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List Price: $26.98 | | Label: New Line Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 7294
Released: September 3, 2002 |
| Our Price: $3.59 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Get set for more action, more vampires and more Wesley Snipes in this second monster-hit installment in the Blade franchise.
Description of Blade II (New Line Platinum Series):
Aptly described by critic Roger Ebert as "a vomitorium of viscera," Blade II takes the express route to sequel success. So if you enjoyed Blade, you'll probably drool over this monster mash, which is anything but boring. Set (and filmed) in Prague, the plot finds a new crop of "Reaper" vampires threatening to implement a viral breeding program, and they're nearly impervious to attacks by Blade (Wesley Snipes), his now-revived mentor Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), and a small army of "normal" vampires who routinely combust in a constant conflagration of spectacular special effects. It's up to Blade to conquer the über-vamps, and both Snipes and director Guillermo del Toro (Mimic) serve up a nonstop smorgasbord of intensely choreographed action, creepy makeup, and graphic ultraviolence. It's sadistic, juvenile, numbing, and--for those who dig this kind of thing--undeniably impressive. With the ever-imposing Ron Perlman as a vampire villain. --Jeff Shannon
Blade II (New Line Platinum Series) Reviews:
Blade 2 is an ok blu ray, but you should wait for the US release 
2009-12-20 - Blade 2 is my favorite of the Blade trilogy; it doesn't take itself as seriously as the grim and gritty first film, but it's more cohesive and less hokey than the third. That's not to say that I don't like the other two, I just felt that 2 has more of a "We got the origin out of the way, now let's run with it" kind of humorous and entertaining feel to it.
That said, Blade 2 has always been one of my favorite audio demo discs for my home theater (particularly the scenes where they hunt the reapers in the sewer and when they arrive at the House of Pain), so when I saw that the trilogy was now available on blu ray (albeit import versions), I jumped at the opportunity to upgrade the second movie.
The first thing I noticed, before even opening the packaging, was that the audio is now available in DTS-Master Audio 5.1. I was a little disappointed because the original DVD had a DTS 6.1 track, and I was worried that I'd be losing something in the "upgrade." However, I was pleased to see that the lossless nature of the track surpassed the original DVD (it is NOT, however, the default track selected when you watch the movie and you can't switch the audio feed until the movie has started... so that's pretty lame, but if you pause it and then make the switch while the opening logos are starting up, you'll be OK). The video quality, available in 1080p, looks stunning and really showcases the fine detail that Del Toro worked into the film, BUT it's been cropped to 1.78:1 (the original was in 1.85:1), so you may be losing a little in the transfer.
The biggest shortcoming of the blu ray is the complete lack of extra features present. The Platinum Series DVD release was loaded with supplements, so it's not as though this stuff didn't already exist. I had an extra 2-disc blu ray case laying around so I teamed the blu ray disc with the extra features disc from the DVD. Still, even if you do this, you can't retain all of the special features because the audio commentary track from the first disc of the DVD set is not on the blu ray.
I was somewhat happy with the blu ray upgrade of Blade 2, but only because I already had the special features disc from the original DVD to complete set. There are definitely some unforgivable shortcomings to this import release though. For example, I can understand why the disc wouldn't default to the best audio track available because not every blu ray player can decode DTS Master Audio, but then if that's the case, there should be a menu prior to the start of the movie that lets you select it if you wish. Also, since both 1.78:1 and 1.85:1 will fill a widescreen TV, it baffles me why they'd make the adjustment. Although this edition can be considered an upgrade from the DVD, and will play in a Region 1 player, it is not a US release, so I have to imagine that a US release is on the horizon. If you're a fan of the movie, I suggest you wait for that release so you're not sacrificing the special features or suffering an aspect-ratio modification while making the upgrade.
Blade II 
2009-12-18 - Blade II is a successful sequel, it does what is has to do be right on with the original. What makes it a great sequel to is their ability to go in a different direction but at the same time, doing it correctly.
Action packed 
2009-02-26 - This is another action packed Blade movie. Not as good as the first Blade but still takes you on a thrilling ride.
Don't fear the reapers
2009-02-05 - Listen to the director commentary, and you'll hear Guillermo del Toro saying that he wanted the Blade sequel to be a fun, gory, comic-booky experience.
Well, he succeeded. Grotesquely gory and full of rapid-fire violence, "Blade II" is unashamed of its animeish action sequences and tongue-in-cheek humor ("Catch you later!"). Wesley Snipes and del Toro give it a suitably monstrous charm, although David Goyer's leaden dialogue bogs down many promising scenes.
While a monstrous hooded vampire preys on other vampires, Blade (Snipes) manages to track down his vampirized mentor Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) and cures him of his vampirism.
Then a pair of vampire ninjas arrive, bearing a message for Blade: ancient vampire lord Damaskinos (Thomas Kretschmann) wants to meet with him. Turns out there's a monstrous vampiric mutation called the Reapers loose -- highly contagious, really disgusting, and preys on humans and vampires alike. Blade reluctantly agrees to work with the elite vampire assassin squad called the Bloodpack.
Of course, tensions run high between the vampires and the little gang sworn to kill them -- especially when they arrive at the rave club House of Pain and lose some of their number. Blade takes on the Reapers' leader, Jared Nomak (Luke Goss), only to discover that there are some nasty secrets behind the Reapers' origins. And Damaskinos' plans are far nastier and further-reaching than anyone could have guessed.
Those expecting a copy of the first "Blade" movie should leave the building now. Guillermo del Toro's direction gives "Blade II" a very unique flavour all its own -- it's faster, more grotesque, more fantastical, and more infused with quirky humor. The one sour note is the magical return of Whistler at the beginning, where it turns out that whoops, he wasn't QUITE dead and he's getting better. Contrived much?
And del Toro has fun with the action -- lots of grotesque gore (those flip-out Reaper mouths), anime-style action (Blade garrotes a vampire on a motorcycle) and highly destructive gun battles. The first four-fifths of the story are just mindless shoot-'em-up-and-burn-up-to-ashes Reaper-hunts, but it mutates in the last act. Suddenly we're faced with a vampiric tale of betrayal, revenge and Grecian-style tragedy.
The big problem with this movie? Goyer's dialogue is hit or miss. Sometimes it's hilarious ("You're human." "Barely. I'm a lawyer"), and sometimes it sounds like he put it in because it looked cool on paper ("There's an old saying: Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer"). Much of the time, it's the latter.
Wesley Snipes seems to be having a good time here, with lots of wild action and some wry humour ("Now you got an explosive device stuck to the back of your head"), and Leonor Varela provides a hint of possible romance as an autopsy-performing vampire princess. And the whispery-voiced Luke Goss manages to take a truly repulsive character ("so... so sweet!") and give him an air of tragedy.
In fact, most of the acting is pretty good in this movie, although most of the actors don't get a lot to do (Donnie Yen is particularly underused), though Ron Perlman is wonderfully loathsome as a neo-Nazi vampire who gets on Blade's bad side. Norman Reedus is intensely annoying as Scud, though -- you'll spend a lot of time hoping that someone shoots him by accident.
"Blade II" is a very different beast than its predecessor, and del Toro does a great job with some truly mediocre scripting. Worth seeing if you have a strong stomach.
Vampire Heaven
2008-12-03 - A great follow-up to the original movie. New vampires, new weapons, new tricks. If you're a "sucker" for vampire movies, this one delivers.
