Review of Blade II (2002) by Filipeneto — 09 Aug 2020

We are facing yet another film in the "Blade" trilogy, planned and designed for young adults thirsting for action, with more choreographed fights than ballet and litres of fake blood that splash everywhere. This film, instead of bringing something new, is limited to repeating more or less the same recipe as its direct predecessor, which was a box office success. It is worth seeing, if we do not want an elaborate or deep film but just pass the time.

The script for this film is simpler, in my view, than the one used in the first film of the trilogy. Here we already know the characters, there is no need for introductions and the feeling of superficiality that we had already mentioned in the first film is accentuated. Here, Blade is called by the heads of the vampire community who decide to propose a truce, on the condition that he help them hunt a new strain of vampires, the result of an evolution or genetic mutation. This new strain has a leader who is the most powerful and resilient of them. The problem is that the new vampires, instead of feeding on human blood, are killing other vampires as well and are an immediate threat to both humans and vampires. Of the three films in the trilogy, this is the most scientific and the one where the question of the "vampire virus" is more detailed. Of course, the film has some twists, there are allies that are not trustworthy and enemies that, after all, are not so dangerous. The dialogues continue to be quite heavy in their language, but that didn't bother me ... I think it suits the film.

One thing that I think has improved a lot in this film, when compared to its immediate predecessor, was the cast and its performance. Wesley Snipes continues to look convincing in his role as a "killing machine" and at times seems virtually indestructible. Kris Kristofferson gives us a weak character but still full of smugness and the same tough guy as always. Norman Reedus looks quite nerdy, but the character required it and the actor was good at noticing and acting accordingly. Ron Perlman is, in my opinion, the best actor in the film and he was very good in the character he played. Leonor Varela and Luke Goss also gave us excellent interpretations.

Technically, the bet remains on action scenes and the use of CGI and other high-quality effects. We have fights and deaths for all tastes, choreographed battles, cliché phrases, slow motion effects and blood. Liters and liters of fake blood like a computer game. The sets and costumes are good, and in addition to Blade's impressive costume, eye-catching and stylish, we also have the costumes of the vampire combat teams, also black and with metallic adornments referring to the punk universe. Speaking of which, we have to mention the soundtrack, loaded with electronic music and techno, well suited to the youngest.