Blade

[KLAXXON]

A blood chilling, action packed thriller about modern day vampires unlike any previously encountered. Wesley Snipes is BLADE, the ultimate Vampire Hunter, an immortal warrior who possesses the superhuman strength and cunning of a vampire but shares none of their weaknesses.

Able to walk by day and stalk by night, Blade must confront his ultimate adversary, the omnipotent vampire overlord Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), who is intent on leading an underground legion of vampires to conquer mankind. Blade must use his awesome powers and razor-sharp weaponry like never before to prevent the annihilation of the entire human race.

Wesley Snipes stars as the title character in "Blade," a modern day action adventure vampire film. Blade is a daywalker, possessing the strength of a vampire, but countering his need to feed by a serum concocted by his human friend Whistler (Kris Kristofferson).

Blade was created when his mother was fatally bitten by a vampire just as she was about to give birth to him. Blade is determined to hunt down the vampire responsible for his mother's death, and he and Whistler have united in a war against all vampires.

The vampires themselves, led by the patrician Dragonetti (Udo Keir), a 'born' vampire, are in the midst of a civil war of sorts. Dragonetti is being challenged by Frost (Stephen Dorff), a 'turned' vampire whose brashly open vampire nightclubs have become a target for Blade's attacks.

"Blade" is an exciting new twist to the vampire genre featuring lots of action, gore and terrific special effects. Unfortunately, the film is undercut by the Egyptian mumbo-jumbo (mix together "The Hunger," "Stargate," and "The Fifth Element") that comprises the film's overlong climax.

The film's opening scene, however, is a beaut. Racquel (Traci Lords), a beautiful vampire in a chic blood red wig, leads an unsuspecting blond guy through a meat processing plant (look closely and you'll see some of the human variety) to an underground punk club. Music blares and the chicly gothic crowd dances to the beat. Suddenly Frost appears on stage and declares 'Bloodbath!' and overhead nozzles begin to spray the viscous liquid. Fangs sprout, growls rumble from the throats of the club patrons and the blond human begins to panic and he scrambles along a dance floor awash in blood.

Enter Blade in his shades, long black leather coat, silver spikes, rapier blade and arsenal outfitted with silver bullets. Vampires begin to disintegrate under his attack and some, including Frost, manage to flee. Blade's finishing touch is to crucify his nemesis Quinn (Donal Logan as Frost's right hand man) against a wall and torch him, exitting just before police descend upon the gruesome scene.

Quinn is made of hardy stuff, however, and comes to life in the morgue, attacking the beautiful hematologist (N'buse Wright as Karen Jenson) who's been intrigued by his blood makeup. Blade appears, and in a moment of weakness, saves the young woman who's almost sure to turn. She becomes the third member of the vampire battling crew.

The vampires live in an austere, technologically advanced environment. One of the many great special effects is Pearl, a 1,000 pound Asian vampire who guards the vampires' subterranean data center. They're researching the hieroglyphics that will lead them to the resurrection of the Blood God and world domination.

Wesley Snipes strikes just the right note as Blade. He's serious, determined and apparently unstoppable. Trained in the martial arts, Snipes does most of his own stunts. Stephen Dorff, so good in "Backbeat" and "I Shot Andy Warhol," merely looks good as Frost. Kris Kristofferson is affecting as Whistle, the man whose family was wiped out by a vampire in front of his eyes who recognized something different about Blade when he found him as a young, confused boy. The rest of the cast is serviceable.

The script, by David Goyer ("The Crow: City of Angels"), is based on the original comic book superhero. It's a mixture of original ideas and the aforementioned, inscrutably deadly climax. Production design by Kirk M. Petruccelli is terrific as are effects by Chuck Comisky. Simply outstanding is one effect where Blade slices Frost apart - his body parts stream outwards still connected by waves of blood, only to reassemble. This put me in mind of the outstanding stained glass knight of "Young Sherlock Holmes." Another outstanding sequence has Blade, Karen and Whistler trying to cross a subway passage as a train speeds by. The soundtrack is an interesting mix featuring rap, new wave and rock songs along with a brief appearance by the Japanese cult group Shonen Knife.

"Blade" is a fine, if flawed, addition to the vampire genre and a good late summer action flick. The film's coda, which presents Blade in Russia, hints at a sequel that I'd actually welcome.


Wesley Snipes ... Blade / Eric Brooks / 'The Daywalker'
Stephen Dorff ... Deacon Frost
Kris Kristofferson ... Abraham Whistler
N'Bushe Wright ... Dr. Karen Jenson
Donal Logue ... Quinn
Udo Kier ... Vampire Elder Dragonetti
Arly Jover ... Mercury
Traci Lords ... Racquel
Kevin Patrick Walls ... Officer Krieger
Tim Guinee ... Dr. Curtis Webb
Sanaa Lathan ... Vanessa Brooks
Eric Edwards ... Pearl
Donna Wong ... Nurse
Carmen Thomas ... Senior Resident
Shannon Lee ... Resident


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