at The WB
In 2004, the third and supposedly the last Blade film, BLADE: TRINITY, was released to poor reviews and mediocre box office. While I was one of the few Blade fans that enjoyed BLADE: TRINITY, I can see why it was disliked. I thought it was brought Blade's story to a satisfying conclusion. There was little doubt in my mind that the franchise was really coming to an end. I knew a continuation was just around the corner. To my surprise, it was decided that the story wouldn't continue on the big screen, but on the small screen.Debuting as a summer series, BLADE is better than one would expect from a television show premiering at such a time. It has a decent story, occasionally cheesy but enjoyable one-liners, and as a major plus, action scenes that aren't over-edited. However, what it doesn't have are the two qualities that made the film trilogy special: a dynamite lead and a strong atmosphere and visual style. Blade is played by rapper Sticky Fingaz, a decision that angered lots of fans. Fingaz isn't terrible as far as rappers turned actors go yet his performance as Blade is hardly praise worthy. He's trying to impersonate Wesley Snipes and not make Blade his own. For his performance as well as the show to work, he must find a way to make his portrayal of Blade unique. Also for the show to work, there needs to be stronger talent behind the camera. Direcor Peter O'Fallon does a reasonably good job for a television show, but what made the Blade trilogy stand out were directors with their own style, directors that created moody atmosphere to go along with the mayhem. Improvement must be made.Overall, although it doesn't measure up to the trilogy in any aspect, this pilot movie for Blade is at least watchable which is a lot more than I can say about most television spin-offs from features. Given time, the show may grow into its own. 6/10
You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.
