A half-vampire (Wesley Snipes) hunts the undead with guns, swords, spikes, and drugs. When an upstart vampire gang leader (Stephen Dorff) decides to overthrow the old order of their society, Blade’s job gets a lot harder.
An early entry in the style-first monster film sub-genre (Resident Evil, Underworld), Blade, like those that followed, is exciting, rich in detail, skillfully made, and a bit brain-dead. This is a film where the hero stops to pose before each fight and no female vampire would be caught without a mini-skirt or cat-suit. It’s silly, but it looks great, and is a great deal of fun.
Based upon a comic, Blade is one of the few films that manages a non-embarrassing translation to the screen, thanks to screenwriter David S. Goyer (who scripted the impressive Dark City) and director Stephen Norrington (who tried to repeat the same feeling five years later with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but failed). Basically a “rogue cop vs. the mob” movie, the story is surprisingly captivating though the climax is disappointing, lacking the apocalyptic threat that is promised.
While there are vampires, this is a pure action film, not a horror film. There are no scares here, but a lot of over-the-top jumps, kicks, flips, and sword flourishes. Why do the evildoers charge one at a time to be cut down by Blade? Because it looks cool. Why does blade always reach for his sunglasses in a fight? Because it looks cool. That’s what the filmmakers were going for, and they succeeded. So watch it, because it looks cool.
It was followed by Blade II and Blade: Trinity.