PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Blade II (2002)

Blade II (2002)

If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVD

Released 19-Nov-2002

Cover Art

This review is sponsored by
BUY IT

Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Action Menu Animation & Audio
Dolby Digital Trailer-Canyon
Audio Commentary
Audio Commentary
Isolated Musical Score
Scene Selection Anim & Audio
Featurette-The Blood Pact (+ Active Subtitles)
Featurette-Sequence Breakdowns (Scripts, Set, Storyboards, Scene) (6)
Featurette-Visual Effects (3)
Notes-Notebooks (3) + Introduction
Gallery-6
Deleted Scenes-+/- commentary with Introduction
Featurette-Blade II Video Game Survival Guide
Notes-Theatrical Press Kit
Teaser Trailer
Theatrical Trailer
Music Video-Child Of The Wild West-Cypress Hill and Roni Size
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 2002
Running Time 112:02 (Case: 117)
RSDL / Flipper RSDL (58:55)
Dual Disc Set
Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Guillermo Del Toro
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Wesley Snipes
Kris Kristofferson
Ron Pearlman
Norman Reedus
Leonor Varela
Luke Goss
Case Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI $39.95 Music Marco Beltrami


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX (448Kb/s)
English dts 6.1 ES Discrete (768Kb/s)
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Isolated Music Score Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking Yes, including joints ("tokes").
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Blade II is a very different film to its predecessor. Blade is full of rebellious energy - it is vampires with attitude. Most importantly, the original Blade is very much a vampire movie. It is about vampires, and about killing them, and about their plotting. Sure, there is action, but it is a vampire movie first. Blade II is an action movie first, second, and third. Eventually it remembers that there is something about vampires that it should deal with, but they are only used to provide excuses for Blade to fight, fight some more, and fight again. This is not really a problem however, as Blade II is an extremely effective movie, and the effectiveness comes entirely from pacing. The film moves at a break-neck speed, never letting up and never allowing time for thought, and it is for this reason that Blade II is as successful as it is.

    The story, such as is provided between all the fighting, is that there is a new sub-species of Vampire, known as the Reaper. Reapers have a voracious appetite, and worse, anybody - vampire or human - bitten (actually, more like eaten) by a reaper will become a reaper in a matter of hours. For this reason, the reaper population is exploding, and looks set to destroy all the vampires. That's a good thing, right? Well, problem is, it would then be time to get started on the humans. It is for the former reason that the leaders of the vampires turn to the one man they know has the power to stop the reaper menace, and it is the latter reason they use to secure his assistance.

    The strengths of the original Blade are carried through here and amplified, while new director Gillermo Del Toro brings a few tension-inducing moments to the franchise. Unfortunately, there is little made of Blade's association with the vampires, and they behave more like a bunch of unruly children than dangerous killers who are only held back from finishing Blade by their fear of the Reapers. The CGI effects in Blade II are of a rather variable quality. At times "CGI stuntmen" are used, and they are extremely obvious, and really detract from the quality of the fight scenes (although even Del Toro admits this). At other times, the effects are extremely well blended and work incredibly well. The fight scenes, apart from the obvious CGI scenes, are also extremely good. A conscious effort was made to stay away from the "wire-fu" style as much as possible, so many of the scenes are grittier and more physical than the recent trend.

    Performance-wise, there is little to say - as little was demanded of the actors. They were either there to kick or be kicked, and not much else. In that regard they do well. Of the few principals, Wesley Snipes doesn't so much as act, but rather pull various facial expressions through the film. Does that matter? Not really - he has the Blade "cool" to make up for it. Kris Kristofferson grumps his way through the movie, while Leonor Varela as the "love interest" and Norman Reedus as Blade's new sidekick don't exactly make a striking effort for the advancement of their careers. The only actor who really holds his own here is Ron Perlman as the bully of the Blood Pack (the vampire hunting group sent to work with Blade), giving a depth to the character that was easy to see.

    The most impressive aspect of Blade II is the fighting. Some of the scenes are silly, but for the most part they are very energetic and worth watching. The final fight makes exceedingly good use of CGI to create what may well be one of the greatest fight scenes committed to celluloid, as the uber-Reaper and Blade go head-to-head in what is very much a battle of super-hero proportions. This is a comic book movie, and it makes no pretensions to anything else. There is not even a sub-title to go along with Blade II. It is pure, unashamed, popcorn fun, and for that reason, it just may be the new blueprint for action movies in the years to come.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    This is a stunning quality transfer. The only flaws are so minor as to be mere pebbles on the highway to perfection - but they are there.

    Presented at the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (although the way in which it is shot feels much wider), this transfer is 16x9 enhanced.

    This is a very sharp transfer, although not the sharpest that has ever been produced. It has a very natural and film-like look, as the detail is readily apparent on the screen, but not quite to the point of leaping off. There is very little in the way of excessive film grain, the most severe being the first few opening shots of the House Of Pain club from 35:20 on, although there is often a very minor amount of background grain. The shadow detail is just as good as the sharpness, displaying incredible detail in even the darkest of conditions, and for a movie about vampires set mostly at night, that is extremely important. There is no low level noise.

    Colours are superb. The blacks are dark and rich while the highlights are wonderfully vibrant. It is truly amazing how many different shades of red can be used to depict blood.

    There are only two compression artefacts throughout the transfer. The first is quite noticeable macro blocking during the high-grain sequences in the House of Pain from 35:20, although as this is a high-movement scene, filmed with a moving camera, in extremely variable lighting conditions, so it certainly would not have been easy to encode. The second is some very nasty posterization on the blue (sun) flare from Blade's sword at 52:41. Both artefacts are only present very briefly (the latter for only a few frames), but they are distracting. There is some very mild aliasing, but it is infrequent, with the worst occurrence being on the joint being smoked by Scud from 62:11 to 62:18. Film artefacts are not a problem, with only a very few small flecks marking the image.

    The subtitles are well-paced, easy to read, attractively rendered, and are generally accurate. There are a number of words that differ, but the intent is usually the same. The only real problem during the period in which I sampled the subtitles came at 8:20 when two lines of dialogue were not subtitled at all.

    This is an RSDL formatted disc with the layer change taking place at 58:55 during Chapter 14. It is a fairly noticeable layer-change as it occurs during a moment of high audio level, over a moving shot. Both the audio drop-out and the freezing of the shot point it out quite obviously.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    As good as the video transfer is, the audio is probably better. This is another to add to the list of the very best out there.

    There are six (yes, you read that right - six!) audio tracks present on this disc, all intended for English speaking listeners. To start with there is the original English dialogue in one of three configurations - DTS-ES 6.1 discrete (at 768 Kbps), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX (at 448 Kbps - note that this track is once again not flagged as being an EX track), and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (at 192 Kbps). In addition to those, there are two audio commentary tracks, both in Dolby Digital 2.0 (at 192 Kbps), and finally an isolated score track in Dolby Digital 5.1 (at 384 Kbps). The rest of this audio section will refer to the first two tracks - the original audio surround tracks.

    Dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times. There are no issues, even with some of the lower-pitched or slightly drowned-out sounds. Audio sync is as good as can be expected for a big actioner, with no glaringly obvious problems, but a few niggling ones largely related to one character whose entire dialogue was re-dubbed in a different accent.

    The music consists of score music by Marco Beltrami, and contemporary club and R&B pieces. The score is relatively mundane, as Beltrami lives up to his usual mediocrity, being quite uninventive and rather straight-forward. It is somewhat of an indictment on the score that the contemporary pieces work so well, although the exception to this rule is the final credits, where removed from the action, only fans of the particular musical genre will enjoy it.

    This is one of those soundtracks that make the investment in a large complement of speakers for a surround-sound system seem very much worthwhile. The surrounds are used constantly, carrying not only the normal music and ambient noise, but many, many directional sound effects. They are used for both general "back" effects, and a large number of quite subtle single-point uses. The centre-back channel also comes into its own, providing an anchor for the wall of sound that is thrown from the rear speakers.

    The subwoofer, as would be expected, gets an intense workout. As well as the score, there are gun shots, explosions, and car engines that all make use of the subwoofer. Most impressive, however, is the use of it during the House of Pain sequence. There will rarely ever be a better reason for having a dedicated LFE channel - when the characters are in rooms adjacent to the club, the high-frequency sounds of the club music are well muted, but the sub is still going off at almost the same intensity as in the club, providing a truly immersive experience.

    As for the battle between Dolby Digital and DTS here, the results are essentially even. The Dolby Digital is a little more aggressive and has more intensive bass, while the DTS is better integrated and presents a seemingly tighter rear soundstage. It is really down to personal preference as to which one is better - I favour the mix used for the DTS. Both tracks leave the 2.0 for dead - this movie was meant to be experienced on more than two speakers.

    A final point to note here is that the Region 1 version of this DVD contains in its credits menu a statement that the soundtrack has been rear equalised for home use. What this means is that the rear equalisation function on most surround amplifiers should actually be turned off for Blade II. This credits pages does not appear to be accessible on the Region 4 version of this disc, and so the information is not available to Region 4 users. Whether that means we have a different soundtrack that has not be rear equalised or not is impossible to ascertain, however it is most likely we have the same audio master used for the Region 1, and in that case it will have had the same rear equalisation applied.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    As far as extras collections go, they do not get much better than this. Produced by David Prior - the man behind other extras-rich DVD sets such as Fight Club and Pearl Harbor: Vista Series - the treatment lavished on this film is certainly the most extensive yet released in R4 for any film of this genre, and probably more than it really deserves. Don't get me wrong - it is fantastic to see this much effort put into an extras collection, but exactly how much there is to a film such as Blade II is quite scary.

Menu

    The menu is animated, themed around the movie, and is 16x9 enhanced. It features a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, and is not unimpressive (although certainly not ground-breaking material).

Disc 1

Audio Commentary - Gillermo Del Toro (Director), Peter Frankfurt (Producer)

    This commentary track is engaging and very interesting to listen to. Del Toro speaks enthusiastically and with good humour about the project, and is candid as to what he thinks works and what does not (the CGI stuntmen at one point come in for particular criticism). Frankfurt speaks with dry humour and very much plays second fiddle to Del Toro, but it is clear the two like each other, and enjoyed recording the commentary track. As a side note, Del Toro speaks in a very thick Mexican accent, so some may find him difficult to understand.

Audio Commentary - David Goyer (Writer), Wesley Snipes (Actor)

    This is a very different commentary track, although as with the first, it is quite clear that the Goyer and Snipes have a good relationship. This track is more about the story and the character than the production (although a lot of that is covered as well), and as such makes a good companion to the first track, even if not quite as immediately engaging to listen to.

Isolated Score

    This track presents Marco Beltrami's audio score in isolated 5.1 audio. Pity the score doesn't live up to the treatment.

Disc 2

    This disc is presented in three sections - Production Workshop, Deleted & Alternate Scenes, and Promotional Material

Production Workshop

The Blood Pact (83:31 + 16:10 branching)

    Presented at 1.33:1 (not 16x9 enhanced), and featuring Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio, this is one of the most extensive and in-depth "making-of" featurettes produced for a DVD, and certainly one of the best. It is well paced, and expertly put together. From time to time while watching the featurette, a vampire glyph will appear, at which point selecting it will lead to further branching footage on the subject at hand. If all this is not enough, not only is the entire documentary chaptered, but the branching footage is available separately via a menu if interacting with documentaries is not your wont.

Sequence Breakdowns

    This section features in-depth investigations of six sequences from the film. The scenes are as follows:     The first four sequence breakdowns present both the original script and the shooting script for comparison, and the storyboard sequence all as still images for browsing. The Chapel Fight sequence does not provide storyboards, and the Caliban sequence does not provide the original script (as it was completed as re-shoots), offering only the shooting script. All sequences offer both short "on the set" clips (behind the scenes footage from the shooting of the sequence), and the final sequence as it appears in the film. These breakdowns are an absolutely brilliant way of presenting information, as it allows you to take as much or as little from each sequence as you want - it is entirely user driven. If only the "on the set" clips are viewed, they make sense, and if all the scripts, and storyboards are viewed, a much deeper understanding of the movie-making process can be derived.

Visual Effects

    This section contains three featurettes as follows:     All featurettes are presented at 1.33:1, are not 16x9 enhanced, and feature Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio.

Notebooks

    This section features three sub-sections. The Directors Notebook features a video introduction by Gillermo Del Toro, and presents pages from his filming notebook. While it is certainly interesting, unless you can read Spanish, it is not going to make much sense (9 pages). The Script Supervisors Notebook presents pages from Claudine Strasser's notebook, including full colour photographs from the set. While it is actually in English, most of it is too small by far to be made out, and this is really a pity. Additionally, at 206 pages, it is probably too long for anyone to wade through in a single sitting. Finally, the Unfilmed Script Pages provide exactly that - the script for three sequences that were cut even before they were shot.

Art Gallery

    This section features a number of galleries, divided by category. The categories are as follows:     From the number of images here, it is possible to spend days looking through them - if galleries are of interest, that is.

Deleted and Alternate Scenes (24:28)

    This section, leading straight off the main menu, features a video introduction in which director Gillermo Del Toro warns that what is to follow is "mostly crap". There are sixteen deleted scenes, all presented at 1.85:1, and 16x9 enhanced. They feature two audio tracks, being a commentary with Gillermo Del Toro and producer Peter Frankfurt presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and a fully produced sound mix (including music cues) in Dolby Digital 5.1. All scenes are accessible separately from menus, and are of a very high quality. It is a pleasure to see "crap" treated in this manner.

Promotional Material

Blade II Video Game Survival Guide (2:45)

    A blatant marketing rip-off (which explains its presence in the Promotional Material section), this is just a few hints and tips for the Blade II console game. Presented at 1.33:1, not 16x9 enhanced, and in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo.

Theatrical Press Kit

    This section features static pages full of information about the cast, the crew, and the film itself, all taken from the press kit. Basically, this is the "bio" section and as such is not exactly riveting, but it is very extensive and well laid out.

Trailers

    As the title suggests, this section contains two trailers as follows:     Both trailers are presented at 1.85:1, are 16x9 enhanced, and feature Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 audio respectively. Additionally, their quality is equal to that of the film, both visually and aurally, and as such provide a very good warm-up indeed.

Music Video: Cypress Hill and Roni Size - Child Of The Wild West (3:40)

    This is a music video for the hip-hop/rap number Child Of The Wild West. Great if you love the music, a waste of space otherwise. Presented at 1.85:1, not 16x9 enhanced, and featuring Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio.

Easter Egg (0:50)

To access this egg, go to the Production Workshop section of disc 2, then the Visual Effect sub-section. Go down to the Progress Reports option, press right with your remote and then up. This will highlight a vampire glyph, and selecting it will play a short clip of Guillermo Del Toro playing with a dildo. Presented in rather poor quality video at 1.33:1, not 16x9 enhanced, and featuring Dolby Digtial 2.0 audio.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

   

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

    The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;     There really isn't anything in this, so I am going to declare it a draw.

Summary

    Blade II is very close to the perfect action movie. It has almost everything an action movie needs, leaving only the relatively one-dimensional characterisations to be a problem. Hang on - action movie...characterisation - guess it really isn't that much of a problem. It is a pity this two-disc set will be lost in the Spider-Man/Star Wars/Lord Of The Rings hype, as it really deserves at least as much attention, and provides as much material as those releases.

    The video quality is stunning. The only problems are extremely brief, and it is almost unfair to pull the transfer up for them - but it has to be done.

    The audio quality is right up there with the best ever. This soundtrack will disappoint exactly no one.

    The extras are extensive, put together with much care, and very much worth the effort to watch them. It will be impossible to look at the splatter horror/action genre in the same way again!

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Nick Jardine (My bio, it's short - read it anyway)
Saturday, November 16, 2002
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-535, using Component output
DisplayLoewe Xelos 5381ZW. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationOnkyo TX-DS787, THX Select
SpeakersAll matching Vifa Drivers: centre 2x6.5" + 1" tweeter (d'appolito); fronts and rears 6.5" + 1" tweeter; centre rear 5" + 1" tweeter; sub 10" (150WRMS)

Other Reviews
MovieHole - John
Web Wombat - James A
DVD Net - Gavin T
AllZone4DVD - Frank D
Jeff K's Australian DVD Info Site - Jeff K
DVDownUnder - Matt G
DVDAnswers - Warwick G
The DVD Bits - Dean B
DVD Plaza - Anthony C (read my bio)