Yup: Blade 2 rocks! :)

[JonathanLB]

Definitely better than the first one. It was really awesome. The action is far superior, but I guess that is to be expected. I still think the first scene in Blade, the first one, is a total classic though, and the fact that it is the first movie and I hadn't seen anything like that before of course adds to its appeal. Now, we all know what Blade looks like, how much @$$ he kicks, hehe, etc, but we get a lot of new tricks and weapons and stuff in the second and it's got a good plot too. A few great lines, not a lot of dialogue really anyway, hehe, nor does it need it, but it's still awesome.

I said it about six times and I'll say it again -- Gayish Panda at Box Office Guru is an idiot.

I got my tickets on Fandago for the 10:25 showing and got there at 10:05 with my friends. We were stuck in the SECOND ROW because it was entirely full, and not even the center of the second row, that was already occupied. Geez, I swear, everyone knows that you have to get to a movie like that about an hour early if you want a good seat. I thought 10 would be pretty good and we were slightly later than that, but even so it would not have mattered. Those people had been there for a long time.

There were some absolutely classic lines in the movie, hehe, had the audience laughing for a long time after. It's not a comedy obviously but any good movie should have some hilarious lines, and it does. Loud applause followed the end credits and it was a sold out showing.

Evergreen is a very good indicator of the nationwide interest in any film I have ever seen. It's just one of those universal truths. At most big theaters, simply that one sample of how full a movie is indicates the entire interest across all of North America. Amazing? Not really. People are people, doesn't matter where they are, and if it's full at Evergreen, it's full at all major theaters. What you cannot necessarily tell is how well it does in smaller towns and smaller theaters, but it's safe to say it will kill Resident Evil's opening from last weekend I think. I would say it makes more than $25 million, but we will see.

One of my friends had already seen it in the morning, so this was his second viewing. He has a real Blade sword type of thing, I guess he got it from a prop place or something, but it's, uh, real. Hehe. Dangerous :)

Everyone seemed very positive about the film. I will admit people were not clapping at the end of Resident Evil, even though I thought it rocked and so did most people I know who saw it, plus it has a fairly high rating on IMDB (+1 to any film and you come a bit closer to what it really is because no movie gets a 10.0 and there are clearly many many films that are 10's). Still, for Blade 2, people obviously loved it.

An unbelieveably cool movie. I would not be that surprised with a Blade 3.

[JonathanLB]

Want to know how to alienate most of your entire readership (as if this guy hasn't probably already done this!)?

A sentence like this: "Blade II is for those undiscriminating moviegoers who want nothing more from a trip to the multiplex than loud, raucous, mindless entertainment." Now here is a movie that is averaging a B+ rating from CinemaScore, so that means most everyone is loving the movie (I rarely give a B+ rating; that's 3.5 stars out of 4), and this critic just called me, and everyone else who liked it, "undiscriminating moviegoers" and said the film I thought was great was actually "mindless." How are you supposed to like a critic like that?

I don't understand how a grown person can be so ignorant. If you are going to write something that everyone else reads, you need to attack the subject of your review, NOT the people. You are not going to get anywhere by saying the director looks funny and he's an idiot because his favorite restaurant is Wendy's (that is not true, btw, hehe). You need to point out what about what he did was wrong, not attack the person. In just the same fashion, you attack THE FILM, not the people who liked the film!

I have never made reference in my reviews to people who disliked or liked the film. I have said things like, "so and so appeals more to people who enjoy sci-fi/action movies," or "For people who like (so and so movies), (so and so movie) is definitely not to be missed!" or something like that. It's appropriate to advise your readers what types of moviegoers might like the film the most, but you don't simply end your review with, "Anyone who likes this movie is just an idiot who has no taste in film," especially when you know said film appeals to just about everyone who sees it!

I hated In the Bedroom, but I would never say that people who liked it have something wrong with them or that they are wrong. It's just all about what people feel about their experience at the film, so you cannot insult them by demeaning their feelings about a movie. That is how critics alienate moviegoers, not through their opinions.

If I read a critic who always disagrees with what I say, I will still have respect for that critic if he can explain very well what it is that he did not like and if he can do it in a manner that doesn't offend me or attempt to insult me. However, most critics pull their "houlier than thou" attitude and it's impossible to feel anything but animosity towards all critics when you read lines like that one above!

Even if I hated Blade 2, I would still think that line is out of place, just as I hated Gosford Park but would never include anything like that in a review. I may even go so far as saying, "Gosford Park is for moviegoers who are looking for almost a totally dialogue driven movie where the director shows the audience the mixing between classes, but unfortunately..." and then I'd go on to say how it fails, IMO, at entertaining even the audience at which it is directed. Or, as many people say, Altman's style is simply so blatantly uncommercial that he guarantees himself box office failure every time because what he makes is just shlock, lol.

Ugg, dumb critics.

Nice to see that Blade 2 did well at CinemaScore, though. Nothing wrong with a B+, that's for sure, and a solid A in my demographic, under 21 guys. It's tough to get a B+ for a film like that when it is pretty much aimed at just guys anyway and I'm actually very surprised guys over 35 gave it a B+, haha, that rocks.

The average among males has to be an A- I would think. I gave it an A, four stars. :)

[sirdizzy]

Movie Review: Blade II (2002)
Action/Adventure and Suspense/Horror
R for strong pervasive violence, language, some drug use and sexual content.
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Tcheky Karyo, Daz Crawford, Luke Goss
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

The sequel to the Marvel comic book that made it to the big screen in 1998. Wesley Snipes plays Blade a vampire who is half human as well. His human heritage allows him an advantage over the normal vampire, as he is immune to many of things that are deadly to them such as sunlight, garlic and silver. He now hunts vampires to avenge himself of his birth while taking solution that stops his lust for blood. But the vampire nation has now proposed a truces enemy now as there is an even more deadly enemy now, this new evil not only feeds on humans but vampires as well. Teamed up with his partner Whistler who has miraculously come back from the dead of the first movie they team up with a group of vampires to try and kill the new evil.

This movie was an adrenalin, action packed thrill ride from beginning to end. If you liked the first movie you will absolutely love the sequel as it outdoes the first one easily. The movie has revamped everything including most of the fight scenes using a lot of stop and slow motion revolutionized by The Matrix, which came out after the first Blade. The movie has everything even a little romance. The one lacking quality to the movie is Hollywood’s refusal to leave a character dead after they have killed them off. Whistler should have remained dead instead of the cockamied way they brought him back. The movie is a violent, martial arts, bloodbath, action packed movie. Wesley Snipes once again does an excellent job as the day walker as his cockiness and attitude fit the character perfectly. A warning for people who do not like excessive violence this is not a movie for you. A must see
4 stars out of 5

[ReaperFett]

movie has revamped everything including most of the fight scenes using a lot of stop and slow motion revolutionized by The Matrix, which came out after the first Blade
AND WHICH ONE HAD BULLET DODGING FIRST??? :)




Hey Jon, quick question. Is there much nudity? Need to know because if I went Id be going with my dad :)

[JonathanLB]

There is no nudity whatsoever in the entire film...

Although I was hoping! That frickin' girl is hot. She is just like Rain in Resident Evil (Michelle R.), not the stunningly beautiful, feminine type like Milla Jovovich you know, but like that DANG I want to bang her type of hot, haha. ;)

Milla is so hot in RE though, my god, if the movie sucked I'd still buy the DVD for her. haha

[ReaperFett]

Ahhhh, okay, ta :)

[sirdizzy]

yea but it was the matrix that took it to the next level and now every damn action movie has it in it


i was dissapointed somewhat by a few of the fight scenes because i could see when the switched to CGI

the movie still rocked though

[Sanis Prent]

The Matrix is nothing.

Nothing nothing nothing.

It has hype, soundtrack, and Keanu freakin Reeves.

Its concept isn't new, and quite frankly, Dark City did what they tried to do 300% better.

[ReaperFett]

Preach it Sanis :)

[JMK]

I just saw Blade 2 today, and have never been more disappointed in a movie as far as story/plot goes. Sure the action is terrific, but the "plot twists" were laughable, and so was the plot itself. It could have been SO much better. Now all they have to do is take the originality of Blade, and combine it with the action of Blade 2 and then you're talking!

[JonathanLB]

Whatever! The plot definitely served the action, which is all it was really supposed to do, and I thought it worked great. It was a good plot, complete with a faster, stronger enemy, betrayals, plot twists, etc.

[foxdvd]

Blade 2 was a bit silly, but the action was amazing. I just loved it for what it was....and my GOD was that a cool end-fight or what! LOL....it had a bit of everything in it..... I liked it more then the first, because while the first had style, its martial arts left a lot to be desired.

Blade 2 holds up with any action movie on the market.

[JMK]

Exactly, let's not get crazy here. Let's not kid ourselves here. Blade 2 is a good ACTION movie, and that's it. Period. It's entertaining for sure, which is what a movie is supposed to do, but there's too much silliness to it to be taken that seriously. :rolleyes

[JonathanLB]

I do not take it seriously in the sense that it certainly is not an intellectual movie and it doesn't encourage some type of social debate, haha, of course not.

But I take it very seriously as a contender for one of the top slots of 2002. I have seen 31 movies this year that were released in 2002 (overall I've seen 44 showings of movies). 33 movies have been released nationally this year. I actually missed 3, but the number is off only 2 because I saw Van Wilder and that is not officially out yet. Of those 31 movies, Blade 2 is the second best so far. I gave now given 3 four star ratings. The Count of Monte Cristo is the best film of the year easily (seen it 3 times), then there is Blade 2 (seen it 3 times), and now The Rookie just took third place. It was not as good as Remember the Titans and I cannot compare it to the experience of Blade 2, but I love the movie too. It's quite good.

So if you mean "take it seriously" in the way that I take Star Wars seriously, then of course not, you cannot take Blade 2 seriously because it's not meant to be taken seriously. But if you mean that I cannot take it seriously as a great movie, which is what it is, then I think you are wrong.

I don't take Road Trip seriously whatsoever, yet I still think it's one of the greatest comedies ever made (and I've seen it 8 times since July of 2001).

"because while the first had style, its martial arts left a lot to be desired."

Yes, I agree with that. I think the action sequence at the start was absolutely awesome, though. Yeah it wasn't very long, but it was totally sweet. The action in the first movie was definitely good, but it doesn't compare favorably with Hong Kong cinema, whereas Blade 2 actually does. I mean obviously it's no Tai-Chi Master or Once Upon A Time in China, lol, but it's certainly high quality action and martial arts and sword fighting at least.

I've not so far heard of anyone who didn't like Blade 2, or not in real life anyway. I even overheard people in Van Wilder joking, "Wow this is going to be the best movie ever *sarcastic tone*," "Wait, no it can't be, nothing can be better than Blade 2 can it?" Haha, that movie rocks. My sister saw it with me Thursday night (she begged me to go yet again) and then she went back Friday to see it again. She loved the first film, but the second is just exactly what a good sequel is meant to be: faster, more intense, better action, more guts and gore, etc.

That's basically what they always try to do with sequels and to be honest, it's rare that a sequel is not superior to the original in effects and action. Although sequels are not always better, in fact they are worse much of the time, I can think of so many examples where the sequel is basically the original plus 50%.

That old saying that sequels are almost ALWAYS worse than their originals is really getting like two decades old and sounds silly. I cannot imagine an educated film fan saying that.

Aliens is just about as good as Alien, and in fact most people besides me would probably say it is better (I have a Ridley Scott bias, hehe).

ESB is said to be better than ANH.

Rush Hour 2 is way way funnier than Rush Hour. American Pie 2 is way funnier than American Pie, which I loved. Operation Condor sucked, but Operation Condor 2: Armour of the Gods was definitely a good film.

Blade 2 is better than Blade. Once Upon A Time in China 2 is better than the first one also, I think. Way more action, plot is just as good, production values seem a bit higher.

I think Beverly Hills Cop 2 is better than the first one too. Superman 2 is almost surely better than Superman 1, even though they are both just totally awesome.

Toy Story 2 was almost univerally called better than Toy Story, and I agree. Star Trek 2 is better than Star Trek 1.

I don't think Die Hard 2 is better than Die Hard, but it is more gory and it does have a nice plot twist, and probably has more action. Overall I think I would give Die Hard 4 stars and both sequels 3.5 stars.

I actually find it more difficult to think of examples where the sequel is worse than the original, or at least recently. I think Austin Powers 2 is WAY better than the first. I literally hated the first one and thought it was probably the worst comedy I have ever seen. The word comedy implies funny. The first film didn't get me to laugh one time and I really am easy to make laugh, even during that wretched film 40 Days and 40 Nights, and even during Sorority Boys, yet both films I gave horrid reviews to, so AP really blew chunks. The second was vastly improved and a lot funnier, although Liz Hurley, hmm, I'm thinking I like her better than Heather Graham after re-watching Bedazzled yesterday :)

I think more often you will find the 3rd film in a series is actually the only really bad one, but even that doesn't often hold true. I thought Alien 3 was excellent (lesser of the trilogy, though, and better by far than the 4th), Beverly Hills Cop 3 is my favorite, ROTJ is my second favorite of the OT, Die Hard With a Vengeance is still very good. Only Superman 3 really comes to mind and I haven't seen it since I was 7, so that is just what I hear, that the third film sucks (and the plot I read sounded pretty silly, but I'll have to rewatch it because I do own it on DVD now).

The best examples of lousy sequels are any one that goes straight to video. I'm guessing Cruel Intentions 2 really sucks, then Return to Neverland SHOULD have been straight to video, plus there are a lot of idiotic Disney movies that did go straight to video.

I really think without Disney's kid film division, the world would be a better place. I hate that company with a passion. They waste so much of my time with their stupid, moronic films while DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox are busy making films that both kids and adults can enjoy.

I think any filmmaker who ever makes a film directed only at kids is a lousy director. LOUSY. They should instantly qualify for one of the worst of all time. The best kid films ever made are high quality movies that adults love, like Star Wars, Toy Story, Shrek, and even Ice Age at least was a film that I could enjoy and didn't pander to its audience.

It should be a crime to make a film as stupid as Country Bears, that horrid looking Disney film that previewed before The Rookie. What a stupid trailer. I think whoever made that film should be put to death. Which is a greater crime against humanity as a whole, committing murder (for which some people get the death penalty), which only sucks badly for one person and their immediately family and friends, or making a film so godawful that it actually makes several million people stupider for having seen it in addition to wasting MILLIONS of man hours? I think the choice is clear. ;)

Whoever made Big Fat Liar should be beat with a baseball bat, that movie sucked too. Who told that retard he could direct a film? I've seen better directing from traffic cops!

[foxdvd]

Operation Condor sucked, but Operation Condor 2: Armour of the Gods

LOL....actually Armour of the Gods is the first movie....they just brought out the second first in America, and then called the first one part 2...



I agree with Jon on Blade 2 though. I am not going to say anyone in that movie deserves an Oscar, other then the editor, but that is not the point. It is a silly movie. Some of the CGI had people laughing in the audience. Still, for the overall entertainment value it is a 4 star movie. Now is it an all time great movie because I gave it a 4 star rating? No, I base that rating on movies similar to it. Compared to the great explosion of Arnold action movies of the 80’s and 90’s, Blade 2 simply is more enjoyable then anything the “Big Man” did outside his work with James Cameron.

So while I can say Memento is a better movie, for pure enjoyment I would pick Blade 2. Like Quentin Tarantino says on the Iron Monkey dvd….American audiences have gotten to serious with their movies. They expect a certain formula and when a movie moves outside that they will not watch it. Hong Kong movies for years have had brilliant action, and just down-right corny humor…..sometimes within the actual action. Audiences in Hong Kong expect it all. Action, humor, romance and Tragedy…..sometimes within a 5 minute period. (I will never forget one old cheap Hong Kong movie that started with a fight, during that good fight one person pulled out food and started fighting with it, very funny stuff, and after it was over he grabs his girl who he was defending and gave her a passionate kiss…only to have her killed in his arms at that moment. This all happened in like 5 minutes)

[JMK]

That fight scene in front of the lights with Nyssa and that other guy would have had me rolling in the aisles if I were sitting in the aisle seat. Instead I was just laughing. Some of the CG was atrocious! That was one of the things that ruined it for me. On one hand, that crazy Reaper mouth was done SO well, and then they go to that crap CG.

I pray that we don't see trashy CG like that in AotC, especially when Yoda fights!

[ReaperFett]

Seen it, loved it. Funny action packed, and a story that kept it going.

My one gripe was the fights were TOO fast. Added to the camera angles, and a lot of the time you couldnt be 100% what was going on

[JonathanLB]

Yeah the fights were so fast, was it just me or did I see John Woo actually fighting with Blade in one scene?!?

Wait... nevermind. :)

"LOL....actually Armour of the Gods is the first movie....they just brought out the second first in America, and then called the first one part 2..."

I know that, hehe, I'm just talking about the American names/versions of these films. The 2nd one WAS made first, but I felt it was the better film. So yeah, ok I mean the FIRST film made was better, but the American one saying OC2 is better, to me at least.

I like that song that is at the end of the film, the one Chan sings, hehe, that rocks. He is good actually :)

I did not think the CG was bad at all, I thought it was quite good throughout. Yeah, you could tell it was CG in the scene in front of the lights, but NO DUH! You cannot move that fast as a human so of course it's gotta be CG. It's just a great scene, and they use CG only once there at the end of the scene, then switch immediately back to real action as Blade holds his sword to her...

Anyway, http://www.jlbmovies.com/Blade2.shtml

Yup. :)

I agree with Fox, though, that is my definition of a four star movie in one sense.

There are two four star movies. There is "four stars because the film displays qualities of excellence and provides both high quality entertainment and is inspirational, thoughtful, or motivational in some way" and then there is "a film that displays the best qualities of its particular genre and exceeds the quality of other similar films."

Blade 2 is the latter. It's not as good as Memento, no, and it's on the lower side of a four star scale compared to such films, but it is purely enjoyable entertainment at the highest level without reservations. I didn't feel like it was "good but could have been better," I was just engaged in the movie and having fun.

Saw it 3 times so far, but don't expect to see it again until the DVD... Too many other films to see. I just saw it 3 times mostly because my sister wanted me to go with her one time and the other time was with my best friend (he didn't get to go opening day) and we had always talked about seeing it together, so... There was 3.

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
Definitely better than the first one. It was really awesome. The action is far superior, but I guess that is to be expected. I still think the first scene in Blade, the first one, is a total classic though, and the fact that it is the first movie and I hadn't seen anything like that before of course adds to its appeal. Now, we all know what Blade looks like, how much @$$ he kicks, hehe, etc, but we get a lot of new tricks and weapons and stuff in the second and it's got a good plot too. A few great lines, not a lot of dialogue really anyway, hehe, nor does it need it, but it's still awesome.

I thought Blade 2 was a general action movie, with nothing special. The first one was a very stylish movie, with a great soundtrack. Blade 2 missed everything that made Blade so cool. And how many computer explosions does one really want to see? It was going over board with that.

The movies don't appeal to me, story-wise, but I liked the first one anyway. The 2nd was just boring and couldn't match its predecessor by a long shot.

[JMK]

Finally, someone that agrees! That movie was bad news.

[B-LoVeD AssAsSiN]

What!? Blade2 was -DO-NOT-SWEAR--DO-NOT-SWEAR--DO-NOT-SWEAR--DO-NOT-SWEAR-. It's plot is lame and full of holes and the "twists" are damn retarded. It seems like a 1980's movie to me. Blade 1 seemed more "modern". Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that most of the time was spent sloshing around sewers.

[cheeky]

After stumbling across these forums albeit a while since the film was released, i have to say that this a poor follow up.
Nowhere near as good as the first film.
Why?
Well the damn cartoon-like action part in front of the spotlights was nothing short of a farce, the storyline was thin to say the least(ok i know its an action film but, c'mon) and when i saw whistler back from the dead i almost choked on my popcorn.
This film is nothing more than a poor CASH-IN based on the popularity of the first film.
How many times does a great opening movie need to be spoiled by a poor sequel????

[JonathanLB]

That happens sometimes, but not in this case. Most people who saw Blade 2 loved it. In fact, almost everyone I know thinks it is better than the original and that's a tall order because the first one ruled.

Blade 2 was an excellent sequel, one of the best in a long time. It's a fantastic film. The action is awesome, the story is good actually, quite a strong premise, and I thought they did a marvelous job with it.

I love both Blade and Blade 2.

[JMK]

Well, to contrast, almost everyone I know absolutely despised Blade 2 and thought everything about it stank to high heaven. And going by popular opinion here, it isn't hard to figure out what people really think of it. Cheeky's right, it was nothing more than a cash-in to a successful and good original.

[ReaperFett]

I hate when people say something is a cash in. You insult a lot of people.

[JMK]

Yeah, well studios insult alot of people by putting out crap like that.

[ReaperFett]

Just because you didnt like it.

[JMK]

Apparently I'm not the only one here who despised it...