Blade: Trinity

If gothic novels, movies, supernatural TV series, and annoying young-adult paranormal romances have taught us anything, it’s that we are never going to be rid of vampires. More than that, we will never be rid of the original vampire, Dracula. As Buffy so eloquently said, “don’t you think I watch your movies? You always come back!” Indeed he does and in this review he has come back to plague Blade. 

As Blade’s war on bloodsuckers enters the public’s eye, social media as well as the police target him as a vigilante to be brought down. However, the moment Blade is taken into custody, he’s busted out by a group of vampire hunters he never knew existed called The Nightstalkers. Teaming up with them, Blade prepares for a final showdown against the ultimate vamp: Dracula. 

I guess when you’re dealing with a franchise about vampires, it’s bloody tempting to just throw good ‘ol Drac into the mix and let the mayhem loose. And whilst I personally think this is a demonstration of a bit of lazy writing and lack of originality, I cannot say that Blade: Trinity is a bad movie. Actually, I enjoyed it the most out of the entire trilogy and in truth it’s thanks to the writers and their introduction of new characters with back-stories. 

Undeniably, the Blade movies are a spectacle in their kick-arse action sequences and original protagonist, however something that made the first two a little hard to really get into was their lack of interesting characters. The vamps were vamps, cool and all, and then there was Whistler who was a great character. But until Trinity, it didn’t really feel as though there was any character chemistry or reacting agent in any of the other films that gave them spice. With the character of Whilster’s daughter, Abigail (Jessica Biel) and Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds) it feels like there is much more going on in this movie and a level of character depth and chemistry that just makes it all better. Biel provides us with a nice complex character that we get to the delicious task of figuring out and Reynolds is the hilarious and hot headed comic relief working like salt to make everything taste so much better. He’s got a pretty interesting history too, which you’ll have to watch the film to discover. I feel that there was more character chemistry happening here, which just made the movie so much more enjoyable as you’re inclined to root for these guys rather than just watch them do cool shit. 

So there you go; good characterization makes all the difference. 

The performances are solid and the action sequences are as cool to watch as ever before. Story-wise I guess it leaves a bit to be desired, but when you’re invested in the characters, writers can get away with being a little lazy. 

Marvel has come a long way since Blade, but these movies still deliver the expected thrills and movie experience, so you can’t begrudge them much. And, watching them after the contemporary surge of superhero classics, you can see the fundamental tricks and tropes, which guarantees the Marvel experience. 

Starring: Wesley Snipes, Jessica Biel, Ryan Reynolds, Parker Posey, Mark Berry, Dominic Purcell, Paul Levesque, Paul Anthony, Francoise Yip, Michael Anthony Rawlins, Callum Keith Rennie, John Michael Higgins James Remar, Natasha Lyonne, and Kris Kristofferson 

Rated: MA