“Lock up your daughters, boys and girls, the Dark Knight returns.”
I love the first two Blade films. I even kinda like the third one – which, don’t get me wrong, is absolutely terrible, but which is like a car wreck I can’t look away from. I love them mostly because of the character, and because of Wesley Snipes as that character, but also for their mix of action and horror aesthetics. Which makes them perfect fits for this month’s theme.
The first film was really the herald of the MCU, and – as I mentioned in my 2021 review – it was the first Marvel film that felt like a real superhero movie. It took five years for a sequel to finally get off the ground, however, and in that time we got X-Men (2000) and Spider-Man (2002). There was no guarantee that a sequel would even be relevant, given how audience expectations had changed in the interim, but Blade II had an unexpected secret weapon. Guillermo del Toro.
At the time Blade II was produced, del Toro was really only known for a couple of Spanish language horror films and 1997’s Mimic, which had bombed at the box office despite some decent reviews. Still, New Line production head Michael de Luca was willing to give del Toro a shot after original Blade director Stephen Norrington declined to return. Both screenwriter David S. Goyer and producer Peter Frankfurt were big fans of the director as well.
I think this was the first del Toro movie I ever saw, and I was looking forward to seeing it again.
The Medium
I still have that “Platinum” DVD box set of the three Blade Films. The picture quality isn’t great, but I’ve absolutely seen worse. There are a bunch of extras on each disk (and I’m finally going to watch these with the commentary – at least for this film, as the few minutes I listened to with Guillermo Del Toro was hilarious). There are Blu-rays and 4ks available, and I’ll probably have to pick them up at some point.
Blade II is currently not streaming anywhere for free or for subscribers. You can purchase or rent it at the usual online vendors.
The Movie
Blade II doesn’t start with the title character – instead it makes the choice to introduce the film’s big-bad, Nomak, the carrier of a new strain of vampirism. The intro scenes do a good job of showing us just how dangerous Nomak is, having him easily defeat (and feed upon) a group of vampires. This scene is important for a couple of reasons: 1) It sets the stakes – yeah, vampires are bad, but this guy is so bad that he PREYS ON THEM, and 2) it shows just how del Toro is going to handle the tone of the film. The horror aspect is heightened as is the action. There’s a spectacular blood spatter (a “Jackson Pollock” as del Toro says on the commentary) and a fight that includes one character thrown so hard into a wall that he leaves an indentation in the tiles. Everything is going to be heightened in this film. The gore AND the comic book level of action.
The movie then gives us a quick rundown of the first film during the credits. I’m not sure why anyone would go see a sequel without having seen the original first, but it was apparently enough of an issue in test screenings that the studio had the recap added. It does set up the fact that Blade’s mentor from the first film, Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), didn’t actually die at the end of the original movie. He was apparently “rescued” by vampires, and now Blade is trying to find him and put him down for good. (I’m guessing he’s assuming Whistler’s been turned into a vampire.)
I like Kris Kristofferson and this character, but I always felt like this was a weak element of the movie. The filmmakers had obviously loved the character and the father/son dynamics with Blade in the original, and I think they had some plans to mirror that relationship with the one between Nomak and his father over the course of the movie. Those plans never came to fruition, either during rewrites or film edits, and as a result the role feels shoehorned in. There’s a fractious relationship between Whistler and Blade’s new ally, Scud (Norman Reedus, who I had completely forgotten was in this) as they jockey for position in Blade’s affections. It’s never really a contest, though, and it isn’t in the audience’s affections either. There are elements of a subplot about whether Whistler is really cured or maybe a mole for the vampires, but it’s only half-heartedly pursued.
The plot arrives along with two vampires dressed in black body suits. In a typical comic book misunderstanding, a fight breaks out between the two vampires and Blade, in front of a bank of huge, presumably ultraviolet, lights. It’s an epic setting, let down by some pretty dodgy CGI work. It’s always disappointed me, but I was glad to hear del Toro has also admitted he hates it.
This is, I think, the third fight scene in the film, but they’re all interesting in different ways. Del Toro has said that they wanted each fight scene to be unique and have a different feel. So an early scene with Blade tracking down Whistler is sharp and urgent, as Blade is only interested in finding his mentor, not in engaging in a battle. This scene is more over the top and dramatic, with elements of ballet and sword fighting.
It turns out these two are ambassadors from the vampire community Nyssa and (Leonor Varela) and Asad (Danny John-Jules). They’re asking for Blade’s help in combatting a new threat, Nomak and his progeny. I’m pretty much with Scud and Whistler, who seem to be of the opinion that anything that kills vampires is alright in their book. Blade’s a little more pragmatic, as it seems likely that the “Reapers” will turn their attentions on humans once the vampires are defeated.
Blade ends up partnered with the “Bloodpack,” a team of vampires trained especially to kill him. It’s great seeing a bunch of actors that would go on to become quite successful, including Tony Curran as Priest and an under-utilized Donnie Yen (who also did some fight choreography) as Snowman. Things are almost upset by the presence of Reinhardt (Ron Perlman in his second role for del Toro, but not his last). Reinhardt has a hard time letting go of the team’s original mission – kill Blade – but an explosive attached to the back of this head seems to tone down the worst of his aggression.
Most of the rest of the film is a succession of hunt/fight scenes as the Bloodpack, Blade, Whistler and (sometimes) Scud attempt to find and defeat Nomak and his Reapers. The Reapers lack a lot of the typical vampire weaknesses, like silver (and are all apparently well trained in martial arts). The group finds it difficult to defeat them until it’s revealed that sunlight is still (explosively) effective.
This time around I was struck by how heavily The Matrix had affected action films in the early 00s (hell, it still does). The music and fight choreography all seem to owe a lot to that film, and at least one fight scene seems to even have the same music.
Speaking of the music, Blade II has a great soundtrack featuring a bunch of hip-hop and electronic artists. I don’t think I appreciated it as much when it came out, but I find it damn good now.
There are hints of deeper themes – that father/son (and father/daughter) dynamic I mentioned earlier gets a moment to shine between Nomak and the leader of the vampires, Demaskinos, but there’s not a lot of depth to it. (Demaskinso is played by an almost unrecognizable Thomas Kretschmann – who would go on to more Marvel films, playing Baron von Strucker in the Avengers movies.) There are also hints of a relationship growing between Bloodpack leader Nyssa and Blade, but that has mostly been left on the cutting room floor, leaving some moments in the finale to lack real punch. There are inevitable turns of fortune and a couple of obvious betrayals, but nothing that brings the film down.
The Bottom Line
Blade II is mostly great, over the top, gory fun. There are a few emotional touchstones (I still like the final moment on the rooftop, even if it’s a little unearned) and even some humor, but it’s mostly non-stop action. The movie has better fights, cinematography and characters than the original, but if I’m honest, I still prefer the first film over this one. It doesn’t quite feel like del Toro at his best here, and I think he’d hit his stride with Hellboy two years later. None of that should detract from your enjoyment of a great action/horror film.
Wesley Snipes made a return to the character in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, and I’ll have to admit – he looks damn good. I’d absolutely watch him in another Blade film. (Is that Mahershala Ali film ever gonna come out?)
