Marvel and Disney, don’t you think it’s time you gave Blade another movie already? Considering how he paved the way for the MCU, I think you owe him and Wesley Snipes some love?

I had the fortune of being born around the turn of the new millennium, which means I had a front-row seat as Marvel found its footing on the big screen. Yet for the longest time, Marvel making a successful film based on its characters seemed like a pipe dream. Case in point, Howard the Duck is considered one of the worst movies ever made. But in 1998, Marvel and New Cinemas managed to break that wall and make a Marvel movie that was a financial success, Blade. Starring Wesley Snipes as the titular character, Blade got Marvel’s foot in the door for the movie industry, leading to more characters getting movies over the next decade before culminating in the birth of the MCU. To my shame, though, I never even knew Blade got a movie until I saw Wesley Snipes in Deadpool & Wolverine. Since October’s spooky month, though, I sat down to watch the original Blade for the first time. And I have to say, I now understand the hype.

Who is Blade?

If you haven’t heard of Blade before, then I don’t blame you, as he’s not someone who most casual Marvel fans would know about. Blade is a Vampire Hunter and Marvel’s modern-day equivalent of Van Helsing. Who did exist in the Marvel Universe in the past, by the way. On the day he was born, his mom was attacked by a Vampire, an event she didn’t survive. But before she died, her body passed along the enzymes for Vampirism into him in the womb, causing him to be born half-human, half-Vampire. Thanks to that, he gained all their powers, with the only drawback being their thirst for blood. Which is actually an important plot point for the movie which I will cover.

The movie itself begins with a retelling of Blade’s birth before cutting to the (then) present-day of 1998. The now adult Blade raids a Vampire Blood Rave, and let me tell you, if the prologue didn’t do it already, this moment sets the tone for Blade perfectly. The Vampires are dancing under sprinklers that start spewing out blood to put them in a frenzy, and then Blade shows up, sporting his cool shades, black duster and armor combo, looking like a fusion of the Terminator and Neo from The Matrix. And then all hell breaks loose.

Peak 90s Action Movies

Much like Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes was both an actor and a trained martial artist, and it shows. While some scenes obviously required wires and special effects, you can tell that Wesley did most of his own stunts, and looks like he was having the time of his life doing so. And this was just the first few minutes. Once the rest of the movie gets underway, I can see why it’s a cult favorite. It’s peak 90s!

Looking back on the 90s, it seems as though that decade was like this golden age for action movies. The rise of CGI and new innovations in filming meant that the people making the films could push the boundaries of what was possible. In the case of action movies, it let films like Blade go bigger with the action than ever before, and allows the heroes to look more badass than ever. As far as attire goes, the extensive use of black that Blade uses might seem edgy for the sale of edgy, but who cares? It makes him look cool, and Wesley Snipes had to make Blade look as cool as possible while fighting the Vampires.

It Wouldn’t Be Edgy Without Angst

As cool as Blade looks, though, he’s still a 90s anti-hero. And like many anti-heroes of the day, he’s got emotional baggage. In his case, it’s that thirst for blood. He’s constantly trying to control his Vampire half, to the point he has to create a drug to suppress the urge. By the time of the film, even that is starting to fail. Salvation might come in the form of a brilliant doctor he saved, but like Mina Harker, she’s in the process of becoming a Vampire herself thanks to getting attacked at the start of the movie. A large part of the plot of Blade revolves around her trying to develop a cure for Vampirism, one that could even work on Blade if necessary. But as long as Vampires continue to commit evil, the Vampire Hunter cannot rest.

Part of Blade’s character arc in this film is learning to accept his Vampire half. He sees himself as a monster for it, but it’s ultimately how he chooses to use his powers that makes not a monster. I will say this, though. There is one point near the climax where the hero has to use his blood-sucking to heal enough to fight the big bad. I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but the entire scene seems very…intimate in how it’s portrayed. Then again, the act of blood-sucking often has that element to it. That, and this movie was R-rated, so it could get away with it!

Blade was a good start for Marvel

If I’m being perfectly honest, I’m surprised that it took me this long to watch Blade in the first place. This movie was good. And considering how the MCU is in the process of linking all the past live-action films into its greater multiverse, this could technically count as part of the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse. We may not get a chance to see Wesley Snipes play the character again, but if Disney stops messing around and gives us another Blade movie, then that will be just as good. They owe Wesley and Blade as much for giving them Marvel’s start in movies.

I Give “Blade” a 3.5/5