Summary
- Overall, the Blade trilogy has aged well and remains an interesting entry in early modern superhero movies.
- Some elements of the films haven't aged as gracefully as others; most notably, some special effects sequences stand out as products of their times.
- It's unfortunate that the final Blade trilogy movie is easily the weakest, ending a strong and important franchise on a sour note.
Marvel’s movies of the MCU, Marvel Studios had a number of separately successful movies based on characters from the pages of their comics. 1998’s Blade began a popular trilogy that chronicled the struggles of the titular vampire hunter as he faced various bloodsucking monsters in his crusade to protect humanity. Though the movies rightfully remain beloved, not every aspect of them has aged well.
Sadly, as the superhero movie genre has moved on considerably since the late 1990s and early 2000s, there are elements of the Blade trilogy that now seem unimpressive or cliched. What’s more, with Marvel’s MCU Blade movie promising to bring the character into the modern era of superhero cinema, certain facts about the previous Blade movies become considerably clearer. Although the three-film arc certainly played an important role in introducing the vampire hunter to a wider audience and helping superhero movies enter the mainstream, the trilogy was hardly perfect. Here are 10 harsh realities of rewatching the Blade trilogy.
10 Over-Looked Positives Of Rewatching Blade: Trinity 20 Years Later
Blade: Trinity has an infamously bad reputation, but it has numerous great features that become more evident rewatching the movie years later.
10 The Blade Trilogy’s Most Iconic Moment Comes Way Too Early
The Trilogy Peaked At Its Very Beginning
When it comes to iconic or particularly impressive scenes in the Blade trilogy, few stand out as clearly as the first film’s blood rave. The scene sees a vampire lure an unwitting human to an underground rave in a meat-packing facility, only for Blade to enter and save his life. It’s an exceptionally well-presented piece of cinema, but it’s actually the first scene in the entire trilogy. The best-ed scene in the whole three-film saga being the very first isn’t ideal, but it’s all too evident upon rewatching the trilogy.
9 The Trilogy Has A Huge Villain Problem
The Blade Trilogy’s Antagonists Get Progressively Less Interesting
One of the biggest issues with the Blade trilogy is actually a common criticism of more modern superhero movies, too: it has a big problem with its villains. Deacon Frost, the villain of the first film, is a delightfully evil and self-assured antagonist. However, Blade II’s villain is much less memorable, and Blade: Trinity’s is perhaps the dullest character in the entire trilogy. In fact, each of the three movies boasts more interesting secondary villains, with Donal Logue, Ron Perlman, and Paul “Triple H” Levesque, respectively, stealing the show in each movie.
8 The Three Blade Movies Feature Some Unintentional Hilarity
Their Serious Moments Don’t Always Come Off As Planned
Though the Blade trilogy paints a dark and bleak picture of the hero’s crusade against an ever-swelling horde of vampires, it does feature a handful of funnier moments. Unfortunately, the trilogy’s more humorous scenes don’t appear to be intentional. Scenes such as Blade’s Deacon Frost coating himself in sunscreen to walk around in the day and Blade: Trinity’s bizarre assertion about the hero’s arousal regarding blood (complete with an unnecessary shot of Snipes’ crotch) stand out as strange and tonally dissonant, only serving to hurt the trilogy overall in spite of their bizarre hilarity.
Blade Trilogy: 10 Best Characters, Ranked By Power
There’s no shortage of powerful vampires, hunters, and even humans in the Blade trilogy, but some have proven that they’re mightier than the rest.
7 Blade: Trinity Was Ruined By Ryan Reynolds’ Charisma
Reynolds Outshone Snipes’ Stoic Hero
The Blade trilogy features many actors, but few of its ing characters are as memorable as Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity. Played by Ryan Reynolds, the levity that Hannibal brings to the film and the wider trilogy is much-needed, although it was actually subtly damaging for the three movies. Reynolds’ natural charm meant that he entirely eclipsed Snipes’ performance as the titular hero, effectively rendering the entire film somewhat lopsided. Ryan Reynolds’ undeniable screen presence was one of the film’s best features, but overall, it might have caused more problems than it solved.
6 The Trilogy Made No Serious Attempt At Being Comic Accurate
Deviation From The Source Material Both Helps & Hinders
Though it’s not explicitly negative, one of the harshest realities of the Blade trilogy is that the movies never made any earnest attempt to be accurate to the comics. This has its benefits, as the character of Whistler was an entirely new creation for the movies, offering a mentor figure to Wesley Snipes’ Blade. However, in its creation of new characters and amalgamations of others, the Blade trilogy isn’t as true to the character’s initial roots as intended. Though the trilogy came to define the character’s future, the deviation from the source material occasionally leaves its narratives feeling somewhat directionless.
5 The Blade Movies Look Incredibly Dated Through Modern Eyes
Visual Effects Have Come A Long Way Since The Trilogy
Considering the Blade trilogy is over 20 years old, it has aged remarkably well in many ways. Its visuals are not one of them, however, as its use of CGI has significantly dated the movies. The first film, in particular, makes extensive use of computer-generated effects, and though they were able at the time, they look pretty awful upon a modern rewatch. It’s a shame, as these poorly-aged visual effects are one of the few elements that break the film’s immersion, with most other aspects holding up far better by comparison.
4 Superhero Violence Has Only Gotten Worse Since The Blade Trilogy
Blade’s Impressive Action Proves A Common Superhero Genre Criticism
Though the impressively choreographed action sequences of the Blade trilogy remain a clear high point, they also highlight an unpleasant truth about modern superhero movies. The level of violence on display in the trilogy only serves to underline how much tamer the superhero genre has grown and that, in many cases, this should be considered a missed opportunity. Some superhero stories – such as Blade’s – deserve to feature a much darker and more brutal style of action, but that’s something that the genre has all but lost in the years since the Blade trilogy’s conclusion.
3 Whistler’s Arc Made No Sense
The Trilogy Didn’t Know What To Do With Its Best Original Character
Kris Kristofferson’s Whistler was one of the Blade trilogy’s best innovations. His role as Blade’s mentor in the first movie is perfect and offers an appropriate level of context to his ability to keep up the fight against the vampires. Upon rewatching the trilogy, however, it’s clear that Whistler’s character didn’t entirely fit, as his arc was nonsensical. After a noble death in the first movie, Whistler is retroactively brought back, despite the fact that the explanation contradicts his character. Then Blade: Trinity kills him again, in a much less ceremonious fashion, marking the trilogy’s most ridiculous character arc.
2 Blade Deserves More Recognition As A Pioneer Of Superhero Cinema
The Blade Trilogy’s Groundbreaking Nature Is Often Forgotten
Over the years since its release, the trilogy’s place in the history of superhero cinema has become greatly overlooked. When rewatching the Blade movies, it’s clear just how influential they were on the genre as a whole, making comic book adaptations seem incredibly cool, modern, and violent. With a firm handle on its unique sense of style, the Blade trilogy helped to mold the superhero movies that followed and undoubtedly will still influence Marvel’s movies as well. The trilogy’s pioneering role in the genre is easily overlooked, but rewatching the three films makes it clear once again.
1 The Blade Trilogy Ended On The Worst Possible Note
Blade: Trinity Was A Disappointing Final Chapter
The final film in the trilogy, Blade: Trinity, is widely considered the worst. Where the first film offered a stylish introduction to Blade’s world and the second expanded upon it with a horror-fuelled action spectacle, Trinity fell decidedly short of the mark. It’s perhaps the most unfortunate truth of the trilogy that its final installation was its greatest disappointment, and it meant that the arc ended on a particularly sour note. It’s an unfortunately harsh reality, but the final chapter of the Blade trilogy was by far its worst, offering an underwhelming ending to the relatively short-lived franchise.
