Susan Granger's review of "BLADE" (New Line Cinema)
Watching "Blade" made me wonder what parents are thinking when they give their youngsters "movie money" and drop them to see this sci-fi horror film. Rated R, "Blade" had more kids in the audience than adults. Kids who were not only hearing a steady stream of vulgarity and profanity spew from the screen but watching frenzied, non-stop violence, perpetually drenched in blood. Wake up, parents! Even though it's based on a Marvel comic book series, "Blade" is not appropriate for kids. In fact, Blade is a vampire, an extraordinary dude with an attitude. In a prologue, set 30 years ago, there's a woman dying from a vampire attack just as she gives birth to a son. Flash forward to today and that baby has grown up to be Wesley Snipes, a hybrid who has all the strength of a vampire but none of its weaknesses. Which means he can walk in daylight and eat a pizza with extra garlic. Given his supernatural genetic disposition, his career counselor headed him in the right direction. He's a leather-clad vampire slayer, skilled in the martial arts as he wields a samurai sword made from titanium. Adapted for the screen by David S. Goyer and directed by Stephen Norrington, the story goes for the jugular, meaning that it opts for mindless violence, action over coherence. It seems the Eastern European vampire race, led by sadistic, sneering Stephen Dorff, has moved into pivotal positions of financial power - and must be stopped. Snipes's mentor in this quest is a chain-smoking, idealized father-figure, named Whistler, played by Kris Kristofferson, and his romantic interest is a doctor, N'Bushe Wright, who happens to be a hematologist. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Blade" barely bites a 3. It's a gruesome, gore-filled fang-fest.
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