Blade II

***Blade II*** is a 2002 American superhero film based on the fictional character Blade from Marvel Comics, directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by David S. Goyer. A sequel to *Blade* (1998), it is the second installment in the *Blade* franchise, followed by *Blade: Trinity*. The film follows the human-vampire hybrid Blade in his continuing effort to protect humans from vampires, finding himself in a fierce battle against a group of mutant vampires who seek to commit global genocide of both vampire and human races. Blade and his human allies are coerced into joining forces with a special elite group of vampires.

*Blade II* was released on March 22, 2002 and was a box office success, grossing over $155 million. It received mixed reviews from critics, earning praise for its performances, atmosphere, direction, and action sequences, although its script and lack of character development have been criticized.

## Plot

Blade searches Prague for his mentor Abraham Whistler, who was thought dead after being attacked by Deacon Frost, but was instead turned into a vampire and held prisoner for two years, but somehow his bum leg never healed. Blade rescues Whistler and cures him, and still, he has the bum leg. Whistler says he doesn’t know why. Whistler meets Scud, Blade's young new technician and marijuana smoker who likes rap music.

A pandemic is turning vampires into "Reapers", primal, mutant creatures with a ravenous thirst for blood and a highly infectious bite that transforms both human and vampire alike. In order to combat the Reapers, vampire overlord Eli Damaskinos sends his minion, Asad, and daughter Nyssa to strike a truce with Blade; who reluctantly allies with the vampires. He teams up with the Bloodpack, an elite group of vampires originally assembled to kill him. The pack consists of Asad, Nyssa, Reinhardt, Chupa, Snowman, Priest, Verlaine, and her lover Lighthammer. Reinhardt hates Blade, and challenges him to fight, but in response Blade implants an explosive on his head to keep him in line.

They investigate a vampire nightclub where they encounter the Reapers and discover they are immune to most vampire weaknesses. The Reaper leader, Jared Nomak, arrives and holds Nyssa hostage. He tries to recruit Blade to his cause, citing their mutual hatred of vampires. Priest is bitten and mercy-killed, and Lighthammer is bitten but conceals the bite. Whistler disappears and Scud is attacked by several Reapers, which he drives off with UV lights. Blade fights Nomak, who is immune to Blade's weapons. As the sun rises, Nomak retreats and Whistler returns, revealing he has found the Reaper nest in the sewer. Nyssa dissects a dead Reaper and learns their hearts are encased in durable bone. Realizing UV light is their only weakness, Scud and Whistler make UV weapons for the team, as well as a UV-emitting bomb strong enough to take out the entire nest.

Entering the Reaper nest, the team spreads out. Lighthammer transforms into a Reaper and kills Snowman. Verlaine sacrifices herself to kill Lighthammer by exposing them both to sunlight. Chupa and Reinhardt attack Whistler, who sprays Chupa with a Reaper pheromone. This attracts a horde which kills Chupa and Whistler escapes. Asad and Nyssa are ambushed and Asad is killed. Blade saves Nyssa and uses the UV-bomb which kills all of the Reapers except for Nomak. Nyssa and Reinhardt manage to evade the blast, but Nyssa is seriously injured until Blade allows her to drink his blood to survive.

Damaskinos' forces betray and capture Blade, Whistler, and Scud. It is revealed that the Reapers exist as a result of Damaskinos' efforts to engineer a stronger breed of vampires. Nomak, the first Reaper, is his own son, whom Damaskinos considers a failure due to his weakness to sunlight. Scud reveals himself to be one of Damaskinos' familiars, but Blade, who already suspected this, kills him with the explosive he planted on Reinhardt earlier. Damaskinos plans to harvest Blade’s blood in order to develop an immunity to sunlight and create a new and entirely invincible breed of vampires. Whistler escapes Reinhardt and frees a nearly drained Blade, who falls into Damaskinos' blood pool, restoring his strength. He fights his way through Damaskinos' henchmen and kills Reinhardt.

Nomak enters Damaskinos' stronghold seeking revenge on his father. Nyssa betrays Damaskinos by sealing off their escape route to the heliport and Damaskinos is killed by Nomak after failing to negotiate with him. Nomak then bites Nyssa, drinking her blood. Blade and Nomak engage in battle and Blade stabs Nomak in his only weak spot. With his revenge complete, and wanting to end his suffering, Nomak kills himself with Blade's sword. Fulfilling Nyssa's wish of dying as a vampire, Blade takes her outside and embraces her as her body disintegrates due to the sunrise.

## Cast

* Wesley Snipes as Eric Brooks / Blade: A half-vampire "daywalker" who hunts vampires. Wesley Snipes stated that while such a character is not going to have much emotional depth, he also said that "there's some acting involved in creating the character and making him believable and palatable".
* Kris Kristofferson as Abraham Whistler: Blade's human mentor and weaponsmith.
* Ron Perlman as Dieter Reinhardt: A member of the Bloodpack, who bears a particular grudge against Blade.
* Leonor Varela as Nyssa Damaskinos: An unapologetic, natural-born vampire and daughter to Damaskinos.
* Norman Reedus as "Scud": A young, pot-smoking weaponsmith who aids Blade in Whistler's absence.
* Thomas Kretschmann as Eli Damaskinos: An ancient vampire who is obsessed with creating a superior race of vampires as his legacy.
* Luke Goss as Jared Nomak: Patient zero and carrier of the Reaper virus. He bears a grudge against his father, Eli Damaskinos, for creating him.
* Matt Schulze as "Chupa": A pugnacious member of the Bloodpack who bears a particular grudge against Whistler.
* Danny John-Jules as Asad: A "well-mannered" member of the Bloodpack.
* Donnie Yen as "Snowman": A mute swordsman and member of the Bloodpack.
* Karel Roden as Karel Kounen: A "familiar", Damaskinos's human agent and lawyer.
* Marit Velle Kile as Verlaine: A red-haired member of the Bloodpack and the lover of Lighthammer. The script originally said that she was the twin sister of Racquel from the first movie.
* Daz Crawford as "Lighthammer": A hulking, hammer-wielding member of the Bloodpack with facial tattoos.
* Tony Curran as "Priest": An Irish-accented member of the Bloodpack.
* Santiago Segura as "Rush": A vampire flunky in Prague.