In this third entry in the series, Blade (Wesley Snipes) joins up with a vampire hunting band (Jessica Biel, Ryan Reynolds) to stop Dracula (Dominic Purcell) and perhaps to end the vampire race forever.
With big, shiny, action films, it’s easy to ignore the skill level of the director. This isn’t Shakespeare after all, so anyone ought to be able to pull it off. But of course they can’t and Blade Trinity is the new poster child for poor directing. It’s hard to say what made David Goyer, the screen writer for all three Blade films, think he could take over the reins, last held by Guillermo del Toro. Goyer can’t pry a performance from his actors with Wesley Snipes, Dominic Purcell, and Kris Kristofferson finding new degrees of stiffness while lead villainess Parker Posey just repeats her character from Josie and the Pussycats. Ah, but this is an action film, so perhaps the exciting fights make up for the uninspired performances. Sadly not. Here’s a tip for Mr. Goyer: Slow motion should be used sparingly. Yes, yes, if you must give us a slow-mo kick, fine. And we all expected a slow-mo jump. But did we need slow motion walking? Slow motion dressing? For God’s sake, set the camera on normal speed! The jerking editing doesn’t help either.
I would have thought that Goyer could have given us a better script, since he does have experience there. Perhaps with more competent directing, the script would have worked better. As is, there just wasn’t much excitement. The villains are pale reflections of those from the first two films. Dracula is strangely limp. Shouldn’t the first vampire be…tough? Shouldn’t he have some sort of plan other than running away? Shouldn’t he have some reason for being on screen? Its not that the action and acting is all bad; it just isn’t good, and I seldom search out mediocre.
There are some high points, mainly in humor. This is the funniest Blade movie, with the badass himself getting in some good one-liners. But it’s wisecracking Hannibal King (Reynolds), one of the new sidekicks, who gets most of the laughs. He alone makes me want to catch the film a second time. Well, him and the Pomeranian…
Jessica Biel fulfills her role of “hot fighting babe” but that’s all she’s given to do. She wears sexy outfits (obviously chosen only for that purpose), and poses with a bow—that’s her character. The out-of-left-field shower scene is particularly embarrassing. Look, if you decide to toss a shower scene into a film so the audience can ogle the chick (which is the point here as there is no Kris Kristofferson shower scene), then show the chick! Have her spend time making sure her breasts are clean. If you aren’t just going to go for it, then keep the poor girl dry. Apparently, I was supposed to be excited by the mere thought of water falling on her head, no matter that I could see more of her flesh when she was practicing archery.
The audience at the pre-release screening was pretty quiet except for Reynold’s induced laugher. They cheered a few times early on, but that faded, and they were gone as soon as the lights went up. Like me, they expected more. Big time Blade fans might want to catch this at a matinee. For anyone else, wait for it to appear on free cable.