Extras:
Disc 1 Extras: 2 audio commentaries and an isolated score
Disc 2 Extras: Deleted and alternate scenes, original documentary,
director's notebook featuring script pages and unused scenes, art
gallery, theatrical trailers, press kit, music video, and Blade 2 video
game survivial guide.
Director:
Guillermo Del Toro
Screenplay:
David S. Goyer
Cast:
Blade: Wesley Snipes
Whistler: Kris Kristofferson
Scud: Norman Reedus
Nyssa: Leonar Varela
Nomak: Luke Goss
Reinhardt: Ron Pearlman
Chupa: Matthew Schulz
Damaskinos: Thomas Kretschmann
Asad: Danny John Jules
In the grand tradition of sequels like:Aliens, The Mummy Returns,
Superman II, Mortal Kombat Annihilation (maybe not so grand with that
one) and others, this sequel is all action. Now that the story was set
up in the first Blade, it's time to spend more money on action and
deliver it at breakneck speed. I'm serious, this movie is nearly all
action and it's very well done. Where the first one focused more on
character development this is a treat to the fans.
Super vampires named Reapers are stalking the streets. Only the feed on
the predators themselves: the vampires. When the situation becomes out
of hand, a truce is offered to the legendary vampire hunter Blade
(Wesley Snipes) by the Vampire Nation. They want him to lead a team of
vampires named the Bloodpack (who were actually trained to take him out
but must join forces) against the new threat.
Pure action is the phrase that sums it up. Good effects when the vampire
dies and awesome choreography make this a sure hit. When I saw it last
March, I was disappointed because I went in expecting it to be more like
the first one. Now that I have the DVD, I've realized it's a fun movie
and that's what it was supposed to be. The two movies really are
different animals. The first focused on story and character development
with a few cool action scenes thrown in. Blade II focuses on story as
well but delivers intense action on all fronts.
There is one problem and
it's enough to keep it from a 4 out of 5. Sometimes during the fights,
the actors become CGI, mostly when there are jumps and suchlike involved.
It's not during the entire fight but you can tell how fake it is as they
move too fast. They should have just stuck with wires. Nevertheless,
definitely see this one.
Blade II is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. New Line rules.
Plain and simple. I thought their transfers were awesome before but it
seems they're getting better. This is perfect. In fact, it looks better
here than it did at the theater. There is no pixelization and blacks are
very deep giving it a cool look. Colors are nicely transfered. There was
some MINOR edge enhancement on smaller objects but it's not enough to
keep it from perfection.
The sound is perfect as it's important in an action movie. Presented in
Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 and a DTS track as well. Talk about great.
Each track is different obviously and each packs a huge punch. Every
sound is rendered here. For example, when Blade and Nyssa are going
through the back of the night club, the music is still pumping. When the
Reapers and vampires explode when sunlight hits. I could go on and on
but it's better to hear it yourself.
New Line has given this release 2 discs. I thought the first Blade DVD
- the first DVD I ever bought way back in 1998 - was feature-packed and
this one is no exception. The extras are split into three sections:
Production Workshop, Deleted and Alternate Scenes, and Promotional
Materials. Production Workshop houses a suprisingly long documentary
which has been divided into chapters and an art gallery. It also
contains some still images of script pages not used in the movie and
some more notebooks. Deleted and Alternate scenes explains itself and
features optional commentary by the director. Promotional Material
features trailers, the press kit and a survival guide for the Blade II
game for Playstation 2 and XBox.
Overall, if you're looking for a DVD to show off that new HDTV and DTS
system this is the one. Those of us looking for pulse pounding action
will find the perfect movie here. If you're skeptical on it at least
give it a rent but this is a great DVD and you should consider giving it
a purchase.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
