One Vampire Film That Doesn't Suck

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2002)

Blade II starts off with a bang and never lets up for the complete 2 hours it is on the screen, and you can't ask for much more then that from a comic book adapted, vampire action flick.
The film is better than its predecessor in many areas and weaker than it in others, but the pros far out weigh the cons in this case. This is one of those rare sequels that manages to better itself upon the original overall, but doesn't forget where it came from in doing so.
Guillermo del Toro's direction is well done, and he allows the film to develop its own distinctive look and feel much like he did in his previous film Mimic'. At times it may seem as if the gore is a little over the top, but isn't that the entire point of a movie like this? He also knows how to film an action sequence, shying away from the hyper editing techniques that have infiltrated so many action movies these days. If there is to be a sequel, as is almost assured, I can only hope that he once again at the helm.
Snipes delves a little deeper into the character this time as well, and injects a nice sense of humor into the mix at just the appropriate times, mostly consisting of constant barbs with the vampire Reinhardt, masterly played by character actor Ron Pearlman. Unlike the first movie in which Blade's character is all doom, gloom, and kick ass, we get to see another side of him. Snipes seems more comfortable in the character, and is able to better portray a conflicted soul, even adding a bit of warmth to his leather clad exterior.
One thing that can ruin a film like this though is the absence of a good villain, and here Blade II does not miss it's target. The mutated vampires known as Reapers(imagine Nosferatu with a steam shovel for a mouth and you are fairly close) in the film are one of the better and original film villians in recent memory. They are totally unrelenting and evil, exactly what a film like this needs and a major improvement over the main villian from the last film, which was one of the first film's drawbacks.
Having said earlier that the film starts off with the action right away and never lets up, I will say that this is the film's major weakness as well. I was impressed though at how well del Toro was able to establish fairly good character development for the major players in the movie at a breakneck pace.
Sure the film is silly and has a few plotholes. Sure the film doesn't have a really complicated, enthralling plot. But the film delivers what it promises, a great comic book adapted, vampire action flick. And if that is what you are wanting to see this weekend, you can't go wrong here.
8 out of 10