Blade II on DVD

Traveta reviews

Blade IIDistributed by
New Line Home Video

• Cert: R
• Cat.no: N5554
• Running time: 117 minutes
• Year: 2001
• Pressing: 2002
• Region(s): 1, NTSC
• Chapters: 24
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1
• Languages: English
• Subtitles: English
• Widescreen: 1.85:1
• 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
• Macrovision: No
• Disc Format: 2 * DVD 9
• Price: $26.95
• Extras:Disc 1 Extras: 2 audio commentaries and an isolated score
  Disc 2 Extras: Deleted and alternate scenes, original documentary,director’s notebook featuring script pages and unused scenes, artgallery, theatrical trailers, press kit, music video, and Blade 2 videogame survivial guide.
  

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  Director:

  Guillermo Del Toro

Screenplay:

David S. Goyer

Cast:

Blade: Wesley Snipes
Whistler: Kris Kristofferson
Scud: Norman Reedus
Nyssa: Leonar Varela
Nomak: Luke Goss
Reinhardt: Ron Pearlman
Chupa: Matthew Schulz
Damaskinos: Thomas Kretschmann
Asad: Danny John Jules

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In the grand tradition of sequels like:Aliens, The Mummy Returns,Superman II, Mortal Kombat Annihilation (maybe not so grand with thatone) and others, this sequel is all action. Now that the story was setup in the first Blade, it’s time to spend more money on action anddeliver it at breakneck speed. I’m serious, this movie is nearly allaction and it’s very well done. Where the first one focused more oncharacter development this is a treat to the fans.

Super vampires named Reapers are stalking the streets. Only the feed onthe predators themselves: the vampires. When the situation becomes outof hand, a truce is offered to the legendary vampire hunter Blade(Wesley Snipes) by the Vampire Nation. They want him to lead a team ofvampires named the Bloodpack (who were actually trained to take him outbut must join forces) against the new threat.

Pure action is the phrase that sums it up. Good effects when the vampiredies and awesome choreography make this a sure hit. When I saw it lastMarch, I was disappointed because I went in expecting it to be more likethe first one. Now that I have the DVD, I’ve realized it’s a fun movieand that’s what it was supposed to be. The two movies really aredifferent animals. The first focused on story and character developmentwith a few cool action scenes thrown in. Blade II focuses on story aswell but delivers intense action on all fronts.

There is one problem andit’s enough to keep it from a 4 out of 5. Sometimes during the fights,the actors become CGI, mostly when there are jumps and suchlike involved.It’s not during the entire fight but you can tell how fake it is as theymove too fast. They should have just stuck with wires. Nevertheless,definitely see this one.

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Blade II is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. New Line rules.Plain and simple. I thought their transfers were awesome before but itseems they’re getting better. This is perfect. In fact, it looks betterhere than it did at the theater. There is no pixelization and blacks arevery deep giving it a cool look. Colors are nicely transfered. There wassome MINOR edge enhancement on smaller objects but it’s not enough tokeep it from perfection.

The sound is perfect as it’s important in an action movie. Presented inDolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 and a DTS track as well. Talk about great.Each track is different obviously and each packs a huge punch. Everysound is rendered here. For example, when Blade and Nyssa are goingthrough the back of the night club, the music is still pumping. When theReapers and vampires explode when sunlight hits. I could go on and onbut it’s better to hear it yourself.

New Line has given this release 2 discs. I thought the first Blade DVD- the first DVD I ever bought way back in 1998 – was feature-packed andthis one is no exception. The extras are split into three sections:Production Workshop, Deleted and Alternate Scenes, and PromotionalMaterials. Production Workshop houses a suprisingly long documentarywhich has been divided into chapters and an art gallery. It alsocontains some still images of script pages not used in the movie andsome more notebooks. Deleted and Alternate scenes explains itself andfeatures optional commentary by the director. Promotional Materialfeatures trailers, the press kit and a survival guide for the Blade IIgame for Playstation 2 and XBox.

Overall, if you’re looking for a DVD to show off that new HDTV and DTSsystem this is the one. Those of us looking for pulse pounding actionwill find the perfect movie here. If you’re skeptical on it at leastgive it a rent but this is a great DVD and you should consider giving ita purchase.

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FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS


OVERALLReview copyright © Traveta, 2002.

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