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“Some motherfuckers always trying to ice skate uphill.” Blade (Wesley Snipes) always has something awesome to say. The type of badassery that runs deep within his Daywalker veins. As he slices vampires left and right, there’s a total lack of hesitation in every motion. Blade served as an early indicator for what would follow in terms of Marvel adaptations. A true understanding of the character. The type of conviction that showed this wasn’t kiddie fodder. Hip styles of the era that showed just how modern both the superhero and horror genre can be. It helps that the film just kicks all sorts of ass, quite frankly.
Decades of Horror 1990s
Episode 18 — Blade (1998)
In 1998, comic book movies were in a pretty rough spot. Batman & Robin made the entire genre a flashy joke. A series of flops like The Phantom or The Shadow had sunk the box office potential to nothing. Things were looking bleak… until the Daywalker himself, Blade made his presence known and kicked all sorts of ass. The film creaked the door open, allowing X-Men to walk right in and Spider-Man to flip the table into a massive success. Still, Blade has plenty to love on its own. Heroin chic reinventions of vampire lore. Wesley Snipes at his absolute peak as an action star. Some kick ass choreography that’s supported by surprisingly emotional pathos. The supporting cast along is pretty killer fanged as well. Such as Kris Kristofferson as his tough as nails mentor and villainous vampires like Donal Logue ringing in some comedic brilliance. Looking back, Blade is honestly a refreshing reminder of the compact yet gloriously entertaining potential of a self-contained superhero film.
To talk about all of this, Thomas Mariani welcomes returning guests Adam Thomas and Santos Ellin Jr, but also brings on a new voice Shakyl Lambert. All four discuss Blade and its various components. There’s plenty of praise for the martial arts choreography. Each cast member gets a bit of praise thrown at them… except maybe Stephen Dorff. The direction from Stephen Norrington gets a fair amount of love and even a bit of sadness given his career came to an abrupt halt after The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Tough break, dude. The group even dives into how Blade opened the door for modern superhero films and what the future of the character could be. It’s a blood suckin’ good time!
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The intro and outro is “Suck City” by Black Math. Look for more of their music via Free Music Archive.
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Species (1995)
