Blade

I was talking to a friend about this movie after seeing it and I had my usual gripes: no character development, cheesy dialogue, cardboard acting, etc. He quickly said "It's a comic book." Well, after thinking about that a little more I realized something: That excuse doesn't hold up. Why make a movie like a comic book if it doesn't have the traits required to make a good movie. The stance they take is: who needs characters when you have big biceps, bulging pectorals, and a katana to slash through vampires? The necessity of having interesting characters with personalities doesn't vanish with the presence of slashing swords and thundering machine guns. I don't care what genre it was or what purpose these guys had, they made a flawed movie.

Wesley Snipes has one purpose: look buff. The only acting he's really required to do is slash his silver swords with quiet effectiveness. He's given various other toys to play with, and Snipes handles them all like a martial arts expert. He's surely aided by rapid-fire editing, where it often cuts three times in the middle of a single kick.

The action scenes were good. The opening, taking place at a silly, blood-ridden rave is pure adrenaline. The vampires get vaporized by the hordes. The vampires, of course, must do their usual hissing, and Wesley must get away before the cops get there. But, before that is the swish of swords, the rattle of gunfire, the screaming of victims, and all else in a good action scene. The sword fights are well choreographed, and the costumes and sets thankfully resemble every vampiric comic ever to exist.

If only the film could have developed something resembling characters. Our title character is woefully uninteresting, and everybody else is left on the fringes of the story. Our villian is pitiful, never does he convince me of the plausibility of his master plan.

Blade is dum-witted and too closely resembles a single comic book issue. In the course of a comic, a single issue doesn't allow much development. Over the course of an entire series, the characters can be adaquately introduced to the audience. If a comic can't be done right, don't do it at all. If Blade is as good as it gets, leave the crisp booklets of paper on your desk and away from our theater screens.

On a scale of 1 to 10 bloodied ravers: 3