Review of Blade (1998) by Carlos R — 14 Sep 2010

Christ! I'm too old for this! Somebody get me a goddamn wheelchair!

Most vampires nowadays are depicted as pale, sparkly creatures. But not Blade. This true vampire-human hybrid can kill even the most powerful of vampires without having to take off his sunglasses. This movie marks the beginning of a highly enjoyable trilogy (a rare feat in my book; the only other trilogy I love is Lord of the Rings), but a part of me hopes for a fourth movie. Nevertheless, Blade is an excellent character in the vampire genre, and this film kicks off one hell of a journey through the vampire underworld. Blade (Snipes) was born a vampire, but the circumstances of his birth were quite odd. For starters, his mother was still human when she gave birth to him, but she was dying of a vampire bite. Due to this, Blade has sworn off vampires and has taken the liberty of hunting all the vampires down and killing them. Helping him is a seasoned - and old - vampire hunter, Whistler (Kristofferson), who has a penchant for making anti-vampire weapons. The film begins with a young woman (obviously a vampire) who leads a dazed man into a public rave. Things seem innocent at first, until blood starts spraying from the showerheads rigged to the ceiling. The man realizes where he is and makes a mad crawl for the entrance, but stops in front of a pair of huge black boots. It's Blade. He quickly dispatches of the vampires in the rave and even sets a burly vampire named Quinn (Logue) on fire. Quinn works for Deacon Frost (Dorff), an ambitious vampire who plans to awaken La Magra, or the Blood God. His activities are closely watched by the council, which are made of "purebred" vampires, or vampires who were born as a vampire, and not turned, like Frost was. Blade now has to find a way to stop Frost from becoming the Blood God, and even reunite with someone from his past.

I bloody loved this movie. The fight scenes were great, and if you're after a film which can take you directly into the world of vampires, this one is definitely for you.