Good lord - 6 years since I've been on Ciao! Well, let's see if I can start my crazy rantings again....
Good lord - 6 years since I've been on Ciao! Well, let's see if I can start my crazy rantings again... :)
Member since:23.07.2001
Reviews:29
Members who trust:28
I have a penchant for the odd action film that involves any of the following: lots of fighting, lots of martial arts, some explosive action scenes, some sexy lead characters and actors and anything a bit supernatural. Thank the Lord for Blade! A seducing action packed movie which is great to watch. There are parts which wouldn't appeal to everybodies tastes but it would be shame to NOT watch it just in case!
Wesley Snipes plays Blade and if we remember his brilliant performance in Demolition Man we remember what a great action character he makes. Blade was born half-vampire half-man due to his mother becoming infected with a vampire bite during pregnancy. Known to the vampires as day-walker he devotes himself to seeking out and destroying them, hoping one day to find the one who caused what is interpreted as a disease in the film. Snipes brings his usual dynamic and impressive screen presence to the role but does grate on your nerves a bit with a really scratchy low voice that is supposed to emphasise his hard man bit but is just annoying and a bit unnecessary. There was another problem which sort of made the love plot a bit stale - and that was that Blade was such a tortured sole that he came across lacking in emotion - but if you're watching an action film and expecting delicacy and perfection in anything other than action - your expectations are too high!! He brings a sultry and otherwordly aspect to the character that, apart from the cliche and the voice, is a very attractive and sexy interpretation of the role - plus he looks fabulous!
What follows on is your average one man against the baddies - nothing new there. We are introduced to 2 other good guys - an ageing and battle scarred vampire hunter played by Kris Kristofferson and a reluctant at first female Doctor who brings a little bit of class and intelligence to the team. The film plays along a dark and underground scene showing the vampires as incredibly sexual party animals, thats the new blood - the pure bloods who have been about for eternity are more your typical aristocratic slick blood-suckers. I think the writers have done really well with in-built explanations of how the heirarchy stands and they manage to intwine a nice touch with the history and prophecy aspect - but your average member of the public will be able to watch knowing a fair bit of general knowledge about vampires anyway - which always helps.
There are some fantastic actions scenes that get the pulse quickening and a brilliant little girl vampire who kicks the crap out of people (a good novelty there). The twist in the plot is not quite un-expected but is very apt and comes across very well (no, you're not getting the story ruined by me, you'll have to watch it yourself!).
Stephen Dorff plays Deacon the leader of the new breed of vampires who terrorises practically everyone. He brings a wonderfully seductive bad boy quality to this character - looks like an angel acts like the devil, like the eternally spoiled brat that the girls just love. Theres a brilliant gory part where he mutilates a pure blood and stands there in full sunblock watching him burn as the sun comes up! (Just think of the Ray-Ban advert without the gory bits). His main disciple manages to get practically every part of his body hacked off but the job doesn't get done properly until Blade steps in, he provides alot of humour for the audience. There is an undertone of humour throughout, which is a necessity for most action films of this genre, but thats more in the way of witty one liners and less than intelligent hench men.
All in all if non-stop engaging action provided on a backdrop of a sexy dark underground scene is your type of thing (but you're not too fussed about Shakespeare and romance) then get Blade NOW! and have a guaranteed good night in dropping popcorn over your sofa!
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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
Okay Miss Marsden, you've convinced me, you are a now a proud member of the Howie C.O.T. Have I made your day...or wot? (probably not, actually).
Calypte 26.08.2001 14:49
Is the Rayban ad really gorey, then?! ;) Great op - I'd forgotten how enjoyabe this film was. I have to agree Stephen Dorff was great in it (why isn't he more famous, d'you think?), and having watched Demolition Man the other night, I think Wesley Snipes had perfected the whole martial arts thing by the time he made this (this was later, wasn't it?). Okay, I'm rambling now...!
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: Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon...
A blood chilling action-packed thriller about modern day vampires unlike any previously ... more
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![Blade [DVD] [1998]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78542679.jpg "Blade [DVD] [1998]")
Jul 25th, 2001
(Jul 30th, 2001)
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