Blade Reviews

Fear not, Buffy -- this is one vampire slayer flick that's better left buried. Whether you knew it or not, vampires and humans have been coexisting in relative harmony for thousands of years. An ancient race of "true blood" undead -- those who are born vampires -- headed by the aristocratic Dragonetti (Udo Kier), has quietly infiltrated the human political and financial infrastructure, and own real estate and hold offshore accounts. But all that's about to change: Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff) -- a young "impure" vampire (born human, but "turned" as a child) -- is determined to destroy the old vampire society and, by awakening an all-powerful blood god, turn Earth into the planet of the vampires. Enter Blade (Wesley Snipes), fearless vampire killer extraordinaire. Blade's human mother was bitten by a vampire shortly before giving birth, thus empowering her son with all the vampire strengths and none of their weaknesses, except for one: Blade, too, craves human blood, and will feed unless dosed with a special serum. Equipped with a wicked titanium sword, a fanny-pack full of anti-vampire devices, one crusty sidekick (Kris Kristofferson) and a feisty gal pal hematologist (N'Bushe Wright) who's looking to cure her own incipient vampirism, Blade sets out to save the world from the coming vampire apocalypse. Hailed as one of the first African-American comic-book superheroes, Blade first appeared as a Marvel Comics character in 1973, so there should be plenty of material for the filmmakers to drawn on. But instead of plot, we're given a lot of breathlessly delivered backstory, overdesigned sets and Stephen Norrington's flat, suspense-defying direction. All that and a subtext fraught with anxiety: Throughout, vampirism is equated with the power elite, sexually transmitted viruses and, strangely enough, black identity. (In the film's most uncomfortable moment, Frost accuses the Blade, who passes for human, of playing Uncle Tom.) Not that the film would have been much fun otherwise: The few good lines go to Kristofferson and the ever-amusing Kier, but Snipes's considerable energy is buried under an affectless, Terminator-style demeanor. A sneering, snarling Dorff seems ready to rumble, there's precious little for him to, er, sink his teeth into.