the Mind’s Chew Toy

A lot of people who saw Blade II said it was better than the original. I don’t know what they’re thinking.

There have been very few sequels that beat the original (Aliens and maybe Godfather II, that’s about it), and this sequel isn’t one of them. Blade (1998) was amazing, with a great story, pretty good special effects (except the exploding vampires…what the heck was that?) and a terrific villian who you loved to hate. Blade II doesn’t come close.

Wesley Snipes continues to impress as Blade. This is the role he’s been waiting for his entire career - and will probably wish for again if his career starts to flag. He seems even more at ease this film, and it allows to branch out a bit more than in the first - even picking up a love interest along the way.

Ron Perlman is the biggest standout of the newcomers in Blade II. His hatred of Blade makes for good word-play between the two of them. From the moment he’s bested by Blade near the beginning, he’s looking for revenge, and that helps keeps the tension high, while providing some much needed comic relief at the same time.

The story is interesting, but the new vampire race is a bit too fantastical. It was nice to see Blade teaming up with The Bloodpack and watching the interesting tension that generates, but the focus tends to turn toward a love story, which it shouldn’t. Blade has hated vampires his whole life, why would he so suddenly change? The plot does get more involved as the movie progresses, and I liked the way it went. Drop the cheesy love story part, and the plot is very good.

The special effects in Blade II are good, like the first one, but there are so many that it makes the movie look almost completely computer generated. If that’s the look they were going for, it’s fine. If they weren’t, too bad. There are definitely some good action sequences, which you look for in a movie like this.

All in all, Blade II was a decent sequel. It took Blade in a new direction, and a direction that most people wanted to see him go, it seems. The most important thing for a sequel is to not ruin the image that people have of the character from the first movie.

Blade II heightens the Blade image, and is a good continuation of the movie series. If you Blade (1998), you’ll want this one when it comes out on DVD too.