Today’s quick review: Blade. Born a vampire but immune to sunlight, Blade (Wesley Snipes) uses his enhanced speed and strength and an arsenal of custom weapons to hunt down his blood-sucking brethren. His crusade pits him against Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), a vampire renegade who dreams of ruling humanity. With the help of hematologist Karen Jensen (N’Bushe Wright), Blade must kill Frost before he can resurrect the vampire blood god La Magra.
Blade is an action horror movie based on the Marvel comic book. The movie has the feel of a 90s action flick. Its hero is an indomitable killing machine, its action is plentiful and gory, and its plot is a straight shot from Blade’s introduction to his final confrontation with Frost. There are few real surprises along the way, but the movie does a good enough job with the tools at its disposal to make it a fun popcorn watch.
Blade achieves most of what it tries to do. Wesley Snipes is the quintessential action hero: a katana-wielding, shotgun-toting vampire hunter dressed in black and wearing sunglasses. The action is energetic and features a nice variety of weapons and situations. The world-building is rich by the standards of the genre. No single element of the setting is all that clever, but taken together they make for a cohesive world and a well-motivated plot.
Give Blade a shot if you’re an action fan looking for fantasy. Blade’s strong craftsmanship and sense of style make it a good choice for anyone who doesn’t mind an action movie plot or a bit of gore. Skip it if you want a deep plot or groundbreaking ideas. For a similar flavor of action horror, check out Underworld.
7.1 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for solid execution of a fun premise.