Customer Reviews

The Blade Trilogy (Blade/ Blade II/ Blade: Trinity)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Blade Collection is finally here! For moviegoers, it all began back in the summer of 1998:


BLADE (1998) 1 Disc Rated R (2.35:1) - Talk about a movie experience! From the opening shots, you are literally sucked in (no pun intended) to the world of the vampires. Wesley Snipes completely embraces the role of the title character and plays him to the hilt, with just a bit of dry cocky humor that is very refreshing. As we first meet Blade at a Vampire techno club (which uses a great remix of a song called "Confusion" by New Order) we just know he's a force to be reckoned with as he slices, dices, burns & just plains blows up every vampire he gets a hold of (including Traci Lords, in a very memorable cameo). Kris Kristofferson plays Whistler, Blade's mentor and creator of the various weapons at his disposal, including guns & knives, bombs, & more. ("We have a good arrangement. He makes the weapons, I use 'em"). But it's Stephen Dorff as the bloodthirsty Deacon Frost that helps catapult the film from average action fair to the stuff of comic book legend. With most actors, this would be a one or two dimensional performance, but in the hands of Stephen Dorff, he turns the character of Deacon Frost into something much more multilayared. The interaction he has with Blade as well as his other fellow vampires give off this feel of someone we should not underestimate. Because a truly great villain is a huge key to a movie's success. The whole mythos of vampires in this film moves the genre in a very interesting direction. According to Blade, pure silver, garlic & sunlight are the main tools to combat vampires. ("Crosses don't do d***, so forget about what you've seen in the movies") But the fact that the pure blood vampires are personified as old & disposable, while the nonpure vampires are young and virile, looking to take over and run things, can really be looked at as a depiction of our society, with the old guard being kicked out by the new one, lest anarchy ensue. A Classic. Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. 120 MIN.


BLADE II (2002) 2 Disc Rated R (1.85:1) - Part 2 begins in Prague, with Blade searching for the location of Whistler, who has been turned into a Vampire and subsuquently tortured. The action sequences are even more elaborate than the first, with the camera actually following jumps and flips in a spiral fashion. By now most of you know the story, which involves a new breed of vampire called Reapors, that are trying to take over their predecessors and eventually enslave the world. The vampires turn to Blade for assistance in helping them wipe out these vicious beasts. In a sort of "Dirty Dozen" meets "Aliens" tradition, Blade teams up with an elite group of vampires, who, turns out, were originally put together to hunt him down. They instead work together to seek out the Reapors to destroy them, but find that killing them is not as easy as they'd hoped. The film gives Wesley Snipes more range to show some drama this time, with a subplot involving a female vampire named Nyssa, who's a pure blood, working for her father. Twists and turns abound in this comic book action thriller that gives off a nice feel of energy while at the same time making sense. There's plenty martial arts action to make anybody happy, as well as some much needed dry humor from Snipes and company. All in all a satisfying experience that will leave most moviegoers in an upbeat fashion. Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS 6.1 Surround Sound. 117 MIN.


BLADE: TRINITY (2004) 2 Disc Unrated & R rated versions (2.35:1) - In the final installment, Blade teams up with the Nightstalkers, a ragtag group of vampire hunters lead by the sexy Abigail Whistler (Jessica Biel) & the quickwitted Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds) who are out to track down and kill the vampire of all vampires: Dracula (played by the musclebound Dominic Purcell). Watch out for Parker Posey, as the scene stealing Danica Talos, the equivalent of a vampire constantly tripping on acid. Snipes has less to do this time out as Blade, with the newer characters taking up much of his screen time. But when he's onscreen, he still shines and plays the character perfectly. A shame that there was turmoil between him and director/screenwriter David S. Goyer (notice, for example, Snipes's unwillingness to contribute to the audio commentaries for the movie even though he had done so for the first two films). And seeing Dominic Purcell's performance as Drake makes one wish that the Stephen Dorff character of Deacon Frost could somehow be resurrected in order to show these guys how playing a first-rate villian is really done. Still, with all it's flaws, the film still works, just not as well as most fans would've liked. The new footage in the unrated version is interesting, as well as the slightly different ending, that many fans may find much more preferable to that of the theatrical version. Worth having. Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS 6.1 Surround Sound. 113 MIN & 122 MIN.


Besides the gripes about the 3rd film, the real disappointment with this wonderful collection is that the original Blade movie is not presented as a 2 disc Platinum Edition with DTS 6.1 Surround Sound the way its sequels are. It truly deserves the much needed upgrade. The Box itself is very nice to look at, with a very nicely done 3-D front cover. For the most part, this is what every Blade fan has been waiting for since that summer of 1998 when one of the best comic book franchises began its journey. This is definately a collection worth ice skating uphill for!


Blade Trilogy: The Ultimate Collection - Bloodsuckingly Brilliant!


"Blade. Ready to die?" - Dominic Purcell as Drake

"Since the day I was born." - Wesley Snipes as Blade

Thinking back to when comic book adaptations finally hit the big time, people tend to remember X-MEN as the one that made it happen. What most people probably don't recall is that a couple of years earlier, there was another very successful movie based on one of the lesser-known characters from the MARVEL universe, his name was Blade. Introduced in the tenth issue of Marvel's TOMB OF DRACULA in 1973, Blade was unlike any other superhero around at the time. Born while his mother was being attacked by a vampire, Blade was endowed with all the vampires' strengths and none of they're weaknesses- including being able to exist in sunlight. With his mother dying during his birth, Blade dedicated his life to exterminating these creatures of the night. Blade was the antithesis of the comic book convention; rather than dressing in a bright, colorful costume and saving lives, he inhabited the night- like his prey and wasted no time killing any creature that stood in his way. He was also an early example of the changing attitudes within the comic industry, whereas nearly all superheroes were depicted as white males, Blade was one of the first heroic black characters to regularly appear in a graphic novel series.

And so, in 1998 the comic became one of the best action-films ever made. Wesley Snipes plays Blade, who is 1/2 human, 1/2 vampire. Blade is able to walk outside at daytime (he is therefore called "Daywalker), and garlic & silver has no effect on him. He has got the strength of a vampire, but he has also got the thirst for blood from the vampires. To suppress his thirst for blood, Blade uses a special serum. The first thing you'll see in this movie is a woman, who is giving birth to a boy. A vampire has bitten the woman, she dies, but the doctors are able to save her baby, Blade. Soon there is a party in a vampire-nightclub, Blade enters it and begins killing the vampires. The action- and fight-scenes in this movie are incredibly well directed and cool to watch, the soundtrack is cool, and Wesley Snipes is perfect in the role as Blade.
BLADE 2 is superior in just about every way to the original with Guillermo Del Toro (HELLBOY) managing to amplify the horror elements while keeping the action just as intense. Second time around, Blade finds himself in an uneasy truce with his lifelong enemies, helping to track down a new breed of creature on the streets, which feeds on both humans and vampires. BLADE TRINITY finishes the franchise with a satisfying smash. Altogether, a great night in, and some cool DVD extra features.

If you are interested in this set then you already probably like and are familiar with all the movies.

the first one was a surprise hit, really the first big 'Marvel Comics' movie, and it deserved the recognition it got. a cool take on vampires, Snipes' bad-ass performance, an equally bad-ass villain (Stephen Dorff) and even a great performance by Kris Kristofferson as a gnarly helper for Blade all made this a cool action film with great sfx.

The second one moved into higher gear and featured some updated danger and technology for Blade, as well as new monsters and characters and a tough guy role for Ron 'Hellboy' Perlman, and definitely lived up to reputation of the first of the series.

"Blade: Trinity" was sadly not such a good finale for the trilogy, because it featured stock performances from Jessica Biel (as the 'tough girl') and Ryan Reynolds (who was better in the Amityville remake) as the smart-ass. The vampire dogs were a dumb idea and the main bad guy was too generic.

The trilogy has ups and downs,but I think overall is a good choice for action & vampire fans.

Totally Awesome Set:
The Box is well done, and All high quality.The Visuals on the box are beyond Brilliant.
Fans will love the Extra in Disc pack 3, TRINITY, the Comic has an Awesome Sensuality that would never be allowed on film, and is probably why so many film makers get inspired by comics to do some amazing things in the world of film.
Totally Worth getting this set(Very Nice 3D feel to the actual box itself,as well).
As to the Content: The Gore is neither minimal, nor excessive, it is pretty appropriate for the films( after all we are talking about Vampires, and only one character actually bleeds non-red blood). Marvel's logo is on the start of film three, and a point is made of mentioning this, possibly because the original BLADE is in some respects not so well known; but so what? Wesley Snipes as BLADE , makes this character work so well; So does his stunt double as well( if you check out the commentaries and the features, this point is covered additonally).
Also, the DVD menus and general structure are very good in my view; to say that they were put together by a 3 year old geek is either stupid, or shows that the person did not see the films; if the latter, then this is more of the reviews done by some who deliberately pan films without seeing them ... something that should be stopped. ANYWAYS... for the fans this set is a treat.
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BLADE

This film is great from start to finish, and has some severely superb DVD extras. I first saw it on VHS, and even in that format, BLADE was a great show.
Its clear after seeing, the film, and listening to the features, and the commentary that the film benefits extensively from audience test screenings. I won't say much, but the fine details of the story, were made so fine because of the test screenings.
As good as Wesley Snipes is, its clear from his comments that he benefits greatly from some of the best Stunt men in the business. Not to say that Snipes is not a Good Martial Arts practitioner, simply that the finer points of the action we see are very well executed by people who are part of the movie magic process. This does not detract from the film, but explains how the stunt men provide some finesse from years of work, and Snipes ends up being the face of the quality, but I guess that the way it works out.
The DVD audio is truly great in 5.1 and probably better in DTS. The commentary is overly detailed, and has some powerhouse editing by who-ever put the comments together. It also illustrates the creative input of Snipes as the film came together. As the cliche states, the film process is a group effort, and wow what a fine product.
The wow value of the film is even more powerful when looking at the behind scenes work, that show that ideas present, but deleted in the first film, become manifest in the later two.
I sure hope this does not become a TV series. The overall Blade feel is more a movie style, and the work of the cast is part of the magic. The picks of the people in this film, such as Kris Kristofferson are just perfect, and work well in this film, and in the others.

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BLADE 2

The story in this film is very ornate, and its not as gratuitous as some might want you to believe.Blade and Co are summoned to help the regular Vampires fight off a "Common Enemy", which is part of a story that has many twists and turns.
Overall, its indeed very cool, is a notch up from the first BLADE, but has the "Del Toro" factor; that is, Del Toro seems to know he is ramping up a Franchise, but he also adds his own little twists and, in a word, perversions. Possibly the key addition to this world, is Del Toro's attempt to remove the sub-text of why Vampires do what they do, and to change the "Anne Rice" factor.
The DVD extras are superbly plentiful in this set. Two Sets of commentaries on disc one ( go for the Wesley Snipes and David Goyer commentary first, in my view, since that is the most entertaining, and Del Toro's and Frankfurt's commentary is basically a lot of stuff that might be something you need to know as a fan, but not as a movie fan, maybe as a movie maker, and certainly shows that an excess of perversion never stopped amnyone from making good films).
Disc two has two main sections. There is no doubt that Del Toro is creative, however his little obsessions are a tad too much when viewed and heard in this context. The Making of Section is probably the best item to view first. And in the out-takes and deleted scenes, the commentary is sometimes useful, but is often just plain off the yuck scale. So, its good to see the deletes and out-takes, which are, I think ( my opinion) mostly done correctly, some deletes are just on the level of "Why?", and the out-takes are fun.
All in all a pretty excellent Value Package. Done before Del Toro did HELLBOY, it is very illustrative of his creative skill and indulgence in some weird obsessions.

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BLADE 3:
This Unrated version is quite good. Going on the commentaries and features, quite a bit of the Good Material was Chopped out for no decent reason. The advantage is that Goyer as writer-director and creator of Blade as we Know him, is in the unique position of being inside the films as no other person can be. About all I would have changed is the start and finish credits, especially the end section which has some material that is just so out of character for the style of film; as some say, which might be true in this case, too many cooks spoil the broth. However, overall this film is a gem.
The commentaries with Goyer, and part of the features , explain why Blade is in the current Predicament, but needless to say this is a step up from the standard Blade world. Especially with the Directors technique of using up to 7 or 8 cameras at any one time.
The criticism of Jessica Biel is really just sour Grapes, she pulls off the hyper fit and well trained Vampire hunter in a way few could do. She really does fulfill her role in many ways, so the criticism are not in my view valid.
Good DVD Menu's, very inspired.
DISK 1: The Extras here are two sets of commentaries. Neither of which live up to what they could be, but Goyer with Ryan and Jessica is the lesser of the two. Commentary 2, much more in the technical realm, and perhaps in some respects supplements commentary 1.
DISK 2: The Blade 3 Features are Beyond Good. Just sit down and watch them at one sitting... otherwise how will you know where the Esperanto is in the film ?? :-)
The Alternate ending in Shanghai cannot be serious, it is well filmed, but just utter rubbish.
Goyer Interviews Goyer is not only a good technical feat, but a good insight to the director versus writer quandry.
Absolutely LOVE the Blooper reel: Kris Kristofferson has the best ad lib line that he steals from CONVOY ( The film) when he says " 10-4 Good Buddy, Rubber Ducky out". One of the more classic and retro lines.
The Disc 2 Additions and extras are quite superb, and almost as long if not longer than the main film.

I just bought this a few days ago and it arrived so quickly!!!! I decided to give my mom this on Christmas Day because she loves Blade. She was trying her best to sneak a peak when this package arrived but she failed. I know she is going to love this gift.

I bought these new, played them with DTS sound on and loved em'. Blade 2+3 each have a bonus disc, and all of them come in widescreen format which i think is better cause you see more of what's going on. Has a pretty kewl box case that they all come in also.

Sorry for the pun, but the statement is true.

I had never heard of the Blade comics, so when the first movie came out I went in expecting an action-packed thriller.

But, alas, what I found was a new obsession. Immediatly after watching the first movie, which does a good job of bringing the comic characters to life (even if a bit glamorized), I must say that I did not thoroughly read the comics, but rather get a nice feel for the darkness and anti-hero aspects of the Blade character.

But, back to the movies. Here's what I think:

Blade--Great intro film; special F/X are top-notch, stylistic, and fight scenes are choreographed to precision; story fun, but a bit choppy; overall 5/5

Blade 2--Rehash of first story was a bit annoying (watch the first one to know what I mean); F/X bigger/better; fight scenes aided with special effects, but still stylistic with the choreography; overall 4/5 (mostly because vampire gang annoyed me)

Blade Trinity--Great action film all around; introduction of two characters fits well into the franchise (and they both do a good job along side Wesley); more fight scenes, done again with presicion and excellence; much more F/X (good or bad thing); DVD extras are fun too; overall 5/5

In essence, if you are looking for a good 6 hours of exciting action scenes, expertly choreographed fight sequences, and vampires, well this is the triology for you!

Action packed, blood sucking, vampire slaying thrill ride! It's a good set of DVDs if your a fan of action movies with a touch of the dark side humor.

This set contains five,count 'em,FIVE discs.The original Blade(Aug/98),one disc,Blade 2(Mar/02),two discs and Blade 3/Trinity(Dec/04),two discs and sporting an extended version AND the original theatrical version.I consider these movies Wesley Snipes shining moments as an actor on the silver screen.Snipes captured the true essence of the comic book character to a tee and brought him to vivid life for three kick-ass pictures.
The original Blade starts out in a vampire run club,of sorts.An unsuspecting male non-vampiric patron is led into this scene by a female vampire.The musics beat is unrelenting and just as it reaches a fever pitch the sprinklers let go with a shower of blood.The fangs all come out and the poor sheep becomes a quick meal for the wolves.In bursts Blade(Snipes)and he mows down most of those there.One vampire burned has to be left behind by Blade as the police show up.It is taken to the morgue where it is examined.It comes back to life but Blade is there to try and stop it.It bites the examiner who Blade rescues and returns to his base of operations.Here we are intro'd to Whistler(Kris Kristofferson),who has been Blades mentor as well as supplying him with all the "tools" of the trade needed to kill the vampire population.Meanwhile the council of the Vampires has met and is upset with Frost(Stephen Dorf)whose operation it was who got busted by Blade.Frost is not a pure blood and has been reckless in his pursuits which have brought much unneeded attention on them and have risked a direct war with human kind.Frost goes one better and kills the head of the council and takes over operations.He has been reading up on vampire history and figures out a way to become an invulnerable vampire god.Frost raids Blades hide out and has Whistler bitten.Whistler asks Blade for a weapon to kill himself and Blade walks away,vowing revenge.Arriving at their headquarters Blade is overwhelmed and captured.They drain his blood for their use,create a circle of the vampire council and Frost stands in the middle.Frost is mutated and Blade,having finally escaped,arrives on the scene and its a battle to the death for them both.After the long struggle Frost finally goes down.
A fast moving romp that is enhanced(as all the films are)with fantastic S/Fx.We are introduced to Blade,his tools of "persuasion" and his raison d'etre.4 1/2 stars.
Blade 2 finds Blade in Eastern Europe searching for his old friend Whistler,who it seems did not die that fateful night but instead turned into a vampire.Blades assistant has been a young man called Scud(Norman Reedus)who has been coming up with some nifty high tech gadgetry for him.He tracks down Whistler to a vampire lair where they have been keeping him alive,barely,to torture him.It is not a friendly meeting between Scud and Whistler and the tension is further heightened as the Vampires call Blade to their main house.It seems there is a new type of mutated Vampire on the scene which is hunting and killing them.They ask Blade to assist their specially trained team to help hunt down this new menace.Blade reluctantly agrees while Whistler just doesn't trust them at all.One of the vampire group is the vampire leaders' daughter but the small group is slowly whittled down as the vampire mutants take their toll.There are only two left when the battle ends and a bloody secret is revealed;the vampire elder is the progenitor of the first mutated vampire.It seems he had been experimenting with new strains of blood and his son was the first failure.Well son eventually meets father and father comes out the loser,along with sister.Blade of course can't let ANY vampire loose,especially this new mutation,and he does him in with his usual aplomb.Blade takes the bitten sister,and soon to be mutant,out into the morning sunlight on request to die.
Blade 2 thankfully reunites Snipes and Kristofferson,as they have a great on screen chemistry.The action is as always intense and the S/FX are fantastic.I give it 4 stars.
Blade Trinity has Blade seen as an outlaw by the outside.In fact his base of operations is raided and Whistler becomes a permanent fatality as he blows up everything taking himself in the process.Stunned,Blade is arrested and taken into custody.Meanwhile the Vampires have tracked down and awakened their original progenitor and hope by doing so to improve their race and also to take care of Blade.Sitting in jail Blade is unexpectedly busted out by a couple of unknown vampire hunters.They take him to their compound where it is revealed that one girl is Whistlers own daughter.Blade isn't too sure of the whole thing at first but overtime they seem to gel quite well.One of them,Hannibal played by Ryan Reynolds,is a smart cracking son of a gun who more often than not gets himself into trouble very quickly.The group of youngsters has developed a virus which if injected into the original one will wipe out all the vampires.The group,headed by Blade of course,takes the fight to the vampire lair and in the end it is Blade against Dracula.While they are fighting Whistlers daughter delivers two arrows whose heads are filled with the vampire toxin;one hits and the other Blade himself delivers.It does its job and Dracula dies.
This film is shown in two differing versions/endings.However both films are not up to par with the previous ones as Snipes is obviously given less lines and screen time throughout.In fact this is the topic of a still pending law suit with Snipes against New Line Cinema.Probably to be settled when he is released from prison on 2013!Also there can be a kind of disappointment when a new gen comes in to take over things.As a result of these and other minor drawbacks I give the film 3 1/2 stars.
Technically speaking all three films are in their original widescreen a/r's of 2:35:1 and they look clear and crisp.Extras abound in this five disc set(too many to mention)and are more heavily seen on Blade two and three as they are both two disc sets.All three come in keep cases and sit tight in their respective holders.Blade Trinity comes with a Marvel mini-comic insert as a bonus feature.
All in all a highly recommended set of films as Wesley Snipes is at the top of his game in them.He is seen and heard less in the third film as the new crew are given more visible time,but he's there when it counts and when the vampires need a fresh can of whup-ass.

The movies speak for themselves. If you're looking to purchase the trilogy you've likely see them all already. The 1st and 3rd movies offer the most extras, each are quality versions, no sound or visual problems. Nicely presented, the box is heavy cardboard instead of the lightweight, foldable boxes often used in boxed sets.