Wow, this movie bites. It's very bad and in all honesty, very tough to enjoy. This one got so many things wrong that it's hard to know where to begin. It has a few things going for it but not enough to save it from being the painful stake through the heart of a pretty decent series that it is. Compared to the first two, this movie is just flat-out, grade-A garbage.
(NOTE: Looking over my review of Blade 2, I realize that I trashed the film upon my initial viewing but have since grown to appreciate it greatly. Hopefully my words won't come off as hypocritical.) For starters, the villains in this piece are completely uninteresting. I do like Parker Posey but she could've been handled a little better. Dracula as the villain could have been an interesting thing but it just doesn't work here. He wasn't really threatening and in comparison to the villains from the first two films, he just doesn't cut it. And Triple H? Excuse me while I go to the bathroom.
Wesley Snipes is clearly bored and phones in his performance with all the zeal of a guy serving time in prison. He does dispatch a couple of people in particularly brutal ways, like when he interrogates a guy by dangling him over a rooftop and then lets him drop but in the end, Blade just looks like he'd rather be somewhere else.
To add insult to injury, they wipe Whistler off the map in a pretty unceremonious manner to make room for the Nightstalkers, who get ripped apart themselves two thirds into the film. Why Whistler would want to hide this wonderful squad of geniuses from Blade is beyond me but that's just one plot hole among many. There are moments of sheer stupidity in this film that will leave you staring at the screen in awe. Awe of how ridiculous it all is and at how easy the thought of slitting your wrists can come to you. My favorite moment is when Blade and his rescuers (who I'll get to in a moment) are surrounded in front of the police precinct by a good number of cops with guns drawn and one of the Nightstalkers drives up nonchalantly in a station wagon and they jump in and manage to escape.
I mentioned Blade's rescuers and it's here that I think the biggest problem with the movie lies. Abigail Whistler, Whistler's illegitimate daughter and her buddy Hannibal King show up as Blade's new partners and I'm sorry to say it but they are the ones jumping up and down on the grave of this film. You get the sense that the future of the series lies with these two and you know what? They won't be getting my ten bucks, that's for sure.
Jessica Biel is nice to look at but a ridiculous character to have in this film. You need an example? I mean, product placement not withstanding, the girl listens to her iPod while kicking vampire ass. Think about it for a moment. Thank you, I rest my case.
As for Ryan Reynolds, I think he can be pretty funny. In this movie as Hannibal King, he is just annoying. Not fun annoying but more painful annoying. About 99% of what comes out of his mouth are smart ass remarks and there are moments where Snipes looks like he's going to slap the guy for real. I'll give Reynolds props for getting in shape for the role because he certainly looks the part but really, after a while, I was just hoping someone would execute him.
In the end, I guess I'm a bit sad to say that David Goyer, who wrote all three and directed this dreck, is the one responsible for the outcome. His direction is pretty flat, the action scenes aren't particularly exciting (the best part in the entire film is when Blade chases Dracula in a scene similar to the Keanu Reeves/ Patrick Swayze chase in "Point Break") and giving the Nightstalkers that much screen time was just a bad, bad move. A Blade movie where Blade feels like a secondary character is pretty corny.
This should've been a good entry in the series and is just little more than the death bell.
RATING * and a 1/2 out of *****
(NOTE: Looking over my review of Blade 2, I realize that I trashed the film upon my initial viewing but have since grown to appreciate it greatly. Hopefully my words won't come off as hypocritical.) For starters, the villains in this piece are completely uninteresting. I do like Parker Posey but she could've been handled a little better. Dracula as the villain could have been an interesting thing but it just doesn't work here. He wasn't really threatening and in comparison to the villains from the first two films, he just doesn't cut it. And Triple H? Excuse me while I go to the bathroom.
Wesley Snipes is clearly bored and phones in his performance with all the zeal of a guy serving time in prison. He does dispatch a couple of people in particularly brutal ways, like when he interrogates a guy by dangling him over a rooftop and then lets him drop but in the end, Blade just looks like he'd rather be somewhere else.
To add insult to injury, they wipe Whistler off the map in a pretty unceremonious manner to make room for the Nightstalkers, who get ripped apart themselves two thirds into the film. Why Whistler would want to hide this wonderful squad of geniuses from Blade is beyond me but that's just one plot hole among many. There are moments of sheer stupidity in this film that will leave you staring at the screen in awe. Awe of how ridiculous it all is and at how easy the thought of slitting your wrists can come to you. My favorite moment is when Blade and his rescuers (who I'll get to in a moment) are surrounded in front of the police precinct by a good number of cops with guns drawn and one of the Nightstalkers drives up nonchalantly in a station wagon and they jump in and manage to escape.
I mentioned Blade's rescuers and it's here that I think the biggest problem with the movie lies. Abigail Whistler, Whistler's illegitimate daughter and her buddy Hannibal King show up as Blade's new partners and I'm sorry to say it but they are the ones jumping up and down on the grave of this film. You get the sense that the future of the series lies with these two and you know what? They won't be getting my ten bucks, that's for sure.
Jessica Biel is nice to look at but a ridiculous character to have in this film. You need an example? I mean, product placement not withstanding, the girl listens to her iPod while kicking vampire ass. Think about it for a moment. Thank you, I rest my case.
As for Ryan Reynolds, I think he can be pretty funny. In this movie as Hannibal King, he is just annoying. Not fun annoying but more painful annoying. About 99% of what comes out of his mouth are smart ass remarks and there are moments where Snipes looks like he's going to slap the guy for real. I'll give Reynolds props for getting in shape for the role because he certainly looks the part but really, after a while, I was just hoping someone would execute him.
In the end, I guess I'm a bit sad to say that David Goyer, who wrote all three and directed this dreck, is the one responsible for the outcome. His direction is pretty flat, the action scenes aren't particularly exciting (the best part in the entire film is when Blade chases Dracula in a scene similar to the Keanu Reeves/ Patrick Swayze chase in "Point Break") and giving the Nightstalkers that much screen time was just a bad, bad move. A Blade movie where Blade feels like a secondary character is pretty corny.
This should've been a good entry in the series and is just little more than the death bell.
RATING * and a 1/2 out of *****