Big, dumb, and forgettable

Rating: 5/10 (27 March 2002)

Blade II isn't terrible. I, in fact, like it a smidgen better than the original. That film suffered from a very uninteresting love interest (who doesn't come back) and a dull villain. It had its moments, though, and so does Blade II. The visuals in both films are excellent, with a marvelous eye towards the set designs and costumes. II contains more computer animation, with several scenes using far too much computer animation. It tries to hide that a few times by setting the sequences in the dark or whatever, but you'd have to be mentally challenged not to notice. Because of this, its action sequences don't carry as much weight or energy. It steals liberally from The Matrix and, even moreso, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It's slightly better than The Matrix, pretention incarnate, but can't come close to the physical beauty of CTHD, whose action sequences did not rely on computers.
Blade II steals its plot wholesale from Aliens, which is a common action film to steal from (it's probably the best ever made at this point, over 15 years old now). The villains are pretty cool, but they're a direct combination of Max Schreck (of Nosferatu fame) and the aliens from Aliens. They're still pretty brutal. A lot of the supporting cast is simply terrible. The film employs a ton of uber-predictable twists and betrayals. You'll see some of them coming and you'll wonder why the writers even bothered with others. 5/10.