10 Movies You Wrongly Thought Were Innovators
6. Blade Did Bullet Time Before The Matrix
Blade was ahead of its time in a few ways. It was a great comic book movie at a time when such a thing seemed impossible, and it reinvented a C-list character as a cool badass. It also kick-started the modern wave of comic movies, with X-Men following soon after.
It merged American and Asian action styles together before The Matrix did, and it even pulled off “bullet time” before The Wachowskis. During a scene where Blade confronts his enemy – and technically, his vampire father – Frost in a park, he pulls out his gun and fires a few rounds.
The scene slows way down, and Frost displays some nimble reflexes by dodging the bullets and tossing his hostage at Blade. While The Matrix certainly pulled the effect off with more aplomb, Blade beat them to the punch by at least a year.