The Flipcritic

Wesley Snipes could have established himself as one of the finer African American actors once his career took off. But he chose fame over credibility; his physical muscles over his acting ones. Now he has become what I had always feared, a black Jean-Claude Van Damme. BLADE: TRINITY confirms it. How the mighty have fallen.

It’s bad enough that Mr. Snipes had to drag his considerable talent and popularity to ever-sinking levels. But he should have known better than to haul a major comic franchise down with him. I could scarcely believe those 113 minutes flashing before my eyes as I bore witness to utter disaster. BLADE and BLADE 2 were not great comic book films, but they were effective entertainment. The first was a finely tuned action machine with an ending not worthy of its setup. Though I could not recommend the second, I deeply admired its stark images. It had a remarkable feel, if not a remarkable plot.

Thus you could imagine my reaction upon seeing this last sequel (purportedly the last, but after the ending, you know that its filmmakers did not learn their lesson). Compared to its predecessors, its pure amateurism is stunning. It is full of visual incoherence, slipshod editing, flimsy pacing, and horrid acting. To put it mildly, its director was clueless.

The plot has some promise in it, but the direction, which is supposed to give it life, is lifeless. In a nutshell, vampires go to the Middle East to seek out the dwelling of Dracula (Dominic Purcell of the TV series JOHN DOE), the patriarchal bloodsucker. They believe he can keep their ranks flourishing since he too, like Blade, can subsist in daylight (though not once do they describe how this will come about. If they did, you can understand my lack of attention). The vampires frame Blade, making him look like a mass murderer, bringing about the death of his best friend Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), and take him prisoner.

Soon enough, Blade gets rescued by the Nightstalkers, a crew of humans experienced in dealing with vampires. Two of the more prominent members are Abigail Whistler (Jessica Biel of 7TH HEAVEN fame) and Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds of VAN WILDER). The former is obviously Whistler’s daughter who just happened to be born out of wedlock, hence conveniently avoiding the murder of Whistler’s family (as mentioned in the first BLADE film), and the first two films (I wonder where she was when her father was being murdered and reborn… hmm…). But who cares since she is the gratuitously great looking female in the film with a marvelous physique that would make Michelle Rodriguez red with envy.

It must be said that there is nothing about Ryan Reynolds’s character or history that says “Hannibal” or “King”. Or maybe that’s one of the many many many jokes associated with him? King always has something witty to say (only one of those witticisms made me laugh, and it’s probably the only asset the film has), which is concrete evidence that the movie has lost all of its ability to make us fear for his (or any other Nightstalker’s) safety.

I did say earlier that Wesley Snipes (who also helped produce the film) should have known better than to push through with this sludge. But to be fair, how could he? Stan Lee’s (hence Marvel Comics’s) name is behind it. David S. Goyer, who wrote the two previous BLADE movies, and two notable SF movies in THE PUPPET MASTERS and the great DARK CITY, pens this one as well.

Ah, but directing a film is a whole different animal than writing for it. And from start to finish, Mr. Goyer proves this by being way over his head, not knowing how to replicate the sleek and sure-footed feel of the first, and unable to replicate the lovely pulsating and dark look of the second. BLADE: TRINITY looks and feels at many points like a heavily chopped-up industrial rock video, with long stretches of bad performances. Kris Kristofferson in particular doesn’t have the same wise seen-it-all persona that was such a bonus for the first. That’s a sure sign that the director has no clear-cut vision of what he wants his film to be.

Maybe Mr. Snipes should have taken a good look at his supporting cast. Yes, Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds are superb physical specimens (that’s always good eye candy), but it can’t be good for an action film when comedic talents fill most of the supporting roles. Aside from Ms. Biel and Mr. Reynolds, you have noted mockumentarians Parker Posey and John Michael Higgins (of BEST IN SHOW), Natasha Lyonne (of the AMERICAN PIE 1 and 2), Patton Oswalt (of the TV show THE KING OF QUEENS), and certainly not the least, Paul Michael Levesque (also known as Triple H of the WWE). Their appearances undermine the very atmosphere necessary for the movie to work. If the direction didn’t kill this movie, its characters would have poisoned it anyway.

The saddest thing about this film is how it has stripped vampire beings of all their dark dignity. A vampire used to have a mystique, an undercurrent of mysticism, and a semblance of the unknown. Now they’re all done to death these days, especially in this film. They’ve become remarkably easy to kill (just stab him with a sharp silver object and they disintegrate into ash), seem to have no special physical enhancements (except for sharp teeth), and have no mystical abilities. BLADE: TRINITY had a chance to bring just a little bit of respect back these popular movie creatures, but what does Dracula do when Blade happens upon him? He runs. What does the father of all vampires use to try and defeat the protagonist? A sword.

I can think of only two logical reasons how this debacle came about.
One: Not enough money.
Two: Snipes wants to personally end being stereotyped as Blade.

My hope for him is two-fold.
One: That BLADE: TRINITY was caused by the second reason.
Two: That he gets back to playing great roles he is most capable of playing (see THE WATERDANCE).

Posted by FLIPCRITIC at January 11, 2005 10:28 PM