neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Blade II
	Guillermo del Toro Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman 2002		The second chapter of the live-action movie series featuring Wesley Snipes as Marvel Comics' vampire hunter Blade is little more than illogical sound and fury, as the half-human, half-vamp hero teams with his blood-sucking enemies to defeat the Reapers — a new, more disgusting genetic offshoot of vampire society. Advances in computer graphics let the vampires in "Blade II" perish in more elaborate explosions of flame, smoke, dust and collapsing bones than before. With improved effects, the Reapers' mouths expand into viscera-dripping insect-style mandibles. The dank Eastern European setting lends atmosphere. The adventurous, visually brazen Mexican director Guillermo del Toro ("The Devil's Backbone") is an ace at the controls. Hulking Ron Perlman plays a fanged bad guy. But the sequel begins to squander the advantages it has over Blade's auspicious cinema debut when his irritable mentor (Kris Kristofferson) is brought back from the undead with no explanation of how it was done.