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Blade II (Single Disc Edition)

Blade II (Single Disc Edition)

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Improves on the original
Review: After I saw Blade the original I thought to myself here is an excellent film. It had action, good plot and great actors like Wesley Snipes and Kirs Kristofferson. But after seeing Blade II I said now here is an even better film. The interesting plot of Blade's alliance with the vampire race (a race he has sworn to destroy) to battle a new type of mutant super-vampire race keeps you engrossed. Fine supporting cast of Ron Pearlman helps too. The alliance between Blade/Whistler and the Vampires does not last long but you have to see the movie to find out what I am talking about. Also has some good bonus materials like interviews with the director and deleted scenes.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Techno-Gore Vampire Flick
Review: "Blade II" is unique. Consider first that it is based on an underappreciated and, up until the first movie, relatively unknown superhero outside of comic book stores. Then consider that it's a sequel. These are two things that just don't add up to success in the modern world. You can make a clunker of a movie like "Hulk" and still get big numbers in the opening week based on the character's name alone. You can also toss together a sequel(any of the "Batman" sequels)and gain solid numbers until word gets out that the movie is horrible. Somehow "Blade II" takes both of these seemingly impossible odds, puts them together with a good plotline, slick action and solid direction, and comes up with a good movie that's ten times better than any other action sequel out there(excepting "X-2").

Snipes is perfect as "Blade." He pulls it off with style, humor, and attitude. Every move he makes is done in a "superhero pose" type of way. He makes "Blade" both believable and impossible at the same time. He's just flat out cool. I know very little about this character except what I learned in the first movie. I don't know if they got everything correct about the character, but I don't care because Snipes owns this character in the films. Let the geeks iron out the inaccuracies.

"Whistler," played by Kris Kristofferson, is his same old tough-as-nails, cranky self. The "Nomak" character, by Luke Goss, is a perfect foil. You almost feel sad for the guy since his pop screwed with his genetics like that. His fight with "Blade" is one of the best brawls in modern comic-to-screen history. It's over-the-top, a little fake-looking at times, but fits the tone of this movie to a tee. The rest of the cast is superb as well, especially Ron Perlman, the perfectly annoying Scott Reedus and Danny John-Jules(of "Red Dwarf").

Don't let the naysayers fool you, this movie has a solid storyline to it. It may not be the romanticized version of a vampire most folks are used to these days, but it does give you a taste of the gory side of our bloodsucking brethren. If the plot isn't your cup of tea, don't worry, because this movie has also got gene manipulation, ninja-vampires, the token nightclub brawl, cool gadgets that would make "Batman" giddy as a schoolgirl and even a love interest, albeit a brief one.

Director Guillermo Del Toro manages to make the "Blade" franchise his own with this sequel. He keeps the dark, techno-music tone of the first flick intact, but puts his own mark on this flick as well via gore and stylized action. Folks knock the sometimes-obvious CGI effects and "Wrestlemania" type fight sequences found throughout this movie, but that's what makes this movie so fun. It's not too serious, it's fun and it's so stylish that you'll want to forgive the CGI miscues and over-the-top fight scenes. This is an action movie folks, not "Pride and Prejudice!"

In closing, watch this slick flick for the fun, action-packed romp that it is. "Lestat" he ain't, but "Blade" could take that punk out anytime, anywhere.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Compelling Vampire drama
Review: Blade 2 is good. I heard many negative reviews of it and put off seeing it for a while. It came on tv the other day and I was very impressed by it. Good vampire-hunting movie, not too cheesy, well written and put together. You look at a movie like Daredevil and you have to wonder why a movie like that would make more money than Blade 2. Blade 2 is what the Matrix sequels should have been. If you don't buy it, at least rent it. It's worth it. I am a vampire myself and was not offended by any of the killing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: sequal...just as good as the first one.
Review: Just like in 'Blade', 'Blade II' blows me away as one of the best vampire movies! The 2nd one makes you think a bit more than the 1st - and that's a good thing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lots of Bloody Fun
Review: "Blade ll" offers exactly what you would expect: Lots of martial arts fighting, thin plotting and ghoulish vampires, but the surprise is in director Guillermo Del Toro exhilirating and stylish approach, which elevate the film above its somewhat far-fetched plot, even for a vampire movie. Wesley Snipes reprises his role as the titular vampire hunter, and with just as much aching cool as he did the first time around. Within the first ten minutes of the film, he saves his mentor Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) from torture, and a new breed of vampire shows its face. A Reaper. A super-strong and almost indestructible foe that turns it vampire victims into new Reapers and this gang is led by a jolly good fellow Jared Nomak (Luke Goss). Seeing Nomak as a threat, the Vampire Nation offers a truce to Blade for his help in hunting down and killing the super-vamps. But of course, nothing for Blade is what it seems, especially with David S. Goyer's occasionally juvenile script.

But Snipes (who also co-produced the film) and Del Toro shine in this kind of movie. Intense fight scenes comprise nearly half the film, involving swords, guns, bombs and plenty of fist-flying, giving fans of the first film what they really want: Blade kicking much Vampire ass. But the fights are sometimes marred by painfully obvious computer effects, and a couple painfully trashy shots. But these are minor quips, seeing as Snipes is so freakin' cool as the big bad Daywalker, and Del Toro stages the battles with intense, macabre applomb. If your in the mood for escapist fare with plenty of bloody violence, "Blade ll" fits the bill nicely. The DVD includes a making of, details on the Vampire make-up and interviews with Del Toro, Snipes and David S. Goyer.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Compares favorably with original Blade
Review: The drawing of comparisons between this film and its predecessor is almost inevitable, and probably a mistake, but we'll go there anyway. Blade II is bloodier than Blade; Blade II has more action than Blade; Blade II has better composition and effects than Blade; Blade II has a more complex storyline than Blade, yet I still am somewhat partial to the original.

Under the directorial guidance of Guillermo del Toro, we get to see a lot more action and a lot more blood spilled, particularly by the "super vampires" that Blade and the rest of the vampire crew join forces to hunt down. Although one can almost place bets on the order in which the vampires accompanying Blade will die at the hands of the super vampires, the film still is suspenseful and holds back a few plot twists.

The two things I noticed most were del Toro's penchant for over-contrived CG action shots, some of which looked a bit cartoonish, and the completely different feel del Toro evoked. Where Norrington relied heavily on a more monochromatic gray-black feel with touches of green and blue, del Toro plays more in the red-orange visual spectrum. This, plus the Prague setting, gives Blade II a very different feel than Blade.

I didn't find a great deal of interesting material in the second disc, but the director's commentary is interesting (and amusing) enough to listen to if you can get through del Toro's thick accent. Particularly funny is his description of an edit that was made to a scene after women's groups complained. Also of interest is that the scene in question (which occurs in a private room at an adult store) is reminiscent of another David Goyer-scripted scene from Crow: City of Angels.

From his commentary, you can tell that del Toro had some dark, messy fun making this film, and that is evident in the splatter-fest that ensues. Did I mention that del Toro is also less subtle with the gore than Norrington? Bottom line: equal parts monster and action flick, Blade II delivers in either genre.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Help, I need a transfusion
Review: One more reason why sequels so seldom work. Kris Kristopherson should have stayed dead. This movie is more like "A tribute to Wesley Snipes". The storyline is weak, the plot thin, and if the producers had actually ever read the comic book this was based on, it might have had some promise. The only thing going for this movie is action, probably to cover the pitiful dialogue. If you are looking for a bloodbath, you found it and that's about all. The first Blade was good, Blade II is redundant.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Non stop action
Review: An excellent film with just two minor drawbacks - 1) Ron Perlmam is in it, and 2) Ron Perlmam is in it. I realise that's the same reason twice, but I thought it was such an important one it was worth mentioning twice... Honestly, the guy's so one-dimensional - he basically plays the exact same character in Blade II that he did in that awful Alien sequel he was in. Anyway, I digress...

The action in this film is pretty much non-stop, and gets going from the word go. And that's a good thing in my opinion. True, a couple of the CGI fight scenes are so obviously fake they're actually quite funny. Interesting cast memebers too - Danny John-Jules (Cat from Red Dwarf) plays Asad, and Luke Goss(!) plays Jared Nomak (Goss was in a pretty awful boy band with his twin brother in the late 1980's), but his performance here is quite good. Dont know why Whistler was brought back, as there was no real need to have him in this.

I have no real interest in vampire films/stories, nor have I read the Blade Comic books, but I enjoyed this nevertheless. The original Blade was also a blast, and this one doesn't disappoint. All in all, an enjoyable no-brainer action film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A good vampire flick
Review: One note to make: get this movie on DVD to get the full fledge advantage because the action is FAR SUPERIOR than on VHS! Can I say that it is better than the first? It is kind of hard to tell, but it is good. The story takes place in Europe, and there is a super-vampire out there wiping out the orginial vampire, and now Blade (who's real name is Eric) and Whisler are back! Blade, Whisler and the vampires then decide to join forces and take out the super-vampire for good, but this is only temporaly.
The action is good, but like I said, get this movie on DVD and get the full fledge advantage of the action. Good movie though.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Can't tell you whether or not its better than the first
Review: This movie is awsome. It actually managed to have even more action than the original. But with more action it has a slightly weaker storyline. Although I don't think people watch these movies for the plot. I personally watch it for the blood gore and violence which this movie definatly has. In the first scence you see blood splater all over the wall. Nomad really can bite these suckers!!!! YEAH!!


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