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Blade II

Blade II on DVD

Blade 2 starts out exactly how a sequel should be…and then turns into exactly what a sequel shouldn’t be.

Blade (Wesley Snipes) has moved his headquarters to Prague (which works out nicely, since that’s where the movie was filmed). His first task is to find Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) whom we all thought was dead, but who is actually being kept alive by the vampires (Why? So he can appear in the sequel, of course!). His base is then infiltrated by a couple of what we assume to be vampires and, after a lengthy fight sequence, we learn they’re only there to deliver a message.

It turns out that evolution has taken another wrong turn. A new breed of bad guy, called Reapers, has formed. They’re stronger and faster than vampires, and immune to silver. And to add insult to injury, they do to vampires what vampires do to humans.

Now doesn't that suck?

So Blade teams up with a team of vampires (that was actually trained to kill him) in order to destroy the Reapers since they will start feeding on humans once there are no vampires left.

Everything you loved about Blade is present in the sequel. There are plenty of great fight scenes, a simple but entertaining story, and some great creature effects. Near the end, it gets way too similar to the original movie, but is still fun to watch. Wesley Snipes is perfect as Blade, Kristofferson plays Whistler to a T, and Leonor Varela and Ron Perlman make perfect vampires.

Guillermo Del Toro stays true to the style used by Stephen Norrington in the first film, but also adapts his own style of filmmaking to the sequel. This time around, it’s closer to a horror movie than to a music video.

The elements are all here, so if you loved the original Blade, there’s nothing you won’t love about Blade II.

Having always been one of the most reliable studios when it comes to DVDs, New Line has presented yet another fabulous Platinum Series disc. This is the kind you can use to show off your system when friends come over.

The picture quality is absolutely stunning; one of the best transfers I’ve seen in a while. It’s perfectly clean, crisp, and sharp, and even though most of the movie is black, you still have no trouble seeing what’s going on. Often when movies are this dark, the studio will get lazy with picture quality since you won’t see it anyway. Here, there is not a single thing to complain about.

The audio is also reference quality. Not only are we treated to a fantastic Dolby Digital EX track, there is also a DTS track. Without massive surround use, this movie just isn’t the same and, fortunately with so many great action scenes filled with great sound effects, the speakers are used to full effect to engulf you in the action. At some points you’d even swear there was someone behind you firing a gun over your shoulder. Such a great audio track easily makes the movie that much more enjoyable.

And if that wasn’t enough, we even get a ton of extras. There are two audio commentaries on disc one; the first by director Guillermo Del Toro and producer Peter Frankfurt, and the second by Wesley Snipes and screenwriter David Goyer. Both tracks are quite good, but I personally preferred the director/producer commentary. Del Toro and Frankfurt are a riot to listen to, as they clearly love the movie but are not afraid to make fun of themselves for doing something wrong. Snipes and Goyer are not quite as personable, and their track is a bit drier.

Moving on to disc two, we have one of the greatest making-of documentaries I’ve ever seen. Running 83+ minutes, with another 16+ of extra footage, this doc covers everything you could possibly want to know about the making of Blade II. It features interviews with all the main players (though we would have liked more with the cast), plenty of behind-the-scenes footage, and insight into the scriptwriting process, set design, costumes, special effects, choreography, and anything I missed. With a total of nearly 100 minutes, if you have the time to check it out, you’ll thank yourself later.

Next up are 25 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes with optional director/producer commentary. Del Toro introduces the clips, stating that “most of what you are about to see is crap.” Most of it is pretty bad, but there’s some pretty good stuff there as well. Del Toro’s commentary reveals why it was cut, and he even wonders why he shot some of it in the first place.

Finally, there is a director’s notebook, which is basically an interactive reproduction of Del Toro’s notes, with an intro by Del Toro; an art gallery, a music video, a video game survival guide, and the trailer.

Blade II, from Alliance Atlantis Home Entertainment
120 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) 16X9 enhanced, 5.1 Dolby Digital EX, 6.1 DTS ES
Starring Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela, Luke Goss
Produced by Peter Frankfurt, Wesley Snipes, Patrick Palmer
Written by David S. Goyer
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro

 

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Updated May 13, 2006