Blade II (2002, Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson)

Certain that he is still alive, vampire/ human hybrid Blade (Wesley Snipes) seeks out his mentor, Abraham Whistler (Kris Kristofferson). After two years the crusade locates its target, and Whistler is rescued and cleansed of the vampire taint. In the interim, a new breed of bloodsucker, ‘The Reaper Strain’, has emerged.

Vampire overlord Damaskinos (Thomas Kretschmann) sends an emissary, his daughter Nyssa (Leonor Varela), to plead for Blade’s intervention against this new threat. He agrees, forming a group of elite vampire warriors, and begins an assault. From the outset, it’s clear this new opponent will not be easily toppled…

Unlike that other leather-and-lunge franchise, The Matrix, Blade managed one decent sequel. This was it. Everything is familiar, but comfortable: Blade has accepted his situation, Whistler’s back and the script is still sharp and funny. As proven with Mimic and Hellboy , Del Toro is perfect to direct this type of material. Injecting pace, colour and (most importantly) credibility, it’s hard to imagine the film would have flowed quite so well in other hands (see Blade 3 for proof).

Shot in Prague, the production attracted headlines for cast and crew’s sampling of the city’s legendary nightlife. This included Luke Goss rescuing The Lost Boys’ Kiefer Sutherland from a bar fight, and press calls where interviewees were accompanied by lapdancers. The questions carried appropriate gravitas, with Snipes asked if Blade could take Batman in a fight. ‘Are you kidding?’ said the star. ‘Blade would take that pussy’s utility belt and spank his rubber-clad ass with it! Then he’d take his car! Then he’d strip it down, kit it out and put a decent sound system in. No damn problem.’

production details
Germany – USA | 117 minutes | 2002

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Script: Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan, David S. Goyer, Jason Brubaker,

cast
Wesley Snipes as Blade
Thomas Kretschmann as Damaskinos
Santiago Segura as Rush
Norman Reedus as Scud
Tony Curran as Priest
Danny John-Jules as Asad
Daz Crawford as Lighthammer
Jan Révai as Reaper
Kris Kristofferson as Whistler
Ron Perlman as Reinhardt
Leonor Varela as Nyssa
Luke Goss as Nomak
Matt Schulze as Chupa
Donnie Yen as Snowman
Karel Roden as Kounen
Marit Velle Kile as Verlaine
Samuel Le as Jigsaw
Marek Vašut as Golem
Pete Lee-Wilson as Blood Bank Doctor / Reaper
Paul Kasey as Blood Bank Guard / Reaper
Andrea Miltner as Blood Bank Nurse
Ladislav Beran as Drug Dealer
Jiří Maria Sieber as Blood Bank Guard
Bridge Markland as Vampire with Exposed Spine
Jamie Wilson as Reaper
Stuart Luis as Reaper
Ladislav Mohyla as Reaper
Jan Malík as Reaper
Mário Wild as Reaper
Tomás Böhm as Reaper
Zdenek Bubák as Reaper
Jan Loukota as Reaper
Jan Bursa as Reaper
Petr Krusalnicky as Reaper
Jaroslav Misek as Reaper
Karel Vávrovec as St. Cloud
Jaroslav Peterka as Choad
Milos Kulhavy as Little G
Ivan Mares as Tea Bag
Lennox Brown as Man in London Porno Shop
André Hyde-Braithwaite as Young Blade
Pavel Cajzl as Moscow Vampire (uncredited)
Olga Lounová as Prostitute (uncredited)
Stephen R. Peluso as Paramedic (uncredited)
John Salvitti as Moscow Vampire Attacking Blade (uncredited)
Rey-Phillip Santos as Bandaged Reaper (uncredited)
Kenji Tanigaki as Moscow Vampire Attacking Blade (uncredited)
Michael Woods as Moscow Vampire Attacking Blade (uncredited)