Neil Young's Film Lounge

Neil Young’s Film Lounge – Blade II

BLADE II

5/10

USA 2002 : Guillermo del Toro : 116 mins

All-action vampire sequel sees our half-human hero Blade (Wesley Snipes) on the mean streets of Prague tracking down a new species of bloodsucker, known as the reapers and led by Bros survivor Luke Goss – back from the dead in the years most unlikely career revival. The Mexican directors semi-arthouse background has led some critics to hail this a kind of Crouching Tiger with fangs, but while the Del Toro displays a loonily fetishistic techno-geek obsession with gadgets and gizmos, he’s much less interested in the nuts and bolts of storytelling and pacing.

The result is an arbitrary string of desperately flashy set-pieces cobbled together out of Aliens and/or The Matrix, likely to satisfy few beyond the target audience of early-teenaged, WWF-crazed boys. While the choreographed acrobatics of Snipes and co are undeniably impressive, there’s a depressing lack of originality and wit to be found anywhere in the story, the characterisations or the dialogue. So, despite all those nifty moves, its disappointing to see Blade II end up just going through the motions.

6th April, 2002
(seen 5^th April, UGC Boldon)

by Neil Young

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