'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enou...
'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enough to wish to continue to read my ramblings, you can find me on Dooyoo under the user name plipplop. See you around! :P
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A young man is driving with his girlfriend through the streets of New York. He wants to know where she would like to go, and she promises him a surprise. They pull up outside a meat processing plant, and he gradually becomes more and more bemused as to where his girlfriend is taking him. Having moved through row upon row of animal carcasses, they round a corner, where a muscled doorman is standing outside a reinforced metal entrance door. Smiling knowingly at the girl, he lets the couple in, and they descend down into a dark, noisy and packed out techno club. The young man is blown away, and barely notices that his girlfriend has wandered off, as he stumbles around the dancefloor, getting into the beat and smiling at all the girls. The music slows and almost stops, and the crowd raise their hands to the ceiling as the sprinkler systems springs into life and showers the dancefloor, and all its dancers with….blood.
Suddenly the crowd reaches fever pitch, as they bask in the blood, intoxicated by the feel, the smell and the taste. The young man realises that something is very wrong and finds himself surrounded by crazed faces, which snarl through pointed teeth, and leer with demonic glee. Terrified for his life he stumbles through the crowd, but is beaten to the floor. Crawling on his hands and knees, he struggles across the floor, slipping through the blood in a desperate attempt
to escape. Just as he reaches the edge of the dancefloor, the music stops and the crowd become silent. By now, almost hysterical, the man looks up to see a pair of black boots in front of his face. He looks up, and sees a tall imposing man, dressed in black body armour, with the most amazing array of weapons he has ever seen.
"Blade!" hisses one of the malevolent clubbers. The room explodes, and the film thunders into one of the most incredible, action-packed horror-action films you are ever likely to see.
Based on the (rather unsuccessful) Marvel Comic that went before, Blade introduces us to a world that we never knew existed. The world is amok with vampires, secretly biding their time and developing a power base that could one day threaten the existence of normal human beings. Born to a human mother, Blade is a sort of vampire-hybrid - he all the strengths of a vampire but none of the weaknesses, and has dedicated his life to the pursuit - and destruction - of all vampires. This film essentially portrays Blade's battles against the evil vampire overlord Frost, who plans to resurrect a centuries old demon and destroy all non-vampire life on earth.
The film never rests for more than about five minutes. From the stunning opening sequences, the film quickly establishes itself as a fast paced, noisy embarkation into the supernatural underbelly of New York City. A combination of martial arts, special effects and choreography are all used to produce some breath-taking fight sequences. This is not an exercise in character development, or emotional turmoil - this is a fight movie - and proud of it.
The raucous techno come hard house soundtrack is perfectly suited to the dark setting of the film, and the violent music works in harmony with the rapid beats. The track used in the opening club scene has reached anthemic status, having finally achieved commercial success in the last few months as the hard house anthem "Bass In The Place" by Operation Blade. This all makes a refreshing change from the normal blend of rock music used in these types of film.
The special effects are extremely competent - vampires despatched in the abattoir nightclub fight sequences dissolve into an ethereal green mist, as their physical bodies are decapitated, sliced in half and generally eviscerated. A fight sequence alongside a speeding subway train is frighteningly tense. The climax of the film portrays twelve vampire spirits bursting from their human hosts in a spectacular sequence. Visually, the film is stunning, and probably requires at least two or three viewings to fully appreciate some of the fastest sequences.
Wesley Snipes provides an uncanny resemblance to the comic book original, and puts in a suitably unemotional performance as the half human vampire hunter. Stephen Dorff is suitably unpleasant as the vampire overlord, Frost, and soon usurps power from the main council of vampires. Dorff is an unlikely choice for the part, and although suitably psychotic, his build and size do not perhaps give him the physical stature to carry the part completely. What he lacks in size he certainly compensates with enthusiasm - he is particularly frightening when he removes the teeth of his rival with a pair of pliers. Kris Kristofferson is well cast as Blade's mentor, and there is one of few moments of emotion as he despatches himself, before becoming a vampire himself.
The film toys with the torment in Blade's mind - and body - as he struggles to prevent becoming a fully-fledged vampire himself. Blade struggles to cope as he discovers that his mother has in fact become a vampire, and as the film progresses both the character and the audience begin to understand his importance in the bigger picture.
The film is convincing enough to portray a suitably frightening image of a secret world that runs darkly in the shadows as we go about our normal business. There is a growing sense of desperation, as even Blade appears to have been defeated by Frost. I was quite surprised as to how graphically the film portrays the violence - limbs are despatched, people are burnt alive, and heads are pushed into speeding trains with great aplomb, and this is certainly not a film for children - reflected in its 18 certification. T
The film is particularly effective in the way in which it combines genres - this could equally be described as a horror film or a martial arts movie. The plot is simple enough, but there are plenty of twists and turns as the battle escalates - something achieved by a comic book over several years, but expertly achieved here in less than two hours.
Highly recommended - provided you aren't too squeamish!!
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Production Year: 2004 - Horror - Director: Alexander Witt - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Thomas Kretschmann, Jared Harris, Sandrine Holt, Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr
A great op on for me is an all time great. I prefer this to Matrix and think some of the darkess and style in Matrix certainly originated here. Smashing
The recipe forBladeis quite simple; you take one partBatman, one part horror flick, and ... more
two parts kung fu, and frost it all over with some truly camp acting. What do you get? An action flick that will reaffirm your belief that the superhero action genr...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The recipe forBladeis quite simple; you take one partBatman, one part horror flick, and ... more
two parts kung fu, and frost it all over with some truly camp acting. What do you get? An action flick that will reaffirm your belief that the superhero action genr...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
A blood chilling action-packed thriller about modern day vampires unlike any previously ... more
encountered. Wesley Snipes is Blade the ultimate vampire hunter and immortal warrior who possesses the superhuman strength and cunning of a vampire but shares n...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
A blood-chilling, action-packed thriller about modern day vampires unlike any previously ... more
encountered. Wesley Snipes is BLADE, the ultimate vampire hunter, an immortal warrior who possesses the superhuman strength and cunning of a vampire, but shares no...
![Blade [DVD] [1998]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78542679.jpg "Blade [DVD] [1998]")
Jan 26th, 2001
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