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Starring: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff
Director: Stephen Norrington
Genre: Action
Year: 1998
Rating: 4 / 5

When I first heard that Blade was "coming soon to a theatre near" me, I was overwhelmed by the urge to leave town. I figured that this was yet another bad career move in the cinematic lifespan of action star Wesley Snipes. I was certain that he was heading down the same path as my personal favorite, Jean-Claude Van Damme, doomed to star in disappointing action vehicles designed solely to make a buck. I can proudly say that I have never been happier to be disappointed. Blade, while by no means a technical or logical masterpiece, is nonetheless almost two hours of fast-paced, doomsday fun, eye candy for a generation raised on it.

Wesley Snipes stars as Blade, part human, part vampire, cursed at birth when his mother was bitten during her pregnancy with him. The result is a hunter with "all of our strengths and none of our weaknesses," as upstart undead leader Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff) puts it. Blade is on a personal quest, and has been for the better part of his life, to find the vampire who killed his mother, and to put a stop to whatever tyrannical plans the vampires may have in store. Blade is aware of what the public is not, which is that vampires have infiltrated the very fabric of the world's culture, planning for a forthcoming armageddon when they will rise up and usurp power from the humans.

Into this backdrop we enter this gory tale, as Blade, with the help of the equally revenge-oriented Abraham Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) and a local doctor (N'Bushe Wright), engages in night after night of vampire slayings. It seems that Frost, a man Blade has been chasing for some time, has concocted an elaborate scheme to "liberate" the Blood God and return vampires to their rightful seat of power. Two things stand in his way: the Council of Elders and Blade. Viewed as a wayward young mind by opposing vampires, Frost sets out on his own to assemble the necessary items to conjure the spirit of the Blood God and to face Blade.

Do not enter this movie expecting incredible plot or character development, for if you do, disappointment will surely follow. I entered this as I enter most Van Damme films - I want action, action, action, with a plot that is at least average. This movie, like some of Snipes' earlier efforts (Demolition Man, Passenger 57) in the action world, delivers on that promise, to the point where the entire audience was yelling and cheering throughout the numerous violent sequences. Blade is out to ensure that the immortal vampires are in fact quite mortal, and in so doing, may have ensured that Wesley Snipes' mortality has not expired just yet.

Cast:

Wesley Snipes..........	Blade
Stephen Dorff..........	Deacon Frost
Kris Kristofferson..........	Abraham Whistler
N'Bushe Wright..........	Karen

Certification: Rated R for violence.
Running Time: 110 minutes.

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