100 Greatest Superhero Stories Ever
By Steve Lam
Image Courtesy of Marvel Enterprises and New Line Cinema
#42. Blade II
Medium
Live-Action Feature Film
Release Date
March 22, 2002
Credits
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writer: David S. Goyer
Cast: Wesley Snipes as Eric Brooks / Blade, Kris Kistofferson as Abraham Whistler, Ron Perlman as Reinhardt, Leonar Varela as Nyssa Damaskinos, Norman Reedus as Josh / Scud, Thomas Kretschmann as Eli Damaskinos, Luke Goss as Jared Nomak, Matt Schulze as Chupa, Danny John-Jules as Asad, Donnie Yel as Snowman, Karel Roden as Krel Kounen, Marit Velle Kile as Verlaine, Darren “Daz” Crawford, Tony Curran as Priest, Santiago Segura as Rush
The Reason It’s Great
Monster-maker specialist Guillermo del Toro helms the sequel to the 1998 comic book movie Blade. The director brings his own aesthetic to the vampire-hero film and the results were amazing. Many of the monsters seen in this film seem like prototypes for his future projects—Pan’s Labrynth and The Strain.
Blade, the vampire-human hybrid, is back. This time he’s fighting against an infection that turns vampires into Reapers—mutant vampires that have no vampire weaknesses other than ultraviolet light. Helping Blade in this endeavor is the Bloodpack—a group of elite soldier vampires appointed by the Vampire Lord.
It’s later revealed that the Vampire Lord created the virus to usher in an era of new invincible vampires. Blade then hunts down the Vampire Lord and ends the plague.
Blade II was praised for its visuals and Guillermo del Toro’s unique creature designs. The film, which was a perfect balance of horror and the superhero genre, is seen as the best of the franchise.