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Blade II
-DVD New Line Home Entertainment – 2002 Directed by Guillermo Del Toro Written by David S. Goyer Starring: Wesley Snipes Kris Kristofferson Ron Perlman Leonor Varela Norman Reedus Luke Gross |
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| Blade was a very cool movie. But do you remember
the opening scene in T-2 where we see the skull perched on top of a pile of human bones,
when out of nowhere comes the Terminator/endoskeleton’s metallic foot to smash the
skull to dust. Well that’s basically what Guillermo Del Toro has done with his
explosive sequel, which tops the first film in every way. From the first scene to the last frame Del Toro pushes the accelerator down on hyperkinetic camera movement, physical effects and jaw dropping stunts. You literally cannot take your eyes off the screen because the action comes fast and furious with Del Toro capturing it with amazing visual skill. David S. Goyer has to be commended for two reasons. His story is focused on the right elements and he was the one who got Del Toro involved. Wesley Snipes is back in the role of his lifetime. Snipes plays Blade with the perfect blend of charisma and physicality. He goes 100% into the role and the results of his focused performance are evident in both Blade films. Kris Kristofferson brings an air of experience as Blade’s mentor Whistler. The supporting cast is excellent with Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela and Norman Reedus rounding out the main characters. A new vicious breed of vampire called Reapers has hit the streets and it’s up to Blade and Whistler to save mankind. They end up teaming up with Bloodpack, a group of vampires skilled in combat. This sets up a volatile situation where Del Toro gleefully oversees white hot thrills and bloodshed. Besides a masterful vision, Del Toro makes the sequel scarier and more horrific. This is especially surprising since most sequels are watered down versions of the first film. New Line Home Video has not left anything out with this comprehensive collection of supplements. There are two separate audio commentary tracks and the one with Del Toro and producer Peter Frankfurt must be heard. Guillermo is quite simply one of the most entertaining filmmakers to hear speak. He is honest, passionate and pretty damn funny. To prepare for Blade II Guillermo asked New Line for every second of raw footage from the first Blade, so he could understand what worked and what didn’t. Talk about doing your homework. Del Toro felt that Blade II would give him the opportunity to improve as a "craftsman." The other audio commentary features David S. Goyer and Wesley Snipes. Deleted/Alternate scenes are available with director commentary. Guillermo’s introduction sums up this section’s overall value. A Pact in Blood is an awesome collection of documentaries that chronicle the way this movie was made. Running 83 minutes with additional pop up info, I had to ask myself, how much more info can a DVD hold? It is a filmmaker and film fans’ smorgasbord of behind the scenes goodies. The Director’s Notebook is an interactive look at Del Toro’s notebook/diary. It’s about as close and intimate as you will ever get to look inside the mind of a film director. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this on DVD and Guillermo should take a bow for allowing us to peek into his highly creative mind. The Art Gallery is extensive with sequence concepts, costume, set designs and storyboards. The Visual Effects section is pretty amazing. It’s broken down into two parts; Tippet Studios work in synthetic stuntman, the digital man, and Steve Johnson’s progress reports on special make-up work. Johnson’s video diary is jam packed 53 minutes of the ingenious work his team of artists accomplished. There is a DVD-Rom with script to screen, official website and a feature called hotspot. I almost forgot to mention Marco Beltrami’s cool score is isolated in 5.1 surround sound, theatrical trailers, press kit, Cypress Hill and Roni Size music video "Child of the Wild West." Oh yeah, there is also Blade II video game survival guide. Blade II has an extraordinary picture transfer and maybe the most dynamic audio ever presented on DVD. What more do you need? |
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