Blade 2

12/1/02 - DVD Review

Wesley Snipes is back as the Daywalker in the sequel to 1998’s silent hit, “Blade.”  Unlike most sequels that have been released over the years, this one actually stands up to the original if not surpassing it.  When we last left Blade, he was still hunting Vampires all over the world, and his side kick, Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) had died in the process.   Since then, Blade has been tracking down his whereabouts in hopes of reviving him back to the world of the living.  He tracks him down to Prague where he his being held by a pack of Vampires in a vat of blood.  Blade rescues him and turns him back into a live human.  Since then, however, Blade found a wannabe replacement in Scud, a young punk who Blade saved years ago.  The two handyman start off hating each other as you would expect but eventually they put their heads together to achieve a common goal.  Soon after, Blade is propositioned by the head of the Vampire Nation to come together in a cause to rid the world of a new enemy, a genetically altered strain of Vampire.  This new Vampire, Jared Womak, is a strong as Blade and can only be killed by sunlight.  But, Womak feeds on Vampires for his daily blood rush.  A group of Vampires, who call themselves the Blood Pack, have been training for years to take out Blade.  Now they must work with Blade to stop this new menace to their livelihood.  It all seems a bit fishy to Blade, but he goes along with it anyway.  I would tell you more but why should I spoil it?

 For everyone that saw “Blade” and enjoyed it, you will definitely like this movie too then.  If you think the first one had a lot of action and fight scenes, this one blows it away by a mile.  Watching Blade kick the shit out of Vampires is quite the sight to your eyes and ears, if you have a decent home stereo.  Like I said before, this movie might even surpass the original in all areas, something most sequels can’t.  This story is even more original then the first movie, with the introduction of a new Vampire, who is as tough as Blade.  It is fun watching Vampires die at the hands of Blade, but it would get boring after a while.  I like the fact that Blade has a formidable opponent, much like Deacon Frost in the first movie.  I think that Blade is the “Batman” of the Vampire movie.  Blade could kick Batman’s ass though.  There is also some good humorous one liners in this flick that make for good comedy.  Ron Perlman stars as one of the members of the Blood Pack.  Perlman’s character and Blade hate each other from the get-go, which makes for a good sub plot as the movie goes on.  Ron Perlman fits these roles perfectly, as he did in “Alien Resurrection.”  I can’t really point out any bad things, except that the movie had to come to an end.  That sucks.  All in all, it is still a Vampire movie, and that genre is starting to get played, but the “Blade” series is a fresh twist on the very old genre.  With one more movie scheduled in the coming years, I will count the days, until I see Blade again showing some cool-ass moves on the big screen. 

 Buy this movie for your DVD collection.  If you bought “Blade” then you probably already have it.  If not, stop reading right now, get in your car, and go buy the damn thing already.  The movie is awesome so why would you not want it, especially since it is a great audio/video representation that can be used for showing off any home theater system.  Blade’s punches, kicks, and sword thrashes are awesome sounding when you crank it up.  The video is good as well even though most of the scenes take place at night or in darkened areas.  Even if New Line released this DVD as a movie only, I would still buy it just for the movie, but they have released it as a two-disc special edition. Disc one includes the widescreen version of the movie, Dolby Digital EX 5.1, and DTS ES 6.1 surround modes.  There are also commentary tracks by the director, producer, writer, and the man himself, Wesley Snipes.   Disc 2 features about 17 deleted/alternate scenes including a brief clip where Whistler finds Blade when he was still a boy.  There are also documentaries, art galleries, trailers, and a music video featuring Cypress Hill.  Some DVD Rom features are on the disc as well.  This movie is a good edition to my existing DVD collection.

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