The first Blade film has it's good moments but I wish that they had made the vampire nation scarier by adding more dark basements and such. And also had made the decision to ditch that damn coat that Blade's wearing.
Buffy was in full swing at the time, it's a product of it's time. You can have my big black leather coat when you take it from my cold, dead shoulers. :)
If you look at Blade from a symbolic perspective, it is arguably the most realistic super hero movie until The Dark Knight. The different castes of crime represented by the Vampires is both phenomenal and memorizing to the point where you cannot unsee what have been seen. The sequals were too sci-fi for me, but the nitty gritty portrayal of the first movie makes just about every comic book movie proceeding Blade look like a child hood venture.
Yes but I wish that the Blade films would contain far more dark areas like in house of erebus boardroom and whe Gaetano is walking through the archive.
I think it had to with the composition of the shot... Blades dark clothing and figure contrasts so much against the red blood... and he remains clean throughout the entire scene... that coupled with the scared whispers of the vampires show that he is not someone to be fucked with.
I admittedly have a soft spot for early CGI. It has a charm for me akin to early stop motion animation. I guess I appreciate how back in the 1990s it was a tool in the filmmaker's box rather than THE tool.
+M.A. Moreno The 90's in general were a time when digital and analog were used to their maximum effect. Even in cars there was just enough electronics to make them reliable and efficient but not too hard for someone to service at home. Maybe in the nest decade or two movies will find the optimum amount of cgi effects when audiences get tired of it and when studios realize that spending a quarter billion dollars on one movie, mostly for cgi, isn't the smartest thing to do.
That's true you have to appreciate it to a degree. It was just like Star Wars which was also a hit or miss movie . I remember seeing certain spots in Star Wars well I felt it could have been done better but like blade both movies were a triumph.
Man I love 90s Wesley Snipes, and I feel as if quite a few people forget how good he really was. Not just at the physical acting, which he's one of the better Western actors in this respect, but his actual dramatic ability to sell a scene and character. I just IMDB'd him and he was in some great 90s movies - Passanger 57, White Men Cant Jump, US Marshals, and Murder at 1600. There are also the stories that he was faster than film was able to pick up and he had to slow down to shoot fight scenes, which is impressive for a Western actor.
+Brian Kale Agreed, it's extremely rare to see a serious dramatic actor who's talented in martial arts. He doesn't get the recognition, but Wesley's in a class by himself
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Brian Kale just watched White Men Cant Jump again that shit was brilliant
I remember watching a video of him accepting a Black Belt award (7x I think) and he honored the award by doing a flying roundhouse kick in full dress attire and sent his shoe flying off to the heavens. so yeah, maybe not "faster than film", that's Bruce Lee, but he is certainly highly skilled.
@DriftZ TwoSeven What are you saying? He was born and raised in the United States, thus making him a Western person. Oh and a huge parte of Africa continent it's located in the Western Hemisphere.
@DriftZ TwoSeven jfc he did not grow up in nor was he born in an african country, he grew up in the US. he is not an actor from africa. your thinly veiled prejudice is disgusting lol
Its not though. Good movie dont get me wrong but saying ‘best marvel comic film’ is stretching way too much considering it goes against so much of the actual comic lore for Blade 🤷🏻♂️
a cursory glance at user and critic ratings would back me up, Blade 2 was just very forgetful and the supporting cast was awful. If you think its the best then I guess that's fine but I watched it 4-5 times and there really wasn't a scene that stuck out to me and in the first it started with one of (if not THE) best scenes in the trilogy with the bloodbath rave with a perfect soundtrack followed by one of the best character intros and opening fight and chase scene. Admittedly its been awhile since ive seen it and may have to give it a rewatch but all I remember was god awful cgi in fight scenes and them fighting in sewers with very little character development. It just reeked of a studio rushing to cash in on the success of the original and not really giving it more time to develop
Blade II was an excellent sequel and most people consider it better than the first, but I disagree. I think this would have been an incredible trilogy if Norrington directed all three films. Sort of a mini Dark Knight trilogy. The original film was groundbreaking with its visuals and dark atmosphere for a 'comic' themed film. Fantastic direction, writing, score, and acting. Deacon Frost is one of the best on screen villains of all time in my opinion.
Deacon Frost was very menacing but I would have liked more scenes of him attacking the humans. Most of the time we see him he's beefing with the other vampires running his mouth, not out biting humans. Given he's supposed to be the antagonist it would have been nice to seen footage of him and his Edgewood Towers gang just laying waste to unsuspecting humans left and right and show Blade fail to arrive in time to save them. A perfect opportunity I saw for this was the scene where he tossed the girl into the street after taunting Blade. If he had bit her neck before throwing her that would have put Blade in a weird spot of whether to save her and take her back to his hideout or kill her despite her being a child. That would have really made Frost appear more threatening in practice as opposed to just issuing verbal threats and being rude to Dragonetti.
I'll agree the first Blade has a low budget craft style makes it more realistic, then Blade 2;as well he was going to fight Micheal Morbius,but got changed. And I do wish they would've took their time with Blade: Trinity, I feel it was rush; in the first issue Nightstalkers he was captured in a crazy house, but was rescued by Dr. Strange; Hannibal King was part of the Nightstalkers, but not Whistler's daughter it was Dracula's descendent Drake. If they would've put this on the big screen then before the Marvel Universe was big, I believe it would've been open doors along time ago.😉
my only flaw with it was the blood pack, found them very unnecessary and wasn’t really interesting but blade 2 was a great movie, blade trinity was garbage but i will always prefer the first blade which is a masterpiece
This one was really a thing back then. Remember seeing it in a packed theatre. The opening at the club dropped everybody´s jaw. Miss those times when mainstream movies dared to be gritty and relentless.
You're right, Blade was the shit in 1998, and everybody was hyped for it. Oliver has no idea what he's talking about in his review, he wasn't even old enough to watch it, his mum wouldn't have allowed it! Yet he trashes Blade and its special effects, like they're supposed to be a James Cameron movie or something. GTFOH with that bullshit.
Yes! Finally someone that agrees on Blade comming first and breathing new life on comic book movies single-handedly. It has to be one of the few comic book movies that, back in the day, not only treated its source material with utmost respect but also made it much more interesting with a rather serious tone, effectively bettering it. Believe it or not I rather watch the two first Blade movies over X-Men every day of the week, Wesley is a joy to watch! Still waiting for Fox to grow some balls and give us the much needed R-rated Wolverine movie, with a different actor to booth! Awesome review!
Not only have I been looking for a film retrospective channel like this. I've been looking for someone to show my favorite Marvel film since I was it as a kid some much deserved kudos. That begging clearly took some effort. You've gained a subscriber for life. lol
Blade 2 was the best imo. I loved that Shit. I bought it on Bluray. The Typical Superhero movie sequel that fully realizes itself and characters. That Intro was sick. Blade is so fuckin cool! Lol Blade 1/2 made him my favorite superhero.
+Willie Robinson He's not a superhero, he's an anti hero he kills and he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Superheroes are pussy boy scouts that have unrealistically high morals that preach things like 'don't kill' whilst they constantly let their enemies live therefore causing multiple acts of genocide. Superheroes are dumb, but anti heroes like Blade are cool as fuck.
+David Curry I would have to disagree with you about the fight scenes in Blade 2 being better than Blade 1. In 1 the fight scenes looked way more hard hitting and full of energy find me being a martial artist myself I could see how Wesley Snipes utilize a lot of fighting styles. Now Blade 2 was still cool but half the fighting was CGI which gave it's a better comic book look but I cannot make up for someone physically.
+David Curry I would have to disagree with you about the fight scenes in Blade 2 being better than Blade 1. In 1 the fight scenes looked way more hard hitting and full of energy find me being a martial artist myself I could see how Wesley Snipes utilize a lot of fighting styles. Now Blade 2 was still cool but half the fighting was CGI which gave it's a better comic book look but I cannot make up for someone physically.
I remember I was still in school when a friend of mine got Blade and Starship Troopers on VHS, we watched those movies a whole day and it was glorious :D
My uncle bought those exact two movies for us one summer when my cousins and I were staying at his place and we watched them every single day for two weeks.
If only Blade Trinity wasn't such a disaster, maybe we would have got to see a Blade 4. Great reviews btw just discovered your channel and I' m really hooked.
As an FYI It is Sanaa Lathan who plays as Blades mother. Just thought I mentioned it since you listed an unknown model turned actress playing as Frosts girlfriend, but not mention a well known actress as Blades mother.
Viewtiful Joe I have some minor issues with them, even when they were released however i let most of them go until x3 lol mostly because it was the best you could showcase them and what they could do at the time while looking mostly realistic.
t ru I really gave them a chance and it is cool to see the characters on the big screen. I think what bothered me was that they added too many characters that did not have any backstory and the whole thing with the second I hated was that freak in a wheel chair that had his brain juice that could control people as well as that anti- mutant "mutant" power of that kid.
I remember going to see this movie with my brothers because Saving Private Ryan was sold out. the biggest cheer in the movie was one blade gets his shades back everyone ,including me was like "YEAH!"
Just re-watched this a little while ago. Still holds up and the intro is one of the coolest, most memorable in any movie, not just comic book movie for me.
I don't mind the CGI being not perfect in the first movie because everything else is just extreme top level quality. You're right about the music, the action scenes and most actors did a perfect job. There is no way to not love this movie. One of my favourite scenes is where Blade takes the plant and cuts the roots from it before advancing into Frost's headquarters. There's so much being shown without using words, it's a brilliant masterpiece.
Blade was one of the first movies I saw when I relocated to Texas so it has a special place in my heart. The fight and action scenes were awesome for that time. I think I saw it at the theaters at least 4 times. Hoping Marvel does another movie soon for the character.
I loved this movie. I was lucky enough to see it in theaters. My dad took my to see it in 1998. Also Marvel is considering a netflix series (with Snipes reprising the roles). Considering that this is his best work, Norington should take up the directing chair with Goyer doing the script. Heres an idea. If the netflix series is to take place in the MCU, Take the basic premise of the first film, redo it in 15 episodes, but expand on concepts that were good, but didnt have the budget for or the time for. And While Wesley Snipes is 53, he still got the skills for it. Give us a little more background and backstory. Flashbacks to Blade's childhood and training, like the Netflix DareDevil series. From Dusk til Dawn did the same thing and it worked out great.
The reason why "Blade" wasn't considered the movie that revived the superhero genre is b/c it wasn't thought of AS a superhero film. Not in a pretentious sense of "oh this ain't a superhero film" so much as people really DID NOT know it was a superhero movie. The movie's success was based entirely on the merits of having both Wesley Snipes's performance and vampires. With "X-Men", people knew that it was a superhero movie so it helped paved the way for Spider-man, the Dark Knight, and the MCU.
Blade 1 for me was the 'baddest' of them all. He was always composed no matter what and always responded raw action. And when he's actually talking to bad guys you sense that loathsome disgust for the 'things' .. its not just anger hatred or fear .. its DEEP. Good that he portrayed Blade as somber/pensive and always about something (dealing with his 'gift', getting serum, the next move, improving arsenal etc). Combine his fighting style with Norrington's awesome filming style and its high octane all the way man.
I'm pretty sure that at least some knew Blade from the Fox's Spiderman Saturday cartoon. So the character of Blade shouldn't be that unkown for the youngsters.
That is exactly how I knew who Blade was. In fact the 1990's Spider-Man cartoon was my induction to many of the Marvel Comics characters including Spidey himself. Really enjoyed seeing Blade in the theatre, Wesley Snipes was in top form both in the action scenes and the character building scenes. I owned the Gameboy Color video game for a time. It was really fun despite the difficulty spike toward the end. You get to use Blade's firearms, glaves (the curved throwing knifes Blade uses to great affect in the film) and his trademark sword. Additionally, you can finish off some foes with the sliver stakes. Pick up a copy if you get a chance.
I have been viewing your reviews for roughly a year, I didn't realize TH-cam could reach such high quality entertainment levels. So pleased to have someone indepthly review movies. I had the recent misfortune of seeing James Rolfe (AVGN) do his monster madness three minute bullshit horror reviews for the first time. I greatly look more forward to any of your movie, commentary, or gaming posts. You're body of work is truly inspiring in its consistent quality. Please don't ever add outside stories or narratives to your reviews like the nostalgia critic, hate that fucker. Anyway, too long post. "If there's grass on the wicket, you can play cricket".
+Dan Plocinski Hi Dan, thank you very much for leaving your positive thoughts on my work. All those years back it was James Rolfe who actually inspired me to do these retrospectives. James and his monster madness work was very interesting but as you say very short in length per video but he had to produce a video for each day of October so i fully sympathise with the length but i wanted to give viewers something more than say a 2 to 3 min video.. A lot of his videos for this month appear to be just re-uploads again i might add of his older work, his channel seems to be doing that a lot recently. But don't worry i won't be going down the route of Nostalgia Critic, me and him are totally different with our approach to creating videos.
Oliver, this might be a weird request, but I'd love to see you do The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I've always been curious about that movie, and I'm sure there's lots of good stories from the production. I have to confess, I kinda liked it!
Donnie Yen didn't actually want to have a role in the film...He instead wanted to choreograph the fight scenes...He only agreed to do it if his character was short lived...
+Nelson Romero Twilight is really good though. It has some interesting points and handles the vampire mythology nicley. You should rewatch it and not hate it. Peace.
+Fak jaja hello I don't hate any movie. but these vampires are menacing and actually have weaknesses, showing that immortality has a price, and also have to add that these movie show me the band New Order (don't kill me, I'm from Venezuela and that kind of music doesn't hit the airways very often around here) still great review great movie
+Fak did. it's miserable. acting is wooden, writing is absolutely hideous. i mean, so, your only job as a woman is to drop everything, get pregnant and married? and it's fine for your man to control what you do 100%? a little beating? who cares! how about story arc? "it was all a vision" .. wait, what? In mythos, the vampires are stoic beasts. the arcs actually end and it's fine to be human with emotions. in twilight realm, everything is expressed through furious staring and very little else don't get me wrong, it's absolutely fine for you to like the saga. i simply disagree on a objective, fundamental moviemaking level.
Something about your British voice works so well with retro reviews. Maybe its cuz I am American, but I find it very soothing and you are my favorite movie reviewer. Keep up the reviews and Do More HORROR!!! Lol
great job once again on the review mate!! Blade without a doubt is in my top 3 marvel characters brought to life on screen!! A very underrated film and sadly , forgotten due to all the new stuff out today!!
Blew my mind when I realised the Cat was in Blade 2. You forgot to mention Norman Reedus though! Maybe you'll do a retrospective on that film in the future?
I saw this on a midnight screening with a friend, before the Friday general opening. The theater was packed and everyone loved the film - the vibe was 🔥. I still listen to some of the soundtrack.
Probably one of the greatest comic book movies ever made & I also think Snipes was born to be Blade, for me it's still one of his finest roles in cinema. However like many I didn't know anything of Blade prior to the movies release so I had no idea it had anything to do with Marvel. To me is was just a good Snipes action flick. I didn't see it though till it hit home video, I still own my VHS of it to this day. I've always loved this movie but imo this is one of those rare cases where the sequel was better. I think Blade 2 has the better cast and better villain. Trinity on the other hand can go fuck itself! haha. Another great review.
I completely agree with you Oli, the first Blade is also my favorite due to it's visual style and score and I'm a fan of Death Machine but I despise LXG with a burning passion being a huge fan of the comic series lol. It is a shame they botched this series with Trinity but I feel like if Marvel does reboot this it will be a watered down version. Oh well at least we have the first 2 :)
+Oliver Harper yeah I think it was from the second batch of releases after the Colombia tristar ones came out. Definitely one of the first roadshow releases In Australia, new line over seas. Funnily enough we got the American dvd cover for our blu-ray
Grest review, as always, Oli, but I am surprised that in your appraisal of the films special effects, you didn't mention the fact that Blade was one of the very first movies to feature the 'bullet time' effect, which even predated the release of the Matrix. But besides for that little aberration, this is another well-researched and comprehensive retropective; I am now tempted to procure a copy of Blade ffrom amazon...
As always, a great retrospective Oliver. informative and not relying solely on dvd content but a nice balance of both your opinion and existing material. Nice one.
I recommend everyone to watch the director's commentary for blade 2. It's amazing. They make fun of how Dorf was a crappy villain in blade 1 because he was too small, they talk about Wesley snipes' abs, the most entertaining part is around 10 minutes from the end where snipes is clearly bored and stops taking it seriously.
This is one of those films that is to me, perfect for what it is. The effects on the blood god are sketchy to say the least but to me that is not really a problem, all effects date and the ambition to make something of that scale carries a lot of weight with me. Oh and I would classify this primarily as a martial arts flick, even over horror or comic film as a genre. Not that such labels matter but it excels so well in its choreography that IMO it deserves to be recognized amongst the finest of its type.
Oliver Harper you have an incredible review channel. When mentioning the soundtrack, the rave track, as you stated is New Order's-Confusion. However, if you hear most New Order's music or the original version of Confusion it sounds nothing like The Pump Panel Reconstruction Remix that you hear in the film. In reality, The Pump Panel is an acid techno group and they're primarily responsible for hard techno sounds of that film scene. New Order is an electronic group and The Pump Panel is literally one of the premier artist in the most visceral and heart pounding genres of electronic/dance: acid techno.
I was 6 years old in 1998 when this came out. I watched the VHS tape over and over again. Also, if I'm correct, Blade's appearances in Spiderman TAS also introduced the character of Whistler. And that obviously came well before the film.
You are right. The version of Blade that appeared in Spider-Man the Animated Series was heavily based off the Nightstalkers incarnation from the comic in the 90s. Where he was dressed like a biker, and more fanatically obsessed.
John Semper deserves a lot of credit for this movie. The way he had Blade portrayed in the 90s Spider-Man animated series on Fox kids heavily influenced this movie. That show actually introduced the Whistler character and portrayed Blade as stoic.
I still believe this film has been lost to the annals of film history to some extent. This movie is THE template for The Matrix and yet The Matrix is the film that everyone references and remembers. Both movies are great, BUT Blade (1998) deserves more recognition. Awesome video! I'm digging this channel so far.
Solid review Oliver, I think that Blade did a lot to inject a 'mature' or rather serious perspective to comic book movies; staying cool to some of it's source material but also allowing for its own thing. The visual style was marvelous and the performance by Snipes I found awesome - I was completely rooting for him; notwithstanding that he was one of the very first antiheroes I was exposed to. In any case great review.
The officially start of the horror season three Retrospective / Review from the great Oliver Harper so happy you did Blade so exited to upcoming horror Retrospective / Reviews this October, and you in the nearest future review the two sequels of Blade
This review hits on all the notes of the film, it was a catalyst of the pre X-men marvel superhero genre that has veered of course significantly , a great soundtrack of which I am lucky to own the 7 track Mark Isham CD, strong independent female lead amongst so many other attributes, references to the DTS Laserdisc and DVD special features, Wesley Snipes being a solid actor and martial arts performer. It's weird to me that this film does not get referenced more often for the ground breaking aspects that are now touted in the name of representation. As well the film did a good job of honoring the source material. Just my opinion
Blade is the most important Superhero movie of all time that isn't Superman or Tim Burton's Batman, and I will die on that hill. It showed that a movie based on a Marvel property could not just be financially successful, but genuinely good, sowing the seeds for the one-two KO punch of X-Men and Spider-Man two and four years later respectively. And incredibly, it still holds up.
Gave Blade a rewatch recently. So cinematic. So stylist. So robust, well shot and paced. Greatly underrated. Heads and tails far better than either sequel. 2 is overrated.
I was wondering why you didnt use the new order tune throughout the review, then you bang it in at the end and it went great with the clips. nice work bruv.
I honestly think the opening to this film is still one of the best, especially Blade's introduction as the vampires slowly back up in fear when he arrives and that epic fight ensues. Honestly, Blade doesn't get enough credit. If it wasn't for it's success, I'm sure X-men wouldn't have ben greenlighted and the whole superhero renaissance of the last 15 years wouldn't have happened. Damn, I'm so hooked on your videos man! lol
Blade was one of my very first dvd titles too and I remember watching it several times over a week. It’s been a while now but I’d love to check it out again now due to your review
Great job with this, Oliver. I have great nostalgia as well. when I saw this in theaters, it was packed and it was for one screening. Line was huge and I had to wait until the next showing. Funny to see who was in this. We would see Donal Logue make another appearance in a comic book with the recent Gotham show and Sanaa Lathan in AvP.
Not sure about the UK but in America, kids that watched the Spider-Man TAS of the 90's knew who Blade was as he had appeared in many episodes along with Micheal Morbius beginning in Season 2. We were ready for this film when it was released. Also, Whistler's first ever appearance anywhere in Marvel was in that very same Spider-Man cartoon. Whistler was voiced Malcom McDowell. The cartoon ran from 1994 to 1998.
Congrats Oliver, another hit in your awesome Retrospective / Review. Everytime I view this movie I can't stop thinking on how this style and tone would have turn the live action adaptation of "Spawn" into a classic and not the piece of crap it turned to be. "Blade" have most of the elements "Spawn" show us in that glorious animated series from HBO (some of which episodes were banned in Chile -my country- by local cable stations) and men, that was glorious material to be adapted to the widescreen. Until today I think that Todd Mc Farlane is a great writer and storyteller but his "financial interest" is the reason why many people hate comic book adaptations and "Spawn" being his main victim".
My father took me to watch Blade in theatres, I was around 14 maybe. I really enjoyed it without knowing it was a comic adaptation. When we came back home, my mother asked us "How was the film ?" my father grinned and said "Oh you know. The usual, lots and lots of killing". I had no idea it was rated R till maybe 2005.
Since Deadpool and to a lesser extent Logan were so successful, now the studios are going to start pumping out R rated comic book movies, and since they also have a hardon for remakes and reboots, I fully expect a Blade reboot before long.
Finally somebody who actually see the diferences between good fighting sequences and bad, non realistic sequences. Blade 1998 is one of the best comic book movies of all times. Much better cooler and stylish than the silly sequels. Many people says that fighting choreography in second movie is better because dorian yen and so on but you man see what's going on. Blade 2 has horrible choregraphy. It looks cheesy and non realistic but in blade 1 the choregraphy is one of the best in cinematography because of great editing. Yeah editing is the key and great camera with good choreography too. That's why blade 1 hold's up today. Stephen norrington has amazing eye for the visual and it's sad that he isnt making movies now.
I actually wanted to see this movie in theaters as a little kid but my uncle wouldn't let me see it because of the R rating. But in later years my friend gave me his Blade DVD to borrow and was very impressed with the film itself. My only negative about the movie is some of the CGI looks very dated and just look horrible blending it in with live action. But that didn't stop me from loving the movie.
OLIVER HARPER YOU ARE AWESOME! I literally relive the FILM with Barry Norman on BBC 1 through my childhood to teen years, when watching these retrospectives, they are THAT special sir! Can I ask - could you please do Tombstone and/or The Quick and the Dead one day? Keep up the good work!
I fucking love this film, one of my all time favorites comic book films and my favorite Wesley Snipes movie ever, this and Blade II are just plain badass and awesome, sad Blade trinity happen U.U, but still I love this version of the characters, like Erod the Blockbuster Buster point in his review.....I love THIS version of Blade, if Wesley return as Blade in the Marvel cinematic Universe that would be freaking awesome, he is still capable to do awesome stunts so I think his age still is not an issue if Marvel wanted to make the character return, at least they could make a passing on the torch thing if they using him and the idea of his daughter becoming the next Blade.
Great review as always, Oliver! I always look forward to your thoughtful retrospectives. However, there is one oversight here. You didn't mention that cult favorite Traci Lords had a small role in the film.
I have high hopes Wesley will return. Marvel would be foolish to ignore him. Hey if Stallone and co can still kick ass into their 60's then I am sure Snipes can in his 50's. He is a pup compared to some of those guys ha ha.
But vampires don't age unless they're MASSIVELY ancient. Having Snipes come back would not be plausible with that premise as it breaks with the core mythos of vampirism
Remember Blade is half vampire so ages the same way humans do, so age wouldn't be a factor. As definitive as Wesley Snipes portrayal is (and he's brilliant), I am actually sort of open to somebody else taking over the role. Gaius Charles stands out as a plausible, potentially strong candidate. He's young, has the athleticism and charisma to be Blade.
Source Direct - Call and Response is the track Deacon Frost is listening to on the headphones. Sadly always missing from the soundtrack but a banging DnB tune, if anyones interested.
I'm a huge fan of this franchise. While the second movie is more entertaining I've come to see the first one as the best due to it's story and likable characters. It was the first successful Marvel movie and the first movie that I saw that used bullet time and I feel like people don't give it the credit it deserves. The review was excellent; it was well edited, in depth, informative and nostalgic all at the sametime.
And yet people today still declare proudly that Black Panther is the FIRST and ONLY black superhero film in existence while Blade came out 20 years before. And he's even from the MARVEL catalogue!
An excellent review on an underrated superhero movie that I feel doesn't get enough attention. As a movie, Blade was far more enjoyable as a movie than the yearly superhero movies we see from Marvel or DC Comics. If I had to make a suggestion for another retrospective aside from New Nightmare (another good film), it would be the film "Heat" from 1995, or "The Mask" with Jim Carrey.
Get the BLADE Blu-ray here goo.gl/0DUHfQ
Get the soundtrack to BLADE here goo.gl/HVLEZ3
The first Blade film has it's good moments but I wish that they had made the vampire nation scarier by adding more dark basements and such. And also had made the decision to ditch that damn coat that Blade's wearing.
Buffy was in full swing at the time, it's a product of it's time.
You can have my big black leather coat when you take it from my cold, dead shoulers. :)
If you look at Blade from a symbolic perspective, it is arguably the most realistic super hero movie until The Dark Knight.
The different castes of crime represented by the Vampires is both phenomenal and memorizing to the point where you cannot unsee what have been seen.
The sequals were too sci-fi for me, but the nitty gritty portrayal of the first movie makes just about every comic book movie proceeding Blade look like a child hood venture.
Please review " Steel " with Shaquil O Neal. 1997
can you review the 2nd Blade movie
great review.
for me, when Blade first walks into the blood bath rave its maybe the best introduction to a comic book character ever on screen
Right
One of the best indeed!
Yes but I wish that the Blade films would contain far more dark areas like in house of erebus boardroom and whe Gaetano is walking through the archive.
ultravio1et *blood orgy
I think it had to with the composition of the shot... Blades dark clothing and figure contrasts so much against the red blood... and he remains clean throughout the entire scene... that coupled with the scared whispers of the vampires show that he is not someone to be fucked with.
By far most underrated superhero film.
Because a lot of people say he's not a hero, but an anti-hero
Allot of comic book readers dont believe in Black super heroes.
If it wasn't for Blade, there wouldn't be any Marvel films in the theaters.
Dredd
I think the recent Bloodshot is seriously underrated as well.
I admittedly have a soft spot for early CGI. It has a charm for me akin to early stop motion animation. I guess I appreciate how back in the 1990s it was a tool in the filmmaker's box rather than THE tool.
+M.A. Moreno The 90's in general were a time when digital and analog were used to their maximum effect. Even in cars there was just enough electronics to make them reliable and efficient but not too hard for someone to service at home. Maybe in the nest decade or two movies will find the optimum amount of cgi effects when audiences get tired of it and when studios realize that spending a quarter billion dollars on one movie, mostly for cgi, isn't the smartest thing to do.
+M.A. Moreno Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park for life.
That's true you have to appreciate it to a degree. It was just like Star Wars which was also a hit or miss movie . I remember seeing certain spots in Star Wars well I felt it could have been done better but like blade both movies were a triumph.
+M.A. Moreno That is why I like the old Star Wars films 4-6 because they featured more mature storytelling and felt like they were real universes.
MT Rich what?
Man I love 90s Wesley Snipes, and I feel as if quite a few people forget how good he really was. Not just at the physical acting, which he's one of the better Western actors in this respect, but his actual dramatic ability to sell a scene and character. I just IMDB'd him and he was in some great 90s movies - Passanger 57, White Men Cant Jump, US Marshals, and Murder at 1600. There are also the stories that he was faster than film was able to pick up and he had to slow down to shoot fight scenes, which is impressive for a Western actor.
+Brian Kale Agreed, it's extremely rare to see a serious dramatic actor who's talented in martial arts. He doesn't get the recognition, but Wesley's in a class by himself
Brian Kale just watched White Men Cant Jump again that shit was brilliant
I remember watching a video of him accepting a Black Belt award (7x I think) and he honored the award by doing a flying roundhouse kick in full dress attire and sent his shoe flying off to the heavens. so yeah, maybe not "faster than film", that's Bruce Lee, but he is certainly highly skilled.
@DriftZ TwoSeven What are you saying? He was born and raised in the United States, thus making him a Western person. Oh and a huge parte of Africa continent it's located in the Western Hemisphere.
@DriftZ TwoSeven jfc he did not grow up in nor was he born in an african country, he grew up in the US. he is not an actor from africa. your thinly veiled prejudice is disgusting lol
Blade is one of the best Marvel Comics film period.
Its not though. Good movie dont get me wrong but saying ‘best marvel comic film’ is stretching way too much considering it goes against so much of the actual comic lore for Blade 🤷🏻♂️
@@ct9122 compared to crap like Thor and antman and the avengers? Blade is far better
@@ct9122 Infinitely better than most of those forgettable CGI rollercoasters.
Blade 2 deserves it's own review.
that was one of those sequels that I thought wouldn't surpass the original but it proved me wrong.
lunatiksAlterEgo what?! Blade 2 was a let down compared to the original
Reb Brown
Blade II was better. One of the best sequels ever. Blade: Trinity was the disappointment
a cursory glance at user and critic ratings would back me up, Blade 2 was just very forgetful and the supporting cast was awful. If you think its the best then I guess that's fine but I watched it 4-5 times and there really wasn't a scene that stuck out to me and in the first it started with one of (if not THE) best scenes in the trilogy with the bloodbath rave with a perfect soundtrack followed by one of the best character intros and opening fight and chase scene. Admittedly its been awhile since ive seen it and may have to give it a rewatch but all I remember was god awful cgi in fight scenes and them fighting in sewers with very little character development. It just reeked of a studio rushing to cash in on the success of the original and not really giving it more time to develop
@@brynjar2817 Blade 2 was NOT garbage. It was awesome and it belongs in the series, IMO.
You forgot to mention Sanaa Lathan as Blades' mother. Her career is nothing to sneeze at. Otherwise dope review.
Blade II was an excellent sequel and most people consider it better than the first, but I disagree. I think this would have been an incredible trilogy if Norrington directed all three films. Sort of a mini Dark Knight trilogy. The original film was groundbreaking with its visuals and dark atmosphere for a 'comic' themed film. Fantastic direction, writing, score, and acting. Deacon Frost is one of the best on screen villains of all time in my opinion.
Deacon Frost was very menacing but I would have liked more scenes of him attacking the humans. Most of the time we see him he's beefing with the other vampires running his mouth, not out biting humans. Given he's supposed to be the antagonist it would have been nice to seen footage of him and his Edgewood Towers gang just laying waste to unsuspecting humans left and right and show Blade fail to arrive in time to save them. A perfect opportunity I saw for this was the scene where he tossed the girl into the street after taunting Blade. If he had bit her neck before throwing her that would have put Blade in a weird spot of whether to save her and take her back to his hideout or kill her despite her being a child. That would have really made Frost appear more threatening in practice as opposed to just issuing verbal threats and being rude to Dragonetti.
Marvel used to drop the ball on the 3rd for some reason
blade 1 is more fun and original. blade 2 is more accomplished as a sequel but less audacious
I'll agree the first Blade has a low budget craft style makes it more realistic, then Blade 2;as well he was going to fight Micheal Morbius,but got changed. And I do wish they would've took their time with Blade: Trinity, I feel it was rush; in the first issue Nightstalkers he was captured in a crazy house, but was rescued by Dr. Strange; Hannibal King was part of the Nightstalkers, but not Whistler's daughter it was Dracula's descendent Drake. If they would've put this on the big screen then before the Marvel Universe was big, I believe it would've been open doors along time ago.😉
my only flaw with it was the blood pack, found them very unnecessary and wasn’t really interesting but blade 2 was a great movie, blade trinity was garbage but i will always prefer the first blade which is a masterpiece
This one was really a thing back then.
Remember seeing it in a packed theatre. The opening at the club dropped everybody´s jaw.
Miss those times when mainstream movies dared to be gritty and relentless.
You're right, Blade was the shit in 1998, and everybody was hyped for it. Oliver has no idea what he's talking about in his review, he wasn't even old enough to watch it, his mum wouldn't have allowed it! Yet he trashes Blade and its special effects, like they're supposed to be a James Cameron movie or something. GTFOH with that bullshit.
Yes! Finally someone that agrees on Blade comming first and breathing new life on comic book movies single-handedly. It has to be one of the few comic book movies that, back in the day, not only treated its source material with utmost respect but also made it much more interesting with a rather serious tone, effectively bettering it. Believe it or not I rather watch the two first Blade movies over X-Men every day of the week, Wesley is a joy to watch!
Still waiting for Fox to grow some balls and give us the much needed R-rated Wolverine movie, with a different actor to booth!
Awesome review!
Not only have I been looking for a film retrospective channel like this. I've been looking for someone to show my favorite Marvel film since I was it as a kid some much deserved kudos. That begging clearly took some effort. You've gained a subscriber for life. lol
+Azure Vox Thank you very much buddy!
Can you do a Spawn review?
Oliver Harper I thought the same thing as well about whistlers return in blade 2.
Blade 2 was the best imo. I loved that Shit. I bought it on Bluray. The Typical Superhero movie sequel that fully realizes itself and characters. That Intro was sick. Blade is so fuckin cool! Lol Blade 1/2 made him my favorite superhero.
Blade 2 was an awesome sequel. And I also thought that was a better than the first movie in my opinion a least.
A photo finish, but I also prefer Blade 2. The final fight was A+, up there with the Winter Soldier fight
+Willie Robinson He's not a superhero, he's an anti hero he kills and he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Superheroes are pussy boy scouts that have unrealistically high morals that preach things like 'don't kill' whilst they constantly let their enemies live therefore causing multiple acts of genocide. Superheroes are dumb, but anti heroes like Blade are cool as fuck.
+David Curry I would have to disagree with you about the fight scenes in Blade 2 being better than Blade 1. In 1 the fight scenes looked way more hard hitting and full of energy find me being a martial artist myself I could see how Wesley Snipes utilize a lot of fighting styles. Now Blade 2 was still cool but half the fighting was CGI which gave it's a better comic book look but I cannot make up for someone physically.
+David Curry I would have to disagree with you about the fight scenes in Blade 2 being better than Blade 1. In 1 the fight scenes looked way more hard hitting and full of energy find me being a martial artist myself I could see how Wesley Snipes utilize a lot of fighting styles. Now Blade 2 was still cool but half the fighting was CGI which gave it's a better comic book look but I cannot make up for someone physically.
I remember I was still in school when a friend of mine got Blade and Starship Troopers on VHS, we watched those movies a whole day and it was glorious :D
+Vampires Crypt i watched Blade in the theatre.
Back then movies where nasty....now pegi 13 equals spongebob
That’s a lot to take in, in a day
My uncle bought those exact two movies for us one summer when my cousins and I were staying at his place and we watched them every single day for two weeks.
If only Blade Trinity wasn't such a disaster, maybe we would have got to see a Blade 4.
Great reviews btw just discovered your channel and I' m really hooked.
Yeah. Hate that movie and how it killed Snipes Blade
@@handznetit didn't kill him.
As an FYI It is Sanaa Lathan who plays as Blades mother. Just thought I mentioned it since you listed an unknown model turned actress playing as Frosts girlfriend, but not mention a well known actress as Blades mother.
Blade revived comic book movies during the late 90s.
+TheGochiMan It didn't revive it. It was a good foundation for the revival but wasn't was revived it. X-men did that.
+t ru I have an issue with the X-Men movies, I just thought something was off about them.
Viewtiful Joe
I have some minor issues with them, even when they were released however i let most of them go until x3 lol mostly because it was the best you could showcase them and what they could do at the time while looking mostly realistic.
t ru I really gave them a chance and it is cool to see the characters on the big screen. I think what bothered me was that they added too many characters that did not have any backstory and the whole thing with the second I hated was that freak in a wheel chair that had his brain juice that could control people as well as that anti- mutant "mutant" power of that kid.
@@viewtifuljoe4412 also the fact that they didnt wear their costumes pissed me off
I'd love to see Blade kill those wanker vampires from Twilight. The werewolves too, why not.
Excellent retrospective! This makes me want to go back and watch the first one again.
+Gameplay and Talk Thanks Austin!
Always preferred number 2 myself
I remember going to see this movie with my brothers because Saving Private Ryan was sold out. the biggest cheer in the movie was one blade gets his shades back everyone ,including me was like "YEAH!"
Just re-watched this a little while ago. Still holds up and the intro is one of the coolest, most memorable in any movie, not just comic book movie for me.
I don't mind the CGI being not perfect in the first movie because everything else is just extreme top level quality. You're right about the music, the action scenes and most actors did a perfect job. There is no way to not love this movie. One of my favourite scenes is where Blade takes the plant and cuts the roots from it before advancing into Frost's headquarters. There's so much being shown without using words, it's a brilliant masterpiece.
"Damn it, Frost!! I'm talking to you!!"
He got bitch slapped
*While "source direct" is playing in the background
Blade was one of the first movies I saw when I relocated to Texas so it has a special place in my heart. The fight and action scenes were awesome for that time. I think I saw it at the theaters at least 4 times. Hoping Marvel does another movie soon for the character.
I loved this movie. I was lucky enough to see it in theaters. My dad took my to see it in 1998.
Also Marvel is considering a netflix series (with Snipes reprising the roles). Considering that this is his best work, Norington should take up the directing chair with Goyer doing the script.
Heres an idea.
If the netflix series is to take place in the MCU, Take the basic premise of the first film, redo it in 15 episodes, but expand on concepts that were good, but didnt have the budget for or the time for. And While Wesley Snipes is 53, he still got the skills for it. Give us a little more background and backstory. Flashbacks to Blade's childhood and training, like the Netflix DareDevil series.
From Dusk til Dawn did the same thing and it worked out great.
+darkservantofheaven theres a from dusk till dawn series?
+darkservantofheaven theres a from dusk till dawn series?
Sebb E oh yea. Its awsome. season 1 is on netflix.
The reason why "Blade" wasn't considered the movie that revived the superhero genre is b/c it wasn't thought of AS a superhero film. Not in a pretentious sense of "oh this ain't a superhero film" so much as people really DID NOT know it was a superhero movie.
The movie's success was based entirely on the merits of having both Wesley Snipes's performance and vampires. With "X-Men", people knew that it was a superhero movie so it helped paved the way for Spider-man, the Dark Knight, and the MCU.
Blade 1 for me was the 'baddest' of them all. He was always composed no matter what and always responded raw action. And when he's actually talking to bad guys you sense that loathsome disgust for the 'things' .. its not just anger hatred or fear .. its DEEP. Good that he portrayed Blade as somber/pensive and always about something (dealing with his 'gift', getting serum, the next move, improving arsenal etc). Combine his fighting style with Norrington's awesome filming style and its high octane all the way man.
I'm pretty sure that at least some knew Blade from the Fox's Spiderman Saturday cartoon. So the character of Blade shouldn't be that unkown for the youngsters.
That is exactly how I knew who Blade was. In fact the 1990's Spider-Man cartoon was my induction to many of the Marvel Comics characters including Spidey himself. Really enjoyed seeing Blade in the theatre, Wesley Snipes was in top form both in the action scenes and the character building scenes. I owned the Gameboy Color video game for a time. It was really fun despite the difficulty spike toward the end. You get to use Blade's firearms, glaves (the curved throwing knifes Blade uses to great affect in the film) and his trademark sword. Additionally, you can finish off some foes with the sliver stakes. Pick up a copy if you get a chance.
Not a sparkle to be seen. Glorious! Great retrospective Oliver! Will have a re-watch this weekend.
I have been viewing your reviews for roughly a year, I didn't realize TH-cam could reach such high quality entertainment levels. So pleased to have someone indepthly review movies. I had the recent misfortune of seeing James Rolfe (AVGN) do his monster madness three minute bullshit horror reviews for the first time. I greatly look more forward to any of your movie, commentary, or gaming posts. You're body of work is truly inspiring in its consistent quality. Please don't ever add outside stories or narratives to your reviews like the nostalgia critic, hate that fucker. Anyway, too long post. "If there's grass on the wicket, you can play cricket".
+Dan Plocinski Hi Dan, thank you very much for leaving your positive thoughts on my work. All those years back it was James Rolfe who actually inspired me to do these retrospectives. James and his monster madness work was very interesting but as you say very short in length per video but he had to produce a video for each day of October so i fully sympathise with the length but i wanted to give viewers something more than say a 2 to 3 min video.. A lot of his videos for this month appear to be just re-uploads again i might add of his older work, his channel seems to be doing that a lot recently. But don't worry i won't be going down the route of Nostalgia Critic, me and him are totally different with our approach to creating videos.
+Oliver Harper Little Shop of Horrors (1986) please?
Oliver, this might be a weird request, but I'd love to see you do The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I've always been curious about that movie, and I'm sure there's lots of good stories from the production. I have to confess, I kinda liked it!
already did!
You have amazing taste in movies, and I think this is in part due to your appreciation of the classics.
+toxic2waste Thank you!!
Donnie Yen didn't actually want to have a role in the film...He instead wanted to choreograph the fight scenes...He only agreed to do it if his character was short lived...
when vampires where serious not that twilight crap
+Nelson Romero
A movie I'd have gladly seen Blade show up in to crash the party.
+Nelson Romero Twilight is really good though. It has some interesting points and handles the vampire mythology nicley. You should rewatch it and not hate it. Peace.
+Fak jaja hello I don't hate any movie. but these vampires are menacing and actually have weaknesses, showing that immortality has a price, and also have to add that these movie show me the band New Order (don't kill me, I'm from Venezuela and that kind of music doesn't hit the airways very often around here) still great review great movie
+Fak did. it's miserable. acting is wooden, writing is absolutely hideous. i mean, so, your only job as a woman is to drop everything, get pregnant and married? and it's fine for your man to control what you do 100%? a little beating? who cares! how about story arc? "it was all a vision" .. wait, what?
In mythos, the vampires are stoic beasts. the arcs actually end and it's fine to be human with emotions. in twilight realm, everything is expressed through furious staring and very little else
don't get me wrong, it's absolutely fine for you to like the saga. i simply disagree on a objective, fundamental moviemaking level.
+Nelson Romero jaja xd
Something about your British voice works so well with retro reviews. Maybe its cuz I am American, but I find it very soothing and you are my favorite movie reviewer. Keep up the reviews and Do More HORROR!!! Lol
great job once again on the review mate!! Blade without a doubt is in my top 3 marvel characters brought to life on screen!! A very underrated film and sadly , forgotten due to all the new stuff out today!!
Blew my mind when I realised the Cat was in Blade 2. You forgot to mention Norman Reedus though! Maybe you'll do a retrospective on that film in the future?
One of my favorite movies of all time right here. Thanks for the awesome review Oliver!!
+hooper4life12 cheers buddy!
I saw this on a midnight screening with a friend, before the Friday general opening. The theater was packed and everyone loved the film - the vibe was 🔥. I still listen to some of the soundtrack.
Soundtrack is 🔥
Probably one of the greatest comic book movies ever made & I also think Snipes was born to be Blade, for me it's still one of his finest roles in cinema. However like many I didn't know anything of Blade prior to the movies release so I had no idea it had anything to do with Marvel. To me is was just a good Snipes action flick. I didn't see it though till it hit home video, I still own my VHS of it to this day.
I've always loved this movie but imo this is one of those rare cases where the sequel was better. I think Blade 2 has the better cast and better villain. Trinity on the other hand can go fuck itself! haha.
Another great review.
I completely agree with you Oli, the first Blade is also my favorite due to it's visual style and score and I'm a fan of Death Machine but I despise LXG with a burning passion being a huge fan of the comic series lol. It is a shame they botched this series with Trinity but I feel like if Marvel does reboot this it will be a watered down version. Oh well at least we have the first 2 :)
Also if Netflix does Blade, if its not Snipes, I'm not interested.
Jim Humphries i.think they are making Blade a chick...I guess there was no where else to go liberaly since hes already black lol
How old is Snipes anyway??
I’m from the future. Netflix cancels all Marvel shows.
@@royedking you could have typed this into Google instead of waiting on TH-cam replies.
He's too old
Blade was up there with Spawn when I was a kid.
Chris yeah spawn and blade cane out yet aprt and wre both relsed by NEw line cinema
FINALLY!
Someone who knows the true value of those first two Blade films!
Blade was my first DVD too :-)
+crashfellow82 nice to hear!! some other folks have messaged me telling me Blade was also their first.
+Oliver Harper yeah I think it was from the second batch of releases after the Colombia tristar ones came out. Definitely one of the first roadshow releases In Australia, new line over seas. Funnily enough we got the American dvd cover for our blu-ray
Grest review, as always, Oli, but I am surprised that in your appraisal of the films special effects, you didn't mention the fact that Blade was one of the very first movies to feature the 'bullet time' effect, which even predated the release of the Matrix. But besides for that little aberration, this is another well-researched and comprehensive retropective; I am now tempted to procure a copy of Blade ffrom amazon...
As always, a great retrospective Oliver. informative and not relying solely on dvd content but a nice balance of both your opinion and existing material.
Nice one.
Thanks for doing these man! Keep up the good work. Just my new favorite channel!
+T Gill That's great to hear buddy!
This was also the first movie I owned on DVD. Although the CGI is not that good, the film's cinematography looks amazing and the action is phenomenal.
Blade is one of my favorite movies.
I recommend everyone to watch the director's commentary for blade 2. It's amazing. They make fun of how Dorf was a crappy villain in blade 1 because he was too small, they talk about Wesley snipes' abs, the most entertaining part is around 10 minutes from the end where snipes is clearly bored and stops taking it seriously.
I dressed up as Frost for Halloween in 1999. I even wore red contacts and prosthetic fangs. Sadly no one knew who I was..
This is one of those films that is to me, perfect for what it is. The effects on the blood god are sketchy to say the least but to me that is not really a problem, all effects date and the ambition to make something of that scale carries a lot of weight with me.
Oh and I would classify this primarily as a martial arts flick, even over horror or comic film as a genre. Not that such labels matter but it excels so well in its choreography that IMO it deserves to be recognized amongst the finest of its type.
Oliver Harper you have an incredible review channel. When mentioning the soundtrack, the rave track, as you stated is New Order's-Confusion. However, if you hear most New Order's music or the original version of Confusion it sounds nothing like The Pump Panel Reconstruction Remix that you hear in the film. In reality, The Pump Panel is an acid techno group and they're primarily responsible for hard techno sounds of that film scene. New Order is an electronic group and The Pump Panel is literally one of the premier artist in the most visceral and heart pounding genres of electronic/dance: acid techno.
I was 6 years old in 1998 when this came out. I watched the VHS tape over and over again. Also, if I'm correct, Blade's appearances in Spiderman TAS also introduced the character of Whistler. And that obviously came well before the film.
You are right. The version of Blade that appeared in Spider-Man the Animated Series was heavily based off the Nightstalkers incarnation from the comic in the 90s. Where he was dressed like a biker, and more fanatically obsessed.
A blood monster would be the worst kind of enemy I could think of and it looked like a pretty bad scene. I'm glad they listened to the test audience.
This movie was THE SHIT.
John Semper deserves a lot of credit for this movie. The way he had Blade portrayed in the 90s Spider-Man animated series on Fox kids heavily influenced this movie. That show actually introduced the Whistler character and portrayed Blade as stoic.
I love your work. You cover all the right films, and you're very thorough/informative. Thank you.
I still believe this film has been lost to the annals of film history to some extent. This movie is THE template for The Matrix and yet The Matrix is the film that everyone references and remembers. Both movies are great, BUT Blade (1998) deserves more recognition. Awesome video! I'm digging this channel so far.
Solid review Oliver, I think that Blade did a lot to inject a 'mature' or rather serious perspective to comic book movies; staying cool to some of it's source material but also allowing for its own thing. The visual style was marvelous and the performance by Snipes I found awesome - I was completely rooting for him; notwithstanding that he was one of the very first antiheroes I was exposed to. In any case great review.
The officially start of the horror season three Retrospective / Review from the great Oliver Harper so happy you did Blade so exited to upcoming horror Retrospective / Reviews this October, and you in the nearest future review the two sequels of Blade
This review hits on all the notes of the film, it was a catalyst of the pre X-men marvel superhero genre that has veered of course significantly , a great soundtrack of which I am lucky to own the 7 track Mark Isham CD, strong independent female lead amongst so many other attributes, references to the DTS Laserdisc and DVD special features, Wesley Snipes being a solid actor and martial arts performer. It's weird to me that this film does not get referenced more often for the ground breaking aspects that are now touted in the name of representation. As well the film did a good job of honoring the source material. Just my opinion
Blade is the most important Superhero movie of all time that isn't Superman or Tim Burton's Batman, and I will die on that hill. It showed that a movie based on a Marvel property could not just be financially successful, but genuinely good, sowing the seeds for the one-two KO punch of X-Men and Spider-Man two and four years later respectively. And incredibly, it still holds up.
The coolest review of BLADE 😆😅😄😂😁😀😊☺
+Vash Trigun I love'd you in Badlands Rumble!
+Vash Trigun Thanks Vash!
The trailer you made is INCREDIBLE! Awesome work...
Gave Blade a rewatch recently. So cinematic. So stylist. So robust, well shot and paced. Greatly underrated. Heads and tails far better than either sequel. 2 is overrated.
Agreed
I was wondering why you didnt use the new order tune throughout the review, then you bang it in at the end and it went great with the clips. nice work bruv.
"But had only done one vampire movie before. Which was the The Lost Boys." That's a pretty bold line on any vampire movie resume.
I honestly think the opening to this film is still one of the best, especially Blade's introduction as the vampires slowly back up in fear when he arrives and that epic fight ensues. Honestly, Blade doesn't get enough credit. If it wasn't for it's success, I'm sure X-men wouldn't have ben greenlighted and the whole superhero renaissance of the last 15 years wouldn't have happened. Damn, I'm so hooked on your videos man! lol
Blade was one of my very first dvd titles too and I remember watching it several times over a week. It’s been a while now but I’d love to check it out again now due to your review
Great job with this, Oliver. I have great nostalgia as well. when I saw this in theaters, it was packed and it was for one screening. Line was huge and I had to wait until the next showing. Funny to see who was in this. We would see Donal Logue make another appearance in a comic book with the recent Gotham show and Sanaa Lathan in AvP.
+at3479 Must of been awesome to see it on the big screen!.
Not sure about the UK but in America, kids that watched the Spider-Man TAS of the 90's knew who Blade was as he had appeared in many episodes along with Micheal Morbius beginning in Season 2. We were ready for this film when it was released. Also, Whistler's first ever appearance anywhere in Marvel was in that very same Spider-Man cartoon. Whistler was voiced Malcom McDowell. The cartoon ran from 1994 to 1998.
Congrats Oliver, another hit in your awesome Retrospective / Review. Everytime I view this movie I can't stop thinking on how this style and tone would have turn the live action adaptation of "Spawn" into a classic and not the piece of crap it turned to be. "Blade" have most of the elements "Spawn" show us in that glorious animated series from HBO (some of which episodes were banned in Chile -my country- by local cable stations) and men, that was glorious material to be adapted to the widescreen. Until today I think that Todd Mc Farlane is a great writer and storyteller but his "financial interest" is the reason why many people hate comic book adaptations and "Spawn" being his main victim".
One of the best action scene ever...Bloodbath fight...with ex-porn actress Traci Lords.
Sure gets korona or aids from blood
Holy smokes, the end of this vid is edited so good!
Another superb retrospective from Ollie Harper!
+Dex Shirts Thanks Dex!
My father took me to watch Blade in theatres, I was around 14 maybe. I really enjoyed it without knowing it was a comic adaptation. When we came back home, my mother asked us "How was the film ?" my father grinned and said "Oh you know. The usual, lots and lots of killing". I had no idea it was rated R till maybe 2005.
Since Deadpool and to a lesser extent Logan were so successful, now the studios are going to start pumping out R rated comic book movies, and since they also have a hardon for remakes and reboots, I fully expect a Blade reboot before long.
''Some mother-fuckers are always trying to ice skate up hill'', god damn what a line by Wesley.
Wesley Snipes is too old now to be any good. But I truly don't see them finding an actor that can outdo Wesley... Impossiburu!
Good job as usual Oliver. Makes me want to watch a 90s movie.
Finally somebody who actually see the diferences between good fighting sequences and bad, non realistic sequences. Blade 1998 is one of the best comic book movies of all times. Much better cooler and stylish than the silly sequels. Many people says that fighting choreography in second movie is better because dorian yen and so on but you man see what's going on. Blade 2 has horrible choregraphy. It looks cheesy and non realistic but in blade 1 the choregraphy is one of the best in cinematography because of great editing. Yeah editing is the key and great camera with good choreography too. That's why blade 1 hold's up today. Stephen norrington has amazing eye for the visual and it's sad that he isnt making movies now.
I actually wanted to see this movie in theaters as a little kid but my uncle wouldn't let me see it because of the R rating. But in later years my friend gave me his Blade DVD to borrow and was very impressed with the film itself. My only negative about the movie is some of the CGI looks very dated and just look horrible blending it in with live action. But that didn't stop me from loving the movie.
Huge Comic Geek! I love this film. Blade II was the best Blade film though. One of the best sequels ever. Blade: Trinity was 'meh'.
OLIVER HARPER YOU ARE AWESOME!
I literally relive the FILM with Barry Norman on BBC 1 through my childhood to teen years, when watching these retrospectives, they are THAT special sir!
Can I ask - could you please do Tombstone and/or The Quick and the Dead one day?
Keep up the good work!
I fucking love this film, one of my all time favorites comic book films and my favorite Wesley Snipes movie ever, this and Blade II are just plain badass and awesome, sad Blade trinity happen U.U, but still I love this version of the characters, like Erod the Blockbuster Buster point in his review.....I love THIS version of Blade, if Wesley return as Blade in the Marvel cinematic Universe that would be freaking awesome, he is still capable to do awesome stunts so I think his age still is not an issue if Marvel wanted to make the character return, at least they could make a passing on the torch thing if they using him and the idea of his daughter becoming the next Blade.
Great review as always, Oliver! I always look forward to your thoughtful retrospectives. However, there is one oversight here. You didn't mention that cult favorite Traci Lords had a small role in the film.
I have high hopes Wesley will return. Marvel would be foolish to ignore him. Hey if Stallone and co can still kick ass into their 60's then I am sure Snipes can in his 50's. He is a pup compared to some of those guys ha ha.
But vampires don't age unless they're MASSIVELY ancient. Having Snipes come back would not be plausible with that premise as it breaks with the core mythos of vampirism
RaderizDorret Oh, come on its a film series dude. If Wes gets his Blade hair do, outfit and shades he will look fine.
Remember Blade is half vampire so ages the same way humans do, so age wouldn't be a factor. As definitive as Wesley Snipes portrayal is (and he's brilliant), I am actually sort of open to somebody else taking over the role.
Gaius Charles stands out as a plausible, potentially strong candidate. He's young, has the athleticism and charisma to be Blade.
I haven’t seen this film for quite some time! Will have to give it another watch soon. :)
Always thought the club track was Public Domain bass in the place London, but it's New Order, learn something new every day, thanks Oliver :)
have to say as a film fan I really enjoy your reviews they are excellent, keep up the good work.
+Arran Wilson Thank you very much Arran!
Source Direct - Call and Response is the track Deacon Frost is listening to on the headphones. Sadly always missing from the soundtrack but a banging DnB tune, if anyones interested.
I'm a huge fan of this franchise. While the second movie is more entertaining I've come to see the first one as the best due to it's story and likable characters. It was the first successful Marvel movie and the first movie that I saw that used bullet time and I feel like people don't give it the credit it deserves. The review was excellent; it was well edited, in depth, informative and nostalgic all at the sametime.
And yet people today still declare proudly that Black Panther is the FIRST and ONLY black superhero film in existence while Blade came out 20 years before. And he's even from the MARVEL catalogue!
This is such a great review. I hope that you are planning an Interview with the Vampire review in the near future.
I used to watch this with my brother. Haven't seen it in years. It seems that it still holds up.
That was an excellent retrospective. Blade was also one of my first DVDs. Loving the score as much as you do.
An excellent review on an underrated superhero movie that I feel doesn't get enough attention. As a movie, Blade was far more enjoyable as a movie than the yearly superhero movies we see from Marvel or DC Comics. If I had to make a suggestion for another retrospective aside from New Nightmare (another good film), it would be the film "Heat" from 1995, or "The Mask" with Jim Carrey.
dude,u gotta do hellboy
Wasn't Marvel on the brink of collapse and the success of Blade was credited with saving them?