The Revisited series takes a look back at the 1998 Marvel Comics adaptation Blade, starring Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff
In the age we live in now, comic book movies are mostly big, bloated, blockbusters with big budget bullshit, and while there are some exceptions to that statement these days, back in the late 90s- you’d bever find a comic book film with a budget in the hundreds of millions. These kinds of films were dark horses in Hollywood with unproven success to secure studio backing. Bloated, bullshit, blockbusters…were not an option. Now, there’s probably no need for me to explain the early days of Marvel movies and the constant state of financial decay that the company was in prior to the inception of the MCU. But suffice it to say that Marvel, the juggernaut movie studio who now owns their own corner of the industry, was once so broke that they sold off the rights to some of their characters and IP to stay afloat. This is how we got things like the Spider-Man films from Sony, the Punisher movie from Artisan, and of course the X-Men saga from Fox. Included in that offload of IP was Blade, which was sold to New Line Cinema. A movie that many did not know was even tied to the otherwise colorful and bright Marvel brand. And that, in the 90s, was actually to the film’s benefit.
Blade is a half-human and half-vampire hybrid whose mother was attacked by a vampire during childbirth. This gives Blade the unique cocktail of DNA which gives him all the strengths of these blood-sucking cultists, but none of the weaknesses. It’s called being a “daywalker” in this movie. So, Blade’s mission in life is to use his curse in order to hunt and destroy any creature he can find. He achieves this with the help of his trusty mentor, Whistler (played by Kris Kristofferson) who adopted Blade as a teenager and trained him in combat. Whistler is Blade’s “guy in the chair” who provides technical savvy, companionship, and a special serum that Blade injects to keep him from craving blood. Remember, he is a vampire after all, folks.
Now, seeing as this movie is almost 30 years old, and this IS a revisited video- it’s safe to assume that you’ve already seen this movie. And personally, I’m not interested in recapping the entire plot and calling it a day. Instead, let’s just get to the good stuff. How does this movie hold up? And what it makes it great after all these years? Oh, and also- we’re definitely gonna spoil some Deadpool & Wolverine somewhere in this video so… I’ll warn you when we get to it. Let’s go!
First off, let’s talk about this movie’s legendary opening sequence. The movie opens on what appears to be an incredibly stylized late 90s rave- complete with shiny leather, edgy music, sexiness, debauchery, and… oh yeah, BLOOD RAINING FROM THE CEILING SPRINKLERS! That’s right dudes, this opening scene is a mass killing in a vampire rave. This is so 90s but in the smoothest and most satisfying way. The blue tones of the lighting and color grading really pop against the deep, thick red of the corn syrup being sprayed all over the dance floor and folks, I’m so here for it.
The villain of the piece is a ruthless and reckless vampire with something to prove called Deacon Frost (played by Stephen Dorff). This guy is basically seeking to either capture Blade and use his hybrid blood to push the evolutionary scale of vampires to the next level- OR collab with him so that he doesn’t have to use force. Blade prefers using force, so we now have our main conflict. This movie’s performances are not only good, but I think it gets undersold just how IMPORTANT these actors and their commitment to the roles were to the ultimate success of this movie. It’s important to remember that while Marvel films are commonplace household movies today, Blade was made at a time when superhero films were deeply uncool, and thus, unprofitable. Director Stephen Norrington was already facing slim odds of a commercial success when taking on this project, but thanks to the cast and crew taking the project so seriously, and the actors truly committing the absurdity of it all, and delivering serious and grounded performances- is what makes this movie special.
Wesley Snipes as Blade is really one of those all time superhero castings that we put up there with Hugh Jackman as Wolvrine or RDJ as Iron Man. Snipes gives Blade a hip and cool edge by cracking the occasional joke, reacting with his extremely expressive orange eyes, and even throwing some signature one-liners into the mix from time-to-time.
While there are one or two moments of comic relief in the film, this movie ultimately plays it completely straight and takes what it’s doing seriously. Dorff as Deacon Frost is a great example of hamming it up while selling the stakes of the scene. He chews pretty much the entire set here, but it’s not wasted on big monologues and cheesy exposition. Instead, he lets his demeanor and expressions show you how evil and unpredictable he is, while always delivering lines as if he’s been up all-night practicing in the mirror and thinking of nothing other than his mission. And I mean all of this, as a compliment. Frost get’s a bad wrap due to the film’s dated CGI which was heavily relied on for the ending. Why does Frost take the hit? Well, he’s the guy who turns into a pixelated, rubbery disaster in the final act.
Admittedly, this does not look as polished as it would today- but putting that aside. Look at the incredible fight choreography and immaculate cinematography of the action in this movie.
While the action and carnage is fun, it’s also only part of this very delicious pie. The dynamic that Blade has with the supporting cast is also fun on the re-watch. Blade and Whistler have a father-son type relationship that adds a sweet layer to his character and leaves you gutted by his reaction to Whistler’s (almost) death scene. To add another layer to Blade’s character is his dynamic with Karen, a human that wants to help (and maybe bone) Blade. If Whistler makes Blade sweet, Karen makes him tough. Her involvement gives Blade a reason to stay sharp and be alert. See, while our hero has no problem going out at night to kick some vampire ass, he also feels the need to protect people. And with Karen being around, he’s contently looking out for her safety. It’s important to note that what makes Blade a great character goes beyond the obvious. Sure, the duster jacket, the ninja weapons (especially those katanas) and the shades and tattoos make him look cool. But his stoic attitude with small elements of humor, and most importantly humanity- that’s what makes Blade a GREAT character.
Behind the scenes, Norrington and Snipes would both eventually get sick of the franchise with Norrington passing the reigns for the next film to the modern master of macabre, Guillermo del Toro for a sequel that is just as much fun as this one. Snipes would appear in all three installments of the trilogy but reportedly would get more and more difficult to work with as the films went on. See, Snipes was so ingrained in the character of Blade that he would remain in character at all times making him seem unapproachable and unfriendly to everyone on set. This would lead to the films having diminishing returns and eventually fading out and being pruned to the void… UNTIL…
For those of you that loved this movie the way I do, you must have been just as stoked as I was to see Wesley Snipes enter the frame as Blade in Marvel’s latest multiverse outing- Deadpool & Wolverine. Seeing him whip out some blades and kick some asses was everything I needed to fill the Blade shaped hole in my heart- however, while I love that he was in the movie for a good chunk of it, and he did get plenty to do, I was disappointed by the re-hashed catchphrase and not-so-subtle wink at the camera and Mahershala Ali’s upcoming Blade film. It just didn’t feel like Blade in those moments.
But, regardless, this movie offers a bloody, violent, action-packed and well performed comic book story that is sure to scratch the vampire itch that you’re feeling right now.
Two previous episodes of Revisited can be seen below. To see more of our shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals channel – and subscribe while you’re at it!