BLADE By Jason Whyte
Amazing. That describes most of `Blade', a hyper, Michael Bay-esque Vampire horror-action film that combines great visuals, good visual effects, and a very comic book storyline (well, it IS based on a comic book!). Don't go expecting a plot along the lines of `Saving Private Ryan'.
Blade (Wesley Snipes) is a half vampire, half crime fighter; when we first meet him, he is busting up a night club of blood thirsty vampires, using his powerful fighting techniques (since he is half vampire, he can battle the vampires. Get it?); the opening, among all the other action scenes, is such a visual thrill that we are injected right into the screen.
However, to view these great action sequences, we have to sit through a lame plot, boring dialogue and some boring characters. Take, for instance, the doctor (N'Bushe Wright), who has been bit by a burning vampire, and has taken an essence of garlic medicine that will hopefully cure it. I didn't care for her story, or what happened to her. Blame it on her performance, which to her seems like standing there, not reacting, and spurting out lame dialogue.
The film's story, while weak, is Blade fighting the evil vampire of them all, Frost (a great Stephen Dorff) before the vampires wreak havoc on the streets and take over the world. The vampires must be stopped, and Blade is the one to do it.
So why a B-? What is good and what is bad? You have to really look at this film through a comic book point of view, understanding that the dialogue is trite because it has to be, and that the story must somehow have some sort of little zinger at the end that calls for the story to continue. The action scenes here are the standouts, which feature relentless editing, fast camera angles, and even a techno-fueled soundtrack, which works very well.
The key performers, Snipes and Dorff, are terrific; this is the first time that you can actually care about a superhero. Snipes has dimension and even has a few good lines (the best one is when he says `what the f-ck' but the soundtrack has muted out his line), he is fun to watch. Dorff grew on me as Deacon. At first he seemed like a stock character, but eventually he turned into a satisfying villian.
However, with the bad plot, comes the lame dialog, which seems even lame compared to the comic-strip balloons. And some performances, like Wrights, are lousy. I didn't care at all for Kris Kristofferson's role as the guardian of Blade, and all of the other vampires, whether it be a ditsy blonde or a working stiff. Also, some scenes in the movie make no sense, such as when Deacon is executing one of his vampires by exposing him to sunlight, and before he does so, he pulls a couple of his teeth. What's the point? Pulling out teeth is unnecessary when the sun is going to burn him to death! (plus pulling teeth is horrifying to watch, just see `Wild Things')
However, on a whole the movie still works. I would be more satisfied if the performances were smoother and the story made you think and care about what is happening. If not for the amazing pyrotechnics, `Blade' would be a dull film indeed.
Grade: B-
Tech Review
Picture: 2.5 Typical New Line film stock with faded out colors and lots of film grain. Blacks and shadow detail are very good, however.
Sound: 5 The soundtrack, which is mixed in dts, SDDS and Dolby Digital, is outstanding with a rich surround presence, deep, powerful bass (especially in the techno section) and clear dialogue.
Photography: 2.5 While the editing is fast and furious, director Stephen Norrington has trouble framing Panavision properly. Most shots are too messy with bad framing.
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