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Blade II

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Blade II
Movie poster for Blade II
Directed byGuillermo del Toro
Written byScreenplay:
David S. Goyer
Comic Book:
Marv Wolfman
Gene Colan
Produced byWesley Snipes
Peter Frankfurt
Patrick Palmer
StarringWesley Snipes
Kris Kristofferson
Ron Perlman
Thomas Kretschmann
Leonor Varela
Danny John-Jules
Luke Goss
Edited byPeter Amundson
Music byMarco Beltrami
Distributed byNew Line Cinema
Release dates
February 5, 2002
Running time
117 min.
LanguageEnglish
Budget$55,000,000 (est.)

Blade II is a 2002 vampire action film directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Wesley Snipes. Based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Blade, it is the second film in the Blade series.

Plot

Two years after the end of the previous film, Blade cuts a swath through the vampire population of Prague to find his old mentor Abraham Whistler being kept in suspended animation. He rescues Whistler, who has been turned into a vampire, and administers an accelerated version of the cure that was developed in the first film. Whistler revives and learns that Blade has procured a new weaponsmith in his absence, Scud.

As Whistler and Scud begin to argue, a pair of vampires invade Blade's base and deliver a truce offering. Blade accepts and visits the fortress of the ancient vampire Eli Damaskinos. There he learns that a disease spread by Jared Nomak has created a new strain of infected vampires called Reapers that threaten to wipe out all human life on the planet. The vampires offer to ally with Blade in order to combat this mutual threat. Blade agrees and teams with the Bloodpack, an elite vampire squad that was created to battle Blade himself.

Blade and the Bloodpack stake out a vampire nightclub, and their uneasy alliance quickly wears thin. When the Reapers attack, Blade pursues Nomak, and learns that he too bears a personal grudge against vampires. After the battle, the group deduces that the Reapers' only weakness is ultraviolet light. They concoct a plan to lure the Reapers into the sewers and ambush them with UV grenades. Though Blade develops an unusual connection with Nyssa, the daughter of Damaskinos, he is ultimately betrayed by the Bloodpack during the ambush.

Blade, Whistler, and Scud are taken back to Damaskinos's fortress as prisoners, where Damaskinos reveals that he created Nomak in a botched effort to breed a superior race of vampires. Scud also reveals himself as a traitor, but Blade kills him with his own bomb. As Nomak assaults the fortress, Whistler and Blade break free. Damaskinos prepares to flee, but he is betrayed by Nyssa. Nomak kills Damaskinos and infects Nyssa before Blade catches up to him. Blade and Nomak engage in an epic battle before Blade stabs Nomak in the heart. On the brink of death, Nomak feels relieved of his pain and completes the fatal blow.

As the sun dawns, Blade stoically grants Nyssa her final wish to see the sun, to die as a vampire before the Reaper virus takes hold of her. In an epilogue, Blade goes to London in order to settle an old score with a vampire flunky.

Cast

  • Wesley Snipes as Blade: A half-vampire "daywalker" who hunts vampires.
  • Kris Kristofferson as Abraham Whistler: Blade's human mentor and weaponsmith.
  • Ron Perlman as Reinhardt: A member of the Bloodpack, who bears a particular grudge against Blade.
  • Leonor Varela as Nyssa Damaskinos: An unapologetic, natural-born vampire and daughter to Damaskinos, Nyssa develops an unusual connection with Blade.
  • Norman Reedus as Scud: A young weaponsmith who aids Blade in Whistler's absence. He is also a vampire double-agent.
  • Thomas Kretschmann as Eli Damaskinos: An ancient vampire who is obsessed with creating a superior race of vampires as his legacy.
  • Luke Goss as Jared Nomak: Patient zero and carrier of the Reaper virus. He bears a grudge against Damaskinos for forsaking him.
  • Matt Schulze as Chupa: A pugnacious member of the Bloodpack who bears a particular grudge against Whistler.
  • Danny John-Jules as Asad: A well-mannered member of the Bloodpack who helps deliver Damaskinos's message to Blade.
  • Donnie Yen as Snowman: A mute swordsman and member of the Bloodpack. Yen also choreographed three of the fight scenes for the film.
  • Karel Roden as Karl Kounen: A "familiar", Damaskinos's human agent and lawyer.
  • Marit Velle Kile as Verlaine: A pink-haired member of the Bloodpack and the lover of Lighthammer.
  • Daz Crawford as Lighthammer: A hulking, hammer-wielding member of the Bloodpack.
  • Tony Curran as Priest: An Irish-accented member of the Bloodpack, and the first member to be infected by the Reaper virus.
  • Santiago Segura as Rush: A vampire flunky in Prague who temporarily escapes Blade's wrath.
  • Chris Hay as Reaper: A vampire in Prague who gets infected with the Reaper virus.

Reception

Blade II was the most successful of the Blade film trilogy, making $80 million in the United States and $150 million worldwide. Critically, however, the film's reviews were less favorable, gaining a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. While it is a generally mixed score, it is the highest rated Blade film, surpassing Blade 's 55% and Trinity 's 27%. On a similar film critic website, Metacritic, the film has a 52, indicating "Mixed or Average Reviews." This again surpasses Blade 's 45 and Trinity 's 38.

Soundtrack

A soundtrack was released the same time as the movie and released by Virgin Records

  1. "Blade (Theme from Blade)" by Marco Beltrami & Danny Saber
  2. "Cowboy" by Eve & Fatboy Slim
  3. "I Against I" by Mos Def & Massive Attack
  4. "Right Here, Right Now" by Ice Cube & Paul Oakenfold
  5. "Tao of the Machine" by The Roots & BT
  6. "Child of the Wild West" by Cypress Hill & Roni Size
  7. "The One" by Busta Rhymes & Dub Pistols
  8. "We Be Like This" by Jadakiss & Danny Saber
  9. "Gorillaz on My Mind" by Redman & Gorillaz
  10. "Gangsta Queens" by Trina & Groove Armada
  11. "PHDream" by The Crystal Method
  12. "Rasied in the Hood" by Volume 10 & Roni Size
  13. "Gettin' Aggressive" by Mystikal & Moby
  14. "Mind What You Say" by Buppy

Video Game

Blade 2, Activision, Inc, 2002

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Blade II.
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