The Blade trilogy were rare R-rated comic book movies, attempting to blend that signature outlandishness with colourful language and plenty of gore: why bother adapting Blade unless you were going to do it that way, right? The first Blade was a modest critical success (55%) and a huge financial hit (especially for an R-rated movie), leading to Guillermo del Toro directing the 2002 sequel. Though the visual effects admittedly have not aged well, del Toro again elevates pulpy material with his signature style, making it feel as though the comic book pages are flying out of the screen, while a more confident Wesley Snipes delivers a near-perfect rendition of the title character. It's not just the action that sizzles, though: the relationship between Blade and his mentor Whistler (played by a superb Kris Kristoffersen) continues to be the movie's most interesting component, and Whistler's resurrection was certainly a smart creative decision (before they stupidly killed him off for good in the third movie). Then there's the addition of the Blood Pack, a group of vampire assassins Blade reluctantly teams with, including Ron Perlman and Donnie Yen in its roster, who add considerable personality to the movie. In fairness, Blade II is the best-reviewed (59%) and highest-grossing ($155 million against $50 million) movie of the franchise, so as a result it should have pretty high esteem, right? Well, firstly, it deserves considerably higher than 59% from critics, yet despite its strong box office performance, it's just not a movie that appears often in discussions about great comic book movies. It may not have the complexity of the MCU or Christopher Nolan's Batman movies, but in terms of capturing the essence of its character, Blade II is pretty much note-perfect.
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