Blade (1998)

Believe it or not, there was a time in which Marvel was struggling during the nighties despite the success of the animated X-Men series. In 1998 they decided to take a gamble with a not very well known superhero that not many none-comic book readers might be familiar with. His name was Blade.

The part-vampire and part-human character made his first big screen appearance in 1998 in what was considered a very risky move by Marvel; he wasn’t very well known outside comic book circles…and unlike many superhero films at the time, this one wasn’t family friendly.

Blade (Wesley Snipes) is part-vampire and part-human due to his mother being bitten by a vampire whilst she was pregnant with him. He’s not fond of vampires but he’s not fond of humans either. It might look as though Blade stands alone but he has help in hunting them down with his mentor Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) and reluctant nurse Karen (N’Bushe Wright). Together they hunt down vampires as well as the main villain Deacon Frost (Stephen Doff).

Upon Blade’s release the film was met with wild praise from everyone that saw it. I was finally able to see it in full (rather than half of it on tv) for the first time a few weeks ago and I very much enjoyed it. In fact, it’s probably the best vampire film I’ve seen since the first ‘Underworld’ film.

Wesley nails it as Blade and the rest of the cast do just as well including Stephen as Deacon. The upbeat techno soundtrack being played during the fights is also worth a listen to as well as the fight scenes being fantastic. On the downside the effects towards the end of the film leave a lot to be desired but as it came out in 1998 I’m willing to let that slide.

Shame on Marvel for sweeping this excellent film under the rug just to prop up Black Panther which was mediocre at its best and terrible at its worst!