Grade: B-
I’ve enjoyed this vampire slayer movie series, based on the Marvel comics, and “Blade: Trinity” is no exception.
Actor/co-producer Wesley Snipes returns again as Blade, the day walking half-human/half-vampire who must stop the vampires’ desperate attempt to reclaim the world.
Kris Kristofferson also returns in a diminished role as Blade’s partner/mentor Abraham Whistler, who must contend with managing the increasingly problematic business of vampire slaying.
Ryan Reynolds (“Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place”, “Van Wilder”) plays Hannibal King another member of the Nightstalkers, a special vampire slaying team. Reynolds has a lot of memorable dialogue lines that expands the comedy beyond Snipes’ dry, situational quips.
Rising star Jessica Biel (“Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “Summer Catch”) vies for a spot in the female action heroine category as Abigail, an archery expert who’s part of the Nightstalkers.
Another rising star, Dominic Purcell (“Equilibrium”, “Mission Impossible 2”) plays the main antagonist Drake. FBI agents, mutant dogs and Hannibal’s ex-girlfriend, played by Parker Posey, also provide some interesting challenges. Pro wrestler Triple H (a.k.a. Paul Michael Levesque) rounds out the cast of baddies.
Natasha Lyonne (“Slums of Beverly Hills”, “American Pie 1 ‘ 2”) plays Sommerfield, the standard genetic genius that seems to appear in every Blade movie. This blind wunderkindcreatesthe Daystar, a special biological weapon that could wipe out all vampires.
Writer David S. Goyer (“Dark City” and the upcoming “Batman Begins”) produced the screenplays for all three Blade movies and takes the reigns as director in this third installment.
Goyer borrows a lot of the previous directors (time accelerated sequences, etc.), but creatively uses sound during an interrogation scene. This movie contains a lot of second unit shots and lots of flashy, quick cut editing.
The dialogue provides several smooth transitions to the next scene (e.g. Whistler tells Blade they can’t fight the battle alone, then the movie cuts a sequence involving a new key ally), but makes the screenplay too predictable.
Some distracting tangents and human characters (allies of the vampires) also lower my level of involvement in the story and characters.
Sommerfield’s daughter and Whistler should’ve had a more dramatic impact and none of the enemies have a menacing impact like Frost (played by forgotten actor Stephen Dorff) did in the first movie. The narration, surprise appearances and flashbacks don’t make up for Whistler’s minimal screen time.
The excellent action sequences benefit from great stunt work, which blends well with the special effects — a notable contrast to the numerous computer animated figures seen in the previous installment, “Blade 2”. Goyer also uses split screen for multiple fight collage and intersperses the opening credits with some nice fights.
The excellent soundtrack includes songs from Crystal Method, The RZA, Overseer, Lil’ Flip and Ramin Djawadi (Check out www.musictoslayby.com).
This movie is recommended with reservations and is rated R for violence, language and sexual content.