Mach 3 or Bic Disposable? (Blade II (DVD))

Member Name: tommy7

Product:	Blade II (DVD)
Date:	07/04/02 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: If you liked the original you will love this

Disadvantages: Should there not be a plot somewhere!

I suppose the great thing with this film is that if you liked the first one you are going to love the sequel and if you hated the original then you are not going to watch this one!

The basic premise is the same, Blade (Wesley Snipes) is the half-human half-vampire, vampire slayer. This time round Blade is cooler, more stylish with smarter weapons and better locations. He is searching for Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), the man who raised him as a child and taught him how to overcome his vampire side. Whistler has been captured by the vampire nation and Blade is hoping to find him and convert him back to his human form.

The film opens in a blood bank in Prague. This is not an NHS blood bank by any stretch of the imagination. It is dark and populated by societies unfortunates. It is here that we are introduced to Jared Nomak (Luke Goss incredibly!) and the devastation begins!

It is only when Blade?s base is attacked that the true story starts to emerge. The vampire nation is under attack from a deadlier foe than Blade. The Reapers are a new strain of vampire led by Nomak. They can live off fellow vampires and convert them to Reapers which means that the whole vampire population is under threat. The vampires have little choice but to try and recruit Blade to fight their common enemy. Blade is quickly convinced when he realises that when the Reapers wipe out the vampires they will only have humans left to feed on. The vampire nation present the Blood Pack to Blade as a specialist army to try and rid the world of the Reapers. The irony being that the Blood Pack have been training for the last two years to destroy Blade! How will this uneasy alliance fare? and can their combined efforts overcome the genetically superior Reapers?

I always think the difficulty with this kind of sequel is how much of the original story you cover. There is a fine balance between telling enough of the story so that the film can stand alone and
running the risk of overdoing it so that you bore the people who have watched the original. It is handled very well in that a lot of the explanation is covered in the opening credits and there is the odd flashback where need be.

As with most stories of this type the sequel is less plausible but to be honest if you are going to a movie about vampires then plausibility probably isn?t at the forefront of your mind. The plot is really just there so that there is a loose connection between the action sequences.

The fight scenes are lightning quick and visually stunning. However, you can?t help but feel that they are a little gratuitous as they punch the living daylights out of each other but there are only certain ways you can kill a vampire!

The special effects are incredible if slightly overdone. Trust me you will be numb to the sight of an exploding vampire by the end of the movie! Some of the sights in the movie are a little disturbing, for example the Reapers do not have a mandible bone so their jaws can spilt in the middle which reveals some pretty disgusting stuff. There were a couple of times I had to look away but on the whole you get used to it!

The soundtrack was excellent. The music is mainly rock/metal and is as loud as I can remember hearing in a cinema. It is ideal for the action sequences it accompanies.

Wesley Snipes is perfect in this role. He has the physique and the persona of the cartoon character he is portraying. Blade 3 is a possibility for next year and I would say that I am tentatively looking forward to it but it will surely be a disappointment.

So, Blade or Buffy, it?s a tough call but at the moment I would say Mr Snipes has the edge on Ms Geller and that is not something I thought I would ever say!

I am going to give this film 5 stars in the context in which it was meant. It is by no means the best film ever but it is a hugely enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours if
you enjoyed the original.

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