|
BLADE
II
AKA:
Blade 2
Year:
2002 Reviewer: Tony
Ryan
In
1998 the original 'Blade' hit Western cinema screens
relatively quietly but went on to become one of the biggest
successes of that year. This was hardly surprising given that
it contained some of the finest action sequences ever seen in
a Mainstream film, coupled with a fabulous soundtrack and the
ever popular 'vampire' ethos. Snipes was the epitome of 'cool'
with his all-black leather and array of brutal weaponry making
this sequel one of the most hotly anticipated films this year.
The
original 'Blade' was a real surprise to me when I first went
to see it, as I didn't really know what to expect. As many of
you may know from reading my reviews, Koichi Sakamoto’s
stunt boys are real favourites of mine, and I thought they did
brilliantly on the first film - clearly pushing for the right
camera angles where necessary and pulling off their typical
great reactions and falls. The choreography was nothing
particularly new, but they seamlessly brought in the pace and
moves of the much loved Hong Kong style without resorting to
the wire-work so often seen in recent action movies.
The
'Bloodpack' members in the film are a little disappointing as
we are lead to believe they are a team of highly trained super
vampires, but only Donnie (as Snowman)
briefly impresses the audience with some sweet kicking and
swordplay - albeit a little too
brief. Kristofferson returns as 'Whistler' but spends much of
the film on autopilot leaving Snipes to soak up even more
screen-time than the original.
Trying
to be neutral and compare the 2 instalments as if I had no
expectations of either is very difficult, as I clearly went
into part 2 with far greater anticipation than I did with the
original. However, they both have their positives and I don't
think one is better than the other. Action-wise, part 2 showed
some nicer choreography but was hindered by the MTV-style
camera work, which has seemingly infected
all action films of the past few years. Donnie and Snipes are
both very good martial artists and it would have been nice to
see them go against each other for a brief bout. The CGI used
in some of the fight sequences was also a little too obvious
reducing the impact on the viewer.
The
director Del Toro didn't bring much of his own famous style to
the film, and it will be interesting to see what ended up on
the cutting room floor in order to keep it fast paced and
action packed. I look forward to part 3 - which will hopefully
be directed by someone else in order to see what other
directions the franchise can go.
I
also hope Donnie continues his slow progress into Hollywood,
as I am sure he will be well received, and unlike Jackie Chan
or Jet Li, he has time on his side. In my opinion he is
unlikely to become as big a star as those two given his lesser
Eastern appeal, but could certainly become an influential
figure if he plays his cards more wisely than he did back in
Hong Kong.
|
