*** Official BLADE TRINITY Review Thread

Short and sweet:

It fucking SUCKED


More detail:

I truly enjoyed Blade I and II, and both imediately became staples of my DVD collections. The opening sequence of the first film is something I use to demo the benefits of a nice set-up, and a great action sequence. I prefer I to II, but II feels of the same cloth, and is a fine movie in it's own right. In short, I was seeing this regardless of interviews. Blade films had earned a free pass.

If you had told me that this film was written by the same guy who wrote the first two after seeing Trinity, I'd be floored. If you had told me it was a first time director...well, THAT I believe. It's Blade Madlibs, as generic, hackneyed, and poorly shot as they come. Pretty simple. I don't expect great films with the series, but I do expect to be entertained. Not bored. And was I ever bored!

I have had a great run in 2004. I haven't seen a ton, but my percentages were very high. Quality across the board. Thus passes 2004, on December 8, in a ball of flames.

Hyperbole aside (something had to entertain me), it's just a dull, plodding, disjointed film. It lacks the verve and energy of previous installments. I won't get into the finer points (the grief is too near) of my beefs. Suffice it to say, it feels like about 2 hours were edited out, and this is the B-roll.

There was good: I think I caught a 20 second catnap during the middle.

No, to be honest, Ryan Reynolds was overused, but the guy is a star. He had the shining moment of humor during the film. I liked him. A lot. It's charisma. And Jessica Biel was as attractive as in the ads.

Everything else FUCKING sucked

2/10 (Hannibal only, plus a nice transformation scene early on),
Chuck

P.S. Writing this gave me little pleasure. I wanted to love this film, and finish the trilogy on DVD. Fat chance of that.

P.P.S. Thanks for the warning, Weinberg I will make it my life's ambition to frag Gorehound2 every chance I get.

EDIT: P.P.P.S. No Batman trailer either.

I think this film suffered a lot from some of the casting choices for the bad guys, especially Domenic Purcell, but Parker Posey did what she had to work with.

The action scenes in the first half of the film are poor and uninvolving, the problem is not in the way of hyper-chaotic camerawork, but had more to do with lack of good camera angles and positioning. The editing just felt awkward, not at all smooth or seamless. Goyer's lack of directorial experience was on display in abundance in the first half. Pretty soon, the viewer gets losts in the action scenes in a confusing way. It does get a little better in the last act, barely, but again, there is still a lot of uninspired staged action sequences that don't do justice to the action pedigree of the earlier Blade films.

The plot in the beginning starts in one direction, but spirals into something less, not more. There is one sequence in the film towards the middle that just felt so awkward, like an idea that should have inspired revulsion, but, again, the scene just never has the right ominous tone, and feels like it was just put in to pile on the vampire hate. It could have easily been excised from the film with little impact on it.

But, as a comedy, Blade Trinity works during the humorous scenes, most of them feature Ryan Reynolds in them, so, for an action film, it made me laugh. Some of the dialogue in those scenes are so over-the-top and sharp and aim below the belt (both figuratively and literally at time), you can't help but laugh at the character's assessment of the situation at hand.

At times I wondered why Blade is saddled with so little in terms of dialogue, rarely managing a complete sentence in most of the scenes. Wesley Snipes might have been paid $10,000 for every word he uttered in the film, if not more (just speculating). Yes, I get that Blade is a brooder, a man of little words, but a man of action.

Jessica Biel tries to make us believe she's the more than the capable daughter of Whistler, but after a while, you just roll with the punches and just accept that she can kick some serious vampire butt.

Domenic Purcell is badly miscast as Dracula, I could never really buy into him in this role, even with the establishing scenes to make him all scary and fearsome.

So, if you're looking for some laughs, show up about an hour into the film, but if you're looking for a tight, action-packed film, you might need to look elsewhere.

I give it 2 stars or a grade of C.

I watched this morning and wasn't all that impressed. Being a big fan of both Blade I and Blade II, Blade: Trinity lacked the timing and interest that those films had.

In a strange sense, Blade III comes off as almost entirely a comedy; somewhat a rip-off of it's own self, and if it was written as self-satire (and announced as such) it would be brilliant; even the action moments are outrageous ripoffs of previous happenings in Blade I / II.

This is a film that almost couldn't decide where it wanted to go.. a surreal, comic (funny) adaptation of the comic book, or the dark, action packed flicks that were Blade I / II.

The film isn't terrible, but it isn't great either. There are a few action sequences that for the effect/sound is worth watching on DVD.. but that's about where I would put the whole film.. something that if you picked it up on DVD you'd say "worth a rent" maybe even a buy if cheap enough ($12 and I'll buy).. but not something worth a run to the theater.

1/2 :

This thread is now the Official Review Thread for "Blade Trinity". Please post all HTF member reviews in this thread.

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Crawdaddy

In a word: bad.

This film succeeds at devaluing vampires to such an extent that I no longer wonder why they are so easily beaten in droves by the mere mortal Nightstalkers.

The film also succeeds in ruining Dracula, who was badly miscast, turned into some kind of half-demon, half-mutant, and dispatched with more ease than either of the villainous vampires that proceeded him in the earlier films. He is neither particularly menacing, intriguing, or interesting. This was the famed progenitor of the vampire race?

The plot does not make much sense and I grow weary of the ever-increasing gadgetry. When mere silver reduces vampires to ash in under a second, why the need for endless varieties of weapons that look more like toys than real munitions? Some gadgets are revealed that play no real part in the resolution of the plot at all. If you're going to spend time introducing this junk, at least make it count somewhere down the line.

Ryan Renolds was good as the wise cracking ex-vampire although, at times, the wise-cracking goes overboard. It just never knows when to stop.

The rest are okay.

This movie screams wait for the video rental. It may actually be more disappointing to Blade fans than not, because of the inevitable comparisons between the three films. There's nothing fresh, bold, or even new here. Formulaic fight scenes punctuate long slow draws of Blade, et al. walking sternly down hallways, striding with purpose. Only, there's only so far that can gets the film, and it's not nearly far enough.

/

I am at work so I will make this short. out of
Or a C- to D+ rating. This movie seriously lacked any depth, story or darkness the other two had.

Well, I'll have to say I enjoyed it. Oddly enough, I have enjoyed the 1st 2 films for totally different reasons and this one is no different. They all brought something different to the table for me. I though Reynolds and Biel were good in their roles and I wouldn't mind the proposed spin-off actually coming out.

Snipes was on autopilot and Dracula was miscast. Parker Posey did an ok job but seemed so out of her usual character that it was odd to watch.

The fight scenes, which were more realistic than Blade 2 IMO, especially the scenes with Biel and Reynolds, carried it through for me though and I ended up enjoying it enough to give it or a B.

Saw it last night.....easily the weakest of the three films. Goyer should stick to writing scripts because he just doesn't cut it as a director.....without director chores, he could have had the time to polish up the script. I agree that the action was somewhat tired and brought nothing new to the table. The first two films had an energy that made it feel like you were there fighting alongside Blade....they were exhilerating. This one, I felt more detached from the action and made me wish that one of the previous directors held the reins to this one.

Another MAJOR problem.......casting. Whoever chose Domenic Purcell for Dracula should be booted out of the business. The man has no presence whatsoever......he comes across like a two-bit thug instead of the lord of vampires. Didn't the casting director watch Dracula movies before? Christopher Lee, Bela Lugosi, Frank Langella, Gary Oldman - they had presence, they could act ominous and threatening like Dracula should be. They could have chosen an actor capable of that kind of intensity.....but no, they chose someone completely bland. They would have been better off to just use the CGI demon version than this guy. Ugh...pisses me off thinking about it.

Also.....enough with the John Woo "I'm walking like a badass with my buddies in slo-mo cause the director thinks it looks cool" shots. I mean....how many times did they do that in this film? Parker Posey seemed to be strutting as if she were on a catwalk.....Enough already! It's become too cliche and we would be better off without it.

On the otherhand, Ryan Reynolds was very funny in his role...hopefully, he'll find a better film to showcase more of his talent. Triple H wasn't bad either. As for Jessica Biel, she really didn't impress me much.....just another butt-kicking slayer. I had no problem with Wesley Snipes' performance.....same as in the previous two.

I'll give it out of (The Dracula casting is unforgiveable. )

Disappointing.

Well, It was better than Underworld but that's not saying much. Hard to believe this has the same writer. He seemed to be going for a lighter feel which really didnt need to be. It's as if Blade is in one movie and everyone else is in a High Gloss Action movie. The two don't mesh well. I enjoyed Ryan Reynolds and to some extent Jessica Bieh but they really didnt belong in this movie. Maybe a Buffy movie or something with a no so serious tone. Maybe the studio made Goyer go with a less serious tone in order to get the movie made?
The whole film has a been there done that feel to it.
What was with the Vampire dogs? Hmmm. I just dont know.

Hoping Goyer redeems himself with Batman Begins.

Please see this in the loudest theater in your area. This movie has great sound with awesome explosive punches and explosions that are played at ridiculous levels. The soundtrack kicks ass and really sounds good loud. The bass was awesome in the theater I went too and this will be a great demo to see if your home theater measures up.

Secondly forget about the prequels and their semi serous take and prepare for total silliness and you’ll be fine. I gave in and began to really enjoy myself with the funny one-liners that Ryan Reynolds delivered. He was great and without him it would be a definite F. That woman with fangs not in her mouth but in her vagina (Parker Posey) is so bad its funny. She is kind of like Anna Nichole Smith as a vampire. She was so pathetic and believe you me I hated seeing her in the beginning but by the end she really had me laughing. The guy playing Dracula was so wrong that anyone I mean anyone could pick a better person off the street to play that role. The story itself is pure bullshit so forget about trying to get some deep meaning or feeling of continuity from the other films it ain’t happening. This is only good if you can laugh with it and enjoy the loud explosive moments of craziness. If you need a good story with well-developed characters then avoid at all costs.

I might buy this on DVD just for the funny parts and the loud music but with such a bad story I don’t know if I’m willing to weed through the tons of garbage again just to get 30 min of pleasure. Yeah I probably will and file it under comedy.

C-

Saw it this w/e and enjoyed it. Definitely not to be taken seriously!!

The first was by far the best IMHO. The second went for the "gross out" factor too much and thus dropped it a few pegs for me (besides 1 and 2 had the same premise in the end -- bleed Blade dry).

Anyway like the "team" aspect of this one and thought Ryan Reynolds did well (dam did he hit the gym or what??) and so did Jessica Biehl (she looked hot whoopin' some a$$ in this flick).

Anyway it wasn't cinematic greatness but I enjoyed the 2 hours I spent watching it (except for the wussy ending).

Greg

Blade 3 was a comedy, pure and simple. The vampires were turned into total jokes.

If you take it this lightly, you will be entertained and laugh.

The lead female vampire was meant to be a joke I think (I hope), and as someone said above she's so bad it's funny. Dracula is throwaway - not menacing in the least bit. In those scenes when he was walking the streets I thought I was watching a Gap commercial.

Jessica Biel was there for T&A, that's all. There's really no depth to her character. Ryan Reynolds was way more developed and I thought he was funny. Wesley Snipes was good in the role, as always.

2.5/5 (would be 1/5 if I took it seriously)

I finally got to see this movie. I am in the absolute minority here in thinking Domenic Purcell did a wonderful job as Dracula. I thought the take on the character was refreshing. Here was a character so old that nothing impresses him, not even modern technology. He has seen enough in his years. He seems mildly perturbed that he was awakened for a cause that isn't even his. He has no reason to help those who awakened him. He finds Blade more of an amusement or challenge than an actual enemy. He seems tired of the his existance but enough of a sport to play along.

I actually thought Parker Posey was Faruza Baulk for a while. LOL. This is the first time I saw her in anything. I didn't mind her character at all. I actually found her funny. She almost reminded me of a Catwoman type of character.
The movie itself plays like a comic book and this was reinforced in my mind when the montage action sequences were split frame. It reminded me of a comic book panel.

Ryan Reynolds reminded me of Jason Lee for some reason. Seeing him get dressed down by Snipes was great. The jokes were sometimes a bit much and could be contributed to lazy dialogue but I didn't really see this movie for three page long monologues.

I think I could have done without the Ipod commercial within the movie everytime Jessica Biehl would begin to fight. I guess it reminded me too much of when I used to play video games with the headphones on. Maybe it was a joke so the viewer would know what the source of the music was.

Overall, the last half lacked the intensity of the first half but I enjoyed the movie. I think it helped because I really lowered my expectations after reading this thread.

The movie does poke fun at itself and vampires in general. Seeing Drake go into a Gothe store selling vampire merchandise was great. I was half expecting him to quote the character Suicide from "Return of the Living Dead" and say, "What do you think this is? A costume? This is a way of life!". I really thought that scene was clever.

Matt

I loved the first one, liked the second and this third one makes Dracula 2000 look like Shakespeare by comparison. The Nightstalkers were really cool, up until they all died except for Ryan Reynolds and the walking iPod commercial. The fights were so generic compared to what went on in parts 1 & 2. It was like watching the same action scene over and over and over... The only thing I'd pay to see now connected to this franchise would be a pre-Trinity Nighstalkers film.


Right on, brother! out of