The evolution of the Blade series continues with Trinity. This time there is a much stronger comedic aspect in addition to it being more straight forward action film than the previous entries. It also sidesteps the development of the Blade character from the first two films. Granted, the character is more archetype than rounded fully fleshed out dramatic character. But, I'm getting ahead of myself, let's take a few steps back.
Blade 1 was an excellent comic adaptation that gleefully embraced it's R rating, and helped ignite the current Hollywood infatuation with the comic book adaptation. The sequel took it a step further, stepping up the action quotient and giving the film a look that was significantly different from the first while remaining firmly entrenched in the same universe. This film steps in a new direction, again still in the same Blade universe that has been developed in the first two films. We get one interesting character interactions, plus Blade gains some more friends to help in his continuing battles against the vampiric forces and their evil plans for humanity.
The film opens with a very interesting chase battle between Blade and a vampire gang. We watch Blade dispatch these fanged forces in a variety of ways, until he comes across one who doesn't turn into fiery ash. Blade has been setup. He is quickly captured and.... Can't go any further than that. But I thought it was an interesting start, opening up a new dynamic between Blade and the rest of humanity. It starts to go downhill from there as far as character development goes, it then turns into an action comedy, and on that level it succeeds.
The plot follows a group of upstart vampires, led by Parker Posey, who wish to put the final solution into motion by resurrecting the original vampire to deal with Blade. Of course, catching Blade proves difficult, due to the constant meddling of his newfound friends. Hannibal King and Abigail Whistler join Blade by helping him and getting in his way at the same time. They are perfect at drawing the attention of the vampire fodder.
This movie falls squarely in the realm of guilty pleasures for me, it is hard to defend it as a good film, but it is one hell of a fun ride. At this point, they have pretty much taken Blade as far as they can, unless they introduce an interesting villain other than the vampire of the week. If they go that route, I wouldn't mind seeing Blade go up against Morbius the Living Vampire. But back to the movie.
The cast is fun, and has that added sense of youth with Blade's new teammates. Wesley Snipes does an admirable job of bringing Blade to life, although, this is probably the weakest of the three. He makes his way through the film spouting brief lines and growling a bit. It is fine for the character who has always been a little stoic. Ryan Reynolds brings the comic elements to the forefront, at moments it was like watching Van Wilder: Vampire Hunter. Not that that's a bad thing, just brings another element. Jessica Biel, on the other hand, not much comedy to her role, she brings the depression to the table, counter-balancing the over the top comedy from Reynolds.
On the flip side, we have a few notable vampires. The first of witch is the villainess with the plane, Danica Talos, played with a dark sexuality by Parker Posey with big teeth. Latched onto her leash are her brother, Asher, played by Callum Keith Rennie, and Jarko Grimwood, portrayed by the WWE's own Triple H. Triple H, real name is Paul Michael Levesque, is the latest of the current generation of wrestling stars to try his hand at Hollywood. I have to say that I enjoyed watching him on the screen, the character wasn't much of a stretch from what he does weekly on television. Lastly there is the original vampire, currently called Drake, portrayed by Dominic Purcell. He does a pretty good job, but I couldn't help but think of his television show which met an untimely demise, John Doe.
It was directed by David Goyer, who has guided Blade thus far with his words, having written all three. This time he takes full control as writer director, sadly it is his writing which doesn't hold up this time around. While there were a couple of touching moments, and some tear inducing fits of laughter, there was too much a reliance on the one liner, and an over abundance of moments where the line was used at the expense of development. Goyer's directing was impressive, keeping the camera moving, never losing focus on the action, using interesting angles, all good stuff. It will be interesting to see if his writing ability and his developing directing abilities converge in a single film.
Bottomline. What we get here is a flawed, yet highly entertaining, B-movie with A-movie trappings. A healthy dose of humor, plus some blood and high energy action. A sugary confection to tempt the eyes, and slightly engage the brain. May not be the best of the Blade films, but a fitting conglomeration of styles in an attempt to bring something new to the table. I won't lie, I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Recommended.
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