Today’s topic is Blade. Out of all the films I’m covering outside the major Marvel franchises, this is the one I was most looking forward to and most optimistic about. I’m glad to say my faith wasn’t misplaced, because Blade is actually really good.

Marking Marvel’s second attempt at a feature film, Blade is the very R-rated story of one man’s secret war against the vampire threat. In some ways it seems to be shamelessly cashing in on the vampire fad of the ‘90s, but it’s also partially responsible for the superhero movie renaissance.

The Legacy of Blade

Howard the Duck bombed in the ‘80s, ushering in a decade-long drought for Marvel at the movies. But in the ‘00s, Marvel became one of the most dominant film franchises in existence. So…how did that happen? What was the turning point?

Put simply, it all comes down to Blade.

It’s not that Marvel hadn’t been trying to make film adaptations of their other works. They just weren’t succeeding. X-Men had been in development hell for almost 15 years, languishing since ‘94 with the Fox production team alone. Nothing else was in the pipeline in any meaningful sense, and Marvel itself had filed for bankruptcy in ‘96. When Blade came out in ‘98, it restored brand faith in Marvel, demonstrating that their IP had bankability outside of the comics branch (which was itself reasserting its value via the Marvel Knights comics line, which held some of the same gritty, continuity-lite ethos as the Blade film adaptation). X-Men shifted into actual pre-production by the end of the year, setting the House of Ideas on the path to cinematic greatness.

But Blade didn’t only influence the production companies into trying Marvel films. It also offered a blueprint on how to make them. The more grounded, real-world-adjacent style that’s informed essentially every major Marvel movie across Fox, Sony, the MCU, etc. started with Blade. Prior to Blade, the style of super hero movie success was based on the campy neon of Burton and Schumacher’s Gotham City. Without Blade, you don’t get any of what came later.

Impact on the Comics

Another aspect of this film’s legacy is the effect it had on the original medium. Not everybody is aware that the comic book version of Blade was not originally a dhampir, merely being a very talented vampire hunter with an axe to grind. However, soon after the success of Blade, the original version of the character had a fateful encounter with Morbius, the Living Vampire. This event imbued Blade with the trademark half-vampire abilities he’s since been known for, leading him to take up the mantle of the Daywalker.

The film also had some influence on Blade’s characterization. He was a more down-to-earth, less stereotypically “cool” character before the film. But when they altered the film script to accommodate Wesley Snipes’ strengths, some of those changes made it into the comics as well.

Creative Direction of Blade

I think it’s pretty safe to say that Blade itself was meant to capitalize on the popularity of vampires in the ‘90s. After all, this same decade delivered Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Interview with the Vampire, From Dusk ‘til Dawn, and a host of other projects. Accordingly, Blade shares some inspirations with those films.

However, Blade also owes a lot to the action films of the era. If you look closely, you’ll note a lot of shared DNA with stuff like The Matrix (which came out the year after Blade). An obvious point of reference is the amount of leather in the character designs, but everything from the color palette to the stunt design has some similarity.

What I’m trying to say as tactfully as possible is that if your mind conjures images in response to the words “late ‘90s vampire action movie,” you probably have a good idea of what to expect from this movie.

Story of Blade

There’s not much to the story of Blade. It’s not an overly complex plot.

At the most basic level, it’s the story of a vampire trying to gain ultimate power and a vampire hunter trying to kill him. That’s the central conflict of the film. Everything else is secondary.

But just because the basic narrative is easy to outline doesn’t mean the film doesn’t have a lot to offer. The film is thematically rich and has some solid character work. Both those things are worth detailing.

Themes of Blade

Blade may be an action flick and a vampire flick, but it also manages to engage in some surprisingly nuanced social commentary. Namely, Blade is a commentary on class and race.

Vampires As Allegorical Representations of the 1%

Blade runs with a commonly explored theme in vampire fiction. It has to do with the basics of how vampires work.

On paper, vampires are stronger, faster, sexier, and better than humans. However, their entire existence is predicated on being able to exploit a “lower” class of being, without which they could not naturally exist. For all their power and pretense, they are reliant on the humans, while the humans need them not at all. The basic mythological structure lends itself to a Marxist allegory VERY easily.

The vampire leadership of Blade support this reading. They are not only literal bloodsuckers, they also serve as metaphorical parasites to society at large. The vampires command obvious social privilege, and are clearly coded to emphasize this. They are primarily white, overwhelmingly male, and entirely affluent, insulated from the dirtier business of Blade’s war, especially compared to their much more diverse minions. They positively scream Old Money, with all that implies.

The film is very specific in its framing of the vampire threat; it is not external. Vampires are not interlopers or foreign threats. They are an entrenched aspect of the normal order of business.

Blade as the Class/Race Traitor

Blade himself sits in a liminal space. He’s a vampire, but he has elected to side with humanity. He stands between the two groups to shield the one he cannot claim from the one he cannot deny.

You’ll note that a big part of Blade’s character in the film revolves around the steps he takes to make sure that he doesn’t have to partake of human blood. The only time he breaks this rule is when he needs power for a specific purpose (to bring down Frost), and only from a source that is able to give free and knowing consent. Blade is perfectly willing to use the power (i.e. privilege) he has, but he is not willing to exploit other people to maintain it.

What makes Blade’s restraint even more admirable is that he has even less reason to exercise it than the average vampire. Blade was born a vampire, making him a pureblood. He occupies a privileged position even within the vampire hierarchy. But beyond that, Blade’s status as Daywalker means he doesn’t have traditional vampire weaknesses. On a purely practical level, it’s all upside. He could be the most powerful vampire of all and the progenitor of a new subspecies. Frost makes it clear that the Daywalker could switch sides if he felt like it. The problems are all contingent on Blade’s own morals. Blade stands in opposition to the entrenched vampire system because he thinks it’s right, not because he has to.

Destroying the System vs. Hijacking the System

Whats interesting is that Blade is not the only important character that stands in this space between human and vampire. Deacon Frost also sits apart.

Frost is not a pure vampire. He is seen as lesser than the old guard, which makes him their enemy just as much as Blade. The difference is that Frost has no intention of destroying the system of predation. Though he has been treated unfairly, he has no designs on actual reform. His quarrel is with the specific tradition that precludes his ambitions, not the underlying inequality.

The idea that the use of privilege is dictated by personal choice rather than original identity is reinforced with the revelation that Blade’s mother survived. Unlike her son, Vanessa was turned into a full vampire and embraced the change. The message is that anybody can sell out their peers for a seat at the table.

Frost and the other vampires who aren’t “pure” are stand-ins for New Money, or White Feminism, or any other group or ideology that seeks to address its own grievances while maintaining the essence of the system that creates them.

Blade and Law Enforcement

One notable corollary of this larger class/race theme is the film’s depiction of law enforcement. The vampires represent a clear and present danger to public safety. However, the police are not opposed to the vampires’ reign. Rather than representing some optimistic sense of justice, the police are another cog in the broken system that advantages the parasitic upper class.

It’s no accident that the first time the police exert active force upon the narrative is when they immediately try to shoot Blade instead of the murderous vampire he’s hunting, thus allowing said vampire to escape. It’s even less of an accident that the one named police officer is an explicit vampire thrall. In Blade, the police are a tool of the established (vampiric) order. Make of that what you will.

Cast of Blade

Blade/Eric Brooks

Wesley Snipes stars as the titular Daywalker. Snipes nails the physicality of the role as well as the requisite action hero bravado and charisma. At the very least he’s a ton of fun to watch.

Unfortunately, there’s not much emotional depth to the performance. However, that’s definitely a result of a narrative choice, not mere sloppy writing. The script actively chooses to cast Blade as a stoic, emphasizing his relentless dedication to his cause as a function of his fundamental nature. I still would have liked a more dynamic take on the main character, but if you’re going to pursue this type of action hero, this is the way to do it. And Snipes is more than up to the challenge. There have been plenty of actors who did less with more.

Dr. Karen Jenson

N’Bushe Wright plays Dr. Karen Jenson. She’s the dedicated audience surrogate. She has almost no character development outside of her introductory scene, but she does get a surprising amount of agency in the plot.

I’m always glad to see a film not fall into the trap of relegating it’s female lead to a pure love interest or damsel in distress. Jenson is not that. She’s a scientist who actively works on curing vampirism, and she’s able to save herself and Blade when necessary. But she’s still a fairly flat character.

Whistler

Kris Kristofferson plays Abraham Whistler. He’s playing a fairly generic mentor character, but he’s doing it well. He’s the dedicated source of exposition for most of the film, and not much else.

Deacon Frost

Finally, Stephen Dorff rounds out the cast as Deacon Frost, Blade’s nemesis. Dorff captures Frost’s entities rage and lack of empathy well. He encapsulates the smarmy young gun yuppie I think they were going for. He chews the scenery, but he looks good doing it.

Honestly, the raw charisma would probably be enough to rank Frost among the better caliber of Marvel villains, but he also gets more screen time and characterization than most. His motivations are far from sympathetic or relatable, but they ARE comprehensible. Frost has a goal and general motivations, he has a plan to pursue them, and his actions are always rationally related to both. He’s a competently constructed villain bolstered by a good performance, and that alone makes him better than the norm.

Production Quality

Blade deserves congratulations for holding up as well as it does given its age. Basically everything that isn’t the CGI is still great.

Costume Design

I don’t have much to say here, but I’d like to mention that I unironically love Blade’s design. The sunglasses, duster, and tactical vest are a dynamite combo. As much as it might be mocked now, it wasn’t for no reason that a certain variety of nerd spent much of the ‘90s and ‘00s trying to make leather ensembles happen.

Stunts and Fights

Blade does its action incredibly well. What it might lack in modern choreography and camera work compared to more modern competitors, it makes up for with raw style.

Blade is an older variety of action hero. This film hails from an era before the Bourne franchise popularized shaky-cam, closeups, and quick cuts as the norm. That means you can sometimes see the seams of the world, such as when a punch doesn’t quite connect but a vampire sells it for all they’re worth anyway. However, it also means you can actually follow the action and appreciate some of the more involved choreography. I’ll take style and clarity over raw technical proficiency nine times out of them.

CGI

Blade actually looks shockingly good, given its age. I think that’s because it makes use of a lot if practical effects, and uses CGI sparingly and in highly stylized ways. That primarily means animating the dissolution of the vampires killed by Blade, who turn to dust in a rudimentary but not awful demonstration of early CG tech.

The one truly bad visual effect is when Frost pulls himself back together after his transformation. The big CGI blood mass looks awful. But it’s easy enough to look past given its just the one scene.

Music

Blade has an…interesting soundtrack. It’s dominated by influences from techno, and it’s not particularly memorable. I wouldn’t necessarily add it to my personal library, but within the context of the film it serves the overall aesthetic.

Conclusion

Blade holds up super well, provided you can look past some areas where it shows its age. Some visual effects have aged rather poorly, and Blade himself could be more dynamic. However, the overall production quality and narrative strength is more than sufficient to make Blade worth your time.

However, “great considering its age” isn’t the same as “great.” I think Blade is a good film, but it’s not quite in the elite tier. I’ve put it towards the middle of my rankings.

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