Review of Blade

Introduction

The Marvel comic-book inspired "Blade"- was amongst the first batch of DVDs I purchased, and for good reason too. Released way back in 98, Blade swayed away from the tradition of Marvel`s infant oriented image, and instead was directed towards a much more mature audience. This being a complete contrast compared to so many of their other outings onto the big screen.

This proved to be a wise move by the producers, who decided not to sell out the franchise and go down the "McDonald`s Happy Meal" endorsement road, which evidently contributed to the downfall of the last of the Batman movies. In fact Blade proved to be such a hit, that it actually has a big budget sequel in the works, currently scheduled for release in March of next year.

Ok, it`s time to put the Blade to the test. Let me just say, a movie such as this has awesome potential on DVD. A title with such stunning visuals combined with an awesome kick-ass techno soundtrack should be taken full advantage of when given the disc treatment. Does it cut it?

Here`s what I know.

Video

Blade looks great and easily passes as flawless, this despite the fact that the duration of the movie is set in very dark locations & conditions. Some of the effects look a little dated and cheap at times, but they do tie in with the action superbly well. SFX aside, this movie really is about the terrific kung-fu antics of Snipes, and they are a joy to watch, like poetry in motion some might say. Hats off to the choreography guys too!

It`s also worth mentioning that people suffering from epilepsy should stay well clear of this one, there are a lot of night club scenes and quick inter-changing camera movements that are really heavy on the eyes. Even I found it to be really tiring after awhile.

On a final note, it would be unfair to degrade my opinion though based on a couple of very minor problems, because we have yet another great visual performance from New Line.

Bloody marvelous.

Audio

Dolby Digital 5.1, and it`s awesome! Right from the start we can appreciate the balance in sound & dialogue, with the kick-ass techno music accompanying a lot of the fight scenes.

I`m a big fan of the score in Blade, I think it`s one of the best supportive soundtracks to a movie ever, and I`m glad that it can be heard in all its glory here on the DVD.

Features

There`s really some awesome additional material here courtesy of New Line (do we expect any less from these guys?), 51 minutes worth to be precise. Included is a great insight into the making of Blade, from the conversion of the Marvel comic book hero all the way to the big screen, the whole process is explained in great detail here. Did you know that LL Cool J was a runner for the role of Blade? Just one of many interesting facts revealed on this disc, not to mention the inclusion of the unseen alternate ending (which I kind of preferred over the one that made the cut).

There`s also the expected bunch of compulsory material such as the theatrical trailer & cast and crew stills.

Conclusion

This is a great action movie with stunts that thrill and excite, a true out and out kick arse martial arts vampire killer of a movie. The fight scenes are worth the purchase alone.

Visual effects are stunning with some awesome sound backing and a plethora of extras well worthy of any DVD collection.

Why can`t more DVDs be like this? God bless New Line.