BLADE

BLADE-United States-1998

Wesley Snipes as Blade

Stephen Dorff as Deacon Frost

Kris Kristofferson as Whistler

N'Bushe Wright as Karen

Donal Logue as Quinn

Directed by Stephen Norrington

Written by David S. Goyer

Based on characters created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan

A history lesson, if you please. In 1978 there was Christopher Reeve as Superman and we all believed that a man could fly. It was the beginning of a new era of the cinema; the beginning of the superhero genre as we know it today. Well, then again, maybe not. After two spectacular films, the Man of Steel went just a little bit limp.

Cut to 1989 and Tim Burton decides to give it another go, this time with Supe’s Gotham City comrade, Batman. Burton even went so far as to cast against type when he hired comic actor Michael Keaton to fill the cowl of the Caped Crusader. Fanboys everywhere were wetting their pants and tearing up their parent’s basements in anger at this indignity. Then Keaton showed them all what he could do and everyone shut the hell up. Once again, the superhero genre was in full swing. Well, not so fast. In 1997, we were given Batman and Robin. How bad was it? It was so bad that you could literally hear the hopes that so many people had for the superhero genre as they lay screaming and bleeding in the streets. With something as small as nipples on the Batsuit the genre was finished, kaput.

Exit the Bat, enter Blade. I will argue with any man, woman or child on this planet and I will stand by my belief that not only is Blade a great vampire film, it is also the one film responsible for the superhero genre as we know it today. If you don’t know the story of Blade I’ll explain to you in nine words: he’s a bad ass motherfucker and he kills vampires. In the original film he’s on the trail of Deacon Frost. Deacon is trying to raise a vampire god that will make bloodsuckers all powerful, therefore making the humans their cattle. Does Blade save the day? Watch the movie and find out.

Blade s not a perfect movie. There are scenes that look cartoonish and the acting leaves a bit to be desired. But without Blade, there would be no Batman Begins. There would be no Dark Knight. There would be no superhero film as we know it today. While I’m at it, you can’t tell me that Blade wasn’t an influence on 1999′s The Matrix. Some of the action sequences and the costume designs are very reminiscent of scenes from Blade. Let’s face it; without Blade, all we would have is the nipples. I’m shuddering just thinking about it.

TRIVIA

LL Cool J was originally considered for the part of Blade.

In the scene where Blade is chased to the subway, and the subway train is passing by, all the passengers are cardboard cutouts with the special FX man among them.

The true name of the Blade character is Eric Brooke. (“Eric” is mentioned once in the film, and Blade’s mother’s driver’s license says Vanessa Brooks of Bradenton, Florida).

When the film was first being developed, David Fincher was supposed to direct. He later dropped out to pursue other projects.

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