limits of horror (reaching the borders of gore) in order to demonstrate how unhuman they really are, in other words how "Essence" (where you come from) in that case human or vampire is not what matters. This gap between the beauty of Blade (Wesley Snipes) or Nyssa Damaskinos (Leonor Varela) and the reapers (Luke Goss etc...) emphasis the gab between "Soul" and "Soulless". Guillermo del Toro delivers his best movie (after Mimic in 1997). Unlike Mimic which was a well directed but average horror movie Blade II is an exceptional horror movie supported by terrific actors (Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlam etc...). Witnessing on screen the birth of a Soul is not a usual thing. Guillermo del Toro managed to do it in a paradoxical beautiful manner.