TNMC
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A brand new day
Short intro today, I'm starting a new job. I hope it works out alright, but I'm actually terrified right now. Anyway, we have a review of the Blade 2 script by Tyler Durden. His last review for a few days since he's in Chicago for a few days. Hope it works out alright for you there, buddy. Emotional introduction don't you think? Check back tomorrow for another script review, we'll pull again something amazing out of our hat...
'Blade 2' Script Review
"There are few things harder in Hollywood than making a good sequel to a successful movie. We have seen so many failures and some series that had decent additional chapters but finally went too far. So what happens when you add the fact that the series is a comic book adaptation? If you were to add Joel Schumacher into the mix you have the UNHOLY TRINITY to guarantee failure. Breathe easy all you fans of the original Blade film, because Joel Schumacher is not coming near this sequel. If you like vampires, nudity and plenty of action, then this sequel is for you. If you are looking for Wesley Snipes to win that Best Actor statue for the riveting dialogue sure to be found in Blade 2, then go pander your movie snob ways someplace else.
The Skinny
To my best estimate, the sequel begins about 1 ½ years after the original film. We meet our hero Blade the Daywalker (aka Blade the bad ass vampire killer) in pursuit of some baddies. Along the way he saves his old buddy Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) from being a vampire, hits us off to his new sidekick Scud and suddenly makes peace with his vampire foes. Say that again. Yes, Blade joins forces with the Shadow Nation of vampires to fight a new threat: Reapers. I'm not talking the Grim Reaper either... I am talking about the next evolution in vampires that hunts humans and vampires and is spreading its brood faster than Wilt Chamberlain in strip clubs.
So Blade is given an elite squad of vampires to lead against the Reapers. Sure there are personality conflicts between Blade, his buddies and the Bloodpack, but they all manage to rebound from a few ass-kickings to eliminate the Reapers and an even bigger conspiracy.
The Script
Unlike other script reviews I am sure to do for TNMC, my take on the script will be very short. The key to a film like this is to not get crazy with extended dialogue or plot twists. There should just be plenty of eye-candy and action sequences. From going through this script, I know there will be plenty of both. Actually, some of the scenes are so steamy they may need to tone things down to avoid that NC-17 rating. The script written by David Goyer is very action oriented and there is plenty of detail concerning every sequence. Each sequence just seemed to come alive and I felt like I could storyboard the material quite easily.
The script is not without problems. The first is allowing the vampire nation to seem so organized and complicated. The have infiltrated all aspects of the US government and this seemed to add unnecessary plot twists. Why after all would any human help vampires? Also, linking the Reapers to conspiracies surrounding genetic testing and evolution also made me start asking questions that I knew the script would never answer.
My second problem has to do with Blade's sidekicks. I started getting annoyed with the Whistler character on many levels. At some point you just need to pass on having the character spew an annoying one-liner at every opportunity. Also, Goyer develops this idea that Whistler may be suffering from his ordeal as a vampire but never goes anywhere with it. Just leave it out. Finally, I really liked the Scud character and had a hard time believing that he would be a traitor. Like Blade would be duped that easily. The guy is about as trusting as a rock... which means not at all.
The most serious problem develops from Blade's decision to become an ally with the vampires. He just accepts the Reaper threat too easily and jumps in. When he develops a love interest with the leader of the Bloodpack, Nyssa, I felt like throwing the entire end of the script away. It just didn't make any sense to me for Blade to just walk away from his life and beliefs so much. This is exacerbated when the vampires turn on Blade and Nyssa turns on her vampire kin to help Blade.
Current Affairs
Filming on this movie began around March 13th. The script needed some tinkering on the story side to make it go down easier. The action sequences in the script would make this film worth seeing for me in the end. Wesley Snipes is a very credible action star. His last movie, The Art of War, had promise as an action film, but got ruined by an attempt to make it a thinking action flick. The Blade character is about kicking ass and then kicking it some more. I would hope that Guillermo del Toro remembers that the key to this film is minimal plot twists, occasional humor and lots of action. Some nudity always helps, but it isn't necessary. I liked the action, but wasn't a big fan of the overall plot of this film. These Reapers could be the scariest beasts to come to the big screen since Alien. This movie occasionally reminded me of Aliens and that could be a great thing because that film kicked ass. Too bad they couldn't cast Bill Paxton as Scud because we all loved Hudson. However, we all love seeing vampires get their due more. Lets hope Blade II sticks to what made the first film a good DVD buy. By the way, in no way shape or form does may endorsement of this film imply some kind of bias against vampires or any of the undead. Except zombies, which stink and smell worse than a bathroom after Hollyfeld has made a visit. Zombies suck."
(Review by Tyler Durden)
What do you think? Talk about it on the Forums
You Game?
Last year, I created a private group at Yahoo's Oscars Pick'em game. The challenge was really amazing and it was also extremely fun. We're doing it again this time around. In order to join the group, just go to http://moviegames.yahoo.com/oscars, create a pick set and choose "Join a Private Group." Then, when prompted, enter the following information...
Group ID#: 4555
Password: tnmc
Stay tuned...
That's all folks...
Jean-François Allaire (aka DeadPool)
Questions, comments, praise etc. Email me at deadpool@tnmc.org
Jean-François Allaire is TNMC's first columnist. At only 24 years old he has become a respected entertainment journalist, with his columns appearing in Corona's Coming Attractions and Scr(i)pt magazine. He also writes a monthly column in Screenwriters Monthly entitled 'The Last Word.' Hailing from Montreal this young writer is determined to dig up all the details on the movies before they hit your local theater. If you're part of a movie production then you really need to be talking to him.
