Decent entertainment but overall inferior to the first!

Rating: 6/10 (17 October 2005)

Blade II is a very entertaining film. To summarize the film is fairly easy as the film consists of one fight sequence after another and that is not a bad thing. Far from it because it is highly entertaining to watch Blade kick some ass but it is also the greatest flaw of Blade II, which could have been even better than the first film.
Blade is back in action and the storyline picks up a few years after the first one ended but the story is just a loose draft to provide for a lot of heavy action. The film starts off strong with Blade chasing some vampires. Blade soon accomplishes his objective and after only a few minutes of peace Blade finds himself in the middle of some heavy action once again. It seems to me that the film makers knew that there wasn't much of a story and just decided to cover it up with a lot of action and to del Toro's credit, it nearly works. A few action sequences are marred, however, by some very lame and unbelievable CGI. The CGI is so bad in fact that the film is dragged down from an otherwise deserved 7. Overall the action works though and I must admit I was entertained and after the first viewing I even preferred Blade II to the 1998 original. After re-watching it, however, I realized that a lot more attention was payed to the first film.
Wesley Snipes returns in the sequel as the title character and he is woolly at best. His performance is pretty non-existent. Most of the act is in posing and looking cool which we knew he could do from the first film. I am not asking for a deep personal look into the character's psychology but a little depth couldn't hurt now could it? Most of his lines are hissed in the usual Blade manner and so not a lot of new has happened to the Blade character. The character of Whistler returns once again in the form of Kris Kristofferson who does what he can but as the story is pretty flat so his character is as well which is a shame because we know from the first film that Kristofferson is a talented guy. It seems that the leading ladies are all picked by their lack of talent because even though I didn't think it was possible an even worse leading lady was found for the second film in the form of Leonor Varela. Her performance is lifeless at best and her "relationship" to Blade is embarrassingly badly written. Ron Perlman is in this film as well and some say it is his best (before his breakthrough in Hellboy) character but I disagree. While his character is the most worthwhile in the film it still isn't great. The villain played by Luke Goss is a decent villain and seems like a decent challenge to Blade (unlike the villain of Blade Trinity) and there are a few interesting showdowns between Blade and the villain. Other than this the acting is pretty standard.
The film's visual style differs from the first film and this is good because it further separates this film from the first. Blade II can stand on its own. The color palette has moved more towards earth like colors like brown(ish) and yellow which makes the film interesting to look at during the slow talking parts. The overall set work is excellent and especially the sewer set is very claustrophobic and atmospheric, kudos to the set people and the director. Here also the music should be mentioned as it is nearly as good as in the first film which had a great soundtrack. Compared to the instantly forgettable soundtrack of the third film it is like Mozart. A few changes have been made to the wardrobe as well. Blade's costume has become more streamlined and some color has been added to the his cape and this looks great. Blade is cooler than ever.
Blade II is not a deep or personal film for that matter but it is entertaining and two brainless hours of pure testosteroned action. My suggestion is that you leave your brain at the door and enjoy the action because there is plenty of it and the Blade character himself deserves a closer look. The film is not as good as the first but it is still an exhilarating ride and the comic book feel remains making Blade II a decent film.
6/10