Blade 2
A new breed of super vampire has evolved that feeds on vampires. Blade (Snipes) and sidekick Whistler (Kristofferson) are forced to team up with The Bloodpack, a group of blood-sucking marines, before there is an epidemic that wipes out vampires and humans alike.
The original Blade is one of my favourite movies. The blend of horror, action, great effects and comic....
A new breed of super vampire has evolved that feeds on vampires. Blade (Snipes) and sidekick Whistler (Kristofferson) are forced to team up with The Bloodpack, a group of blood-sucking marines, before there is an epidemic that wipes out vampires and humans alike.
The original Blade is one of my favourite movies. The blend of horror, action, great effects and comic book storyline made the original a cult classic. Its sequel, put simply, is all about more. More horror - there's a visceral feeling to the violence which is hard to watch at times. More action - great fight scenes, over the top gunfights, Kung Fu, explosions, the lot. The special effects, particularly with The Reapers, are great. Some of the CGI fighting is a bit too comic book for my liking, and looks a out of place, an opinion supported by Del Toro on his commentary, bemoaning lack of funds. The film is also quite scary, plenty of tension and shocks to keep you interested. The script is okay, nothing particularly original, but it's executed with such energy that you don't worry too much about that. It's a really good film, which takes the franchise to a new level. It's fast, it's violent, and just too damn cool. You will love it.
In addition to DD5.1 and DTS tracks, both of which give you speakers a hammering with great bass, plenty of rear effects and Beltrami's score sounding great, you get another three audio tracks. The first one, featuring director Del Toro and Producer Peter Frankfurt is an entertaining track, with the effervescent Del Toro detailing the in-jokes, cuts, continuity errors and variations from the original script. It's very funny too, with them criticising parts of the film they don't like, particularly some of the CGI effects that they hate but were restricted by budget. The second commentary, with Snipes and writer David Goyer, gives a different perspective, with Goyer discussing the development of the script - the ideas and how they developed with Del Toro. Snipes talks about actually performing in the movie, and his experiences as the producer. It's a very good commentary. The third soundtrack is Beltrami's isolated score, which sounds fabulous; you don't realize how effective it is until you listen to it in isolation. Quite how they managed to fit all of this in and maintain a clear, colourful picture throughout, I don't know, but it's a delight to see a great film put on to a disk of such quality.
The second disk holds a wealth of extras. Best of all is The Blood Pack an 83 minute documentary on the production, from concept and scripting, through choreography, SFX to the music score. Featuring lots of interviews with director Del Toro, writer Goyer, producer X and Wesley Snipes, there are plenty of anecdotes on the production, with behind the scenes footage, and, amazingly, seamless branching to additional footage of rehearsals and crew discussions. It is the best documentary I have seen on a DVD, as enjoyable as the main feature. Production documentaries explain how they created digital stuntmen for some of the impossible stunts, including a CG Blade, and the Reaper design. You then get a decomposition of the shot, with the final cut in a small window - absolutely brilliant.
Thirty minutes of deleted and extended scenes are presented with an optional (and very funny) director/ producer commentary. You can play them individually or (thank you!) continuously. Lots of interesting stuff here, particularly the final deleted scene when you listen to why it was re-shot!
Script to screen features show two versions of the script, the storyboards and the final cut of several scenes. These are viewed separately, rather than multi-angle, making them easier to compare.
The Production diaries document the creation of the creature effects for the movie. Running at 30 or so minutes, you get a very detailed insight in to the effect creation, with each effect being shot, followed by the final effect in the movie. Is a brilliantly produced piece, which will fascinate movie fans. Even Del Toro's notebook is included here - sketches and notes on costumes, monsters, sets. The completeness of this package is staggering, it really has been assembled with loving detail, and producing the best 2-disk package I have ever seen.
Blade 2 is great film. It outdoes its predecessor on almost every level and I love it. This, combined with a package that sets a new standard for 2 disk releases, make Blade 2 an essential purchase.
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