Blade (1998)

Written by John Chard on April 14, 2020

The Daywalker.

Half human and half vampire, Blade's function in life is to rid the world of vampires, he is driven forward by the notion that his mother was killed by his half brethren.

This is no ordinary vampire film, this is nothing to do with bearing crosses and creatures making music of the night, this is armoured weaponry, dazzling swordplay and a protagonist that is as cool as anything that has leaped off of the comic book page. Wesley Snipes (perfect piece of casting) is Blade, a much troubled superhero (aren't they all?), he has to take a formula suppressant to keep away his inner vampire cravings. Aided by trusty pal, Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), they wage war against all blood suckers and here they must stop the sinister Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff) from executing his monstrous plan.

There are no cranial pondering's here in this piece, this is a joyously high velocity action horror movie, containing great choreography and retaining its comic book heart. Blade is pure popcorn fodder for the MTV generation, in fact director Stephen Norrington utilises his music video background to great effect as the combat scenes are scored with delightful sledgehammer precision. Blood brains and gore flow freely as the film hurtles towards the head splitting conclusion, loud, dark and tinged with brooding menace, Blade is hugely recommended for a ripper of a night in. 7.5/10