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One of the truisms in Hollywood is that sequels stink. The best aspects of the original are somehow eliminated in the sequel, and we're left with banality, banality, banality. But one of the truisms of the video game world is that a sequel is often far superior to the original. Usually the graphics are improved, the storyline is more intricate, and the villains are even more interesting. So what should we expect from Blade 2, which is a movie that feels like a video game?

Wesley Snipes returns as Blade, a half-human, half-vampire who has the strengths of a vampire (immortality, ultra-hip coolness) without any of its weaknesses. His purpose is to track down and kill as many vampires as he can, using the power of light, garlic, and silver (religious imagery conveniently left out). Silver has the advantage of being both a material used in bullets and in super-sharp swords and other martial-arts tools.

So if Blade slaughtered dozens of vampires in the first movie, what can he do for an encore? Well, he could slaughter some more vampires, but that might get a little old. So the film introduces a new foe--the Reaper. The reaper is a super-vampire that is impervious to garlic and silver (daylight still does the trick) and, like the AIDS virus it's clearly modeled on, spawns more of itself every time it feeds. The reaper feeds on vampires, but humans will do in a pinch. The vampires, nervous about not being at the
top of the food chain, approach Blade and ask for his help in defeating the reapers. As Keanu Reeves might say, "Wooahh!" It's as if we skipped Rocky 2 and went straight to Rocky 3. Instead of a rematch to the death, our former arch-enemies band together to fight an even greater power.

What follows is a fairly standard action-movie narrative. Guillermo del Toro, who directed last year's brilliant The Devil's Backbone, does a solid job with the pacing. There's usually a nice buildup to the various fight scenes, but he also knows that the audience needs a break every once in a while. Fortunately, the film also discards most of the irritating dialogue that afflicts most hero-driven blockbusters. Snipes doesn't feel the need to offer any paeans to his own strength or witticisms to belittle his opponents. And he's surprisingly generous, giving the best lines to his co-star Kris Kristofferson or other bit players. The best one is spoken by a veritable extra. When Snipes remarks in surprise, "You're a human?," the response is, "Barely. I'm a lawyer."

By reducing the dialogue to a minimum, the film buys into the video game aesthetic. Viewers of that genre don't want to be bothered with worthless exposition. The plot doesn't make any sense, so why bother explaining it. Instead, we have enormous set pieces, usually revolving around two types. There's the martial arts battle-to-the-death which always ends with the loser dying an excruciating death, or there's the battle royale when our hero (played by the player in a video game) and maybe a few friends wage war against dozens, even hundreds, of sub-human enemies.

This last type is often fought, in a homage to the Dungeons & Dragons world, in dark labyrinths. And so it is with Blade 2. The set design is suitably dank, with sewers, caverns, and night clubs providing the arenas for the various encounters.

Providing the backup to Snipes's Blade is the aforementioned Kris Kristofferson and a crew of leather-wearing vampires. Ron Perlman is Reinhardt, a treacherous vampire who sees this war as merely a prelude to his next battle with Blade, while Leonor Varela is Nyssa, a beautiful vampire who provides Snipes with a hint of a love interest. Otherwise, the film's homosexual undertones might be overwhelming.

I can say with confidence that Wesley Snipes can still kick butt . . . as long as the editing is quick enough. Otherwise, he's starting to look a little old. Fortunately, del Toro knows which side his bread is buttered on, and the action sequences provide Snipes plenty of opportunity to engage in CGI-enhanced martial arts. The editing is unfortunately disappointing, as rapid cuts often distract us from the action. Adhering closer to video games, with their emphasis on subjective point-of-view shots, would've been helpful.

The villains are about what you'd expect. Largely without personality, they're merely fodder for Blade's power. The special effects team apparently watched a lot of the Alien movies and realized there's nothing grosser than a ravenous eating machine living inside a human host. As you'd expect from a modern vampire movie, the level of grossness is high, with rampant bodily fluids, dehumanizing combat, and a lack of hygiene not seen since Austin Powers 2. And what's with Hollywood today, where every
creature jumps around on all fours like some sort of super-ape?

Many critics have decried the influence of video games on contemporary cinema, and I, too, am uncomfortable with that direction. But there's something refreshing about a movie that knows its target audience and gives them exactly what they want--video-game mayhem. If that's your blood type, then Blade 2 is your movie. 

J. Robert Parks 3/25/2002