Wesley Snipes is absolutely perfect for Blade not just in terms of charisma and screen presence, but also his martial arts background reads like something out of a martial arts movie. Snipes began training in martial arts when he was 12 years old in 1974. He has a 5th degree black belt in Shotokan karate and a 2nd degree black belt in Hapkido. He has also trained in Capoeira and in a number of other disciplines including Kung Fu at the USA Shaolin Temple, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and kickboxing. He practically trained his whole life to become Blade!
Will never be a better Blade on the big screen. It's a pity we never got to see him and Joe Rogan have that fight when Wesley had his tax issues many years ago
Snipes' Blade is way more powerful than comic-book Blade. I believe Deadpool and Wolverine would have the hardest time subduing prime Blade if he was not on their side.
2nd best choice: Michael Jai White. I want to see Mahershala Ali, but I feel martial arts isn't something that's easy to just imitate, coming from a guy who isn't a martial artist but can do "some moves" myself. 3rd may be Quintin Rampage Jackson, but MMA lacks the same level of "flash" that traditional styles usually have.
The whole "Can you blush?" Joke has two meanings. 1: Vampires can't blush and wonder if Blade can cause he's a daywalker 2: its a racial thing against black people
Brother, that would've been a legendary scene to the point people would've reacted to just that one fight for years to come. Terribly missed opportunity.
Yeah in hindsight that woulda been EPIC! But he was still kinda new in Hollywood and they don't give a lotta those action stars a lotta shine like that. Also he did the choreography for this movie so that could also be a reason why.
Nomak didn't necessarily get evil again. His noble "turn" doesn't stop the fact he is a living plague. He had hoped, or even knew, that Blade would win and take him out
Aside from how funny it is that new Blade movies have consistently died in development hell, thus proving that statement still true, it is also true since i can't see anyone doing a better job than Wesley Snipes.
With this one line: Kirk "Sticky Fingaz" Jones who played, the continuation of Blade, post Blade: Trinity in Blade: House of Chthon for 1 season and any future Blade actors got burnt.
Wesley Snipes, He is a fifth degree black belt in Shotokan karate. He also studied Kung Fu and has a second degree Black Belt in Hapkido, 9th Dan in the Kushindaryu and Karate, 5th Dan in Sanuces Ryu Jujutsu, and a 9th Dan in Weaponry. He has also trained in Capoeira under Mestre Jelon Vieira and in a number of other disciplines including Kung Fu at the USA Shaolin Temple, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and kickboxing. 🥋😎 Also he's a host of the masters of the martial arts show. Make sure you check that out.
I love telling people about this filmmaking point. Guillermo del Toro was setting up that Skud was a turncoat throughout the movie. When you rewatch it, watch it Blade is talking about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. Skud is in the frame behind Blade. It was suddle foreshadowing only a master filmmaker can dom
Cinepals remember the first rule of Hollywood Deaths: If you don't see it, it may have never happened. In the first Blade we don't see Whistler kill himself. It is only implied because we hear a gunshot.
The how of Whistler's survival is something you have to had poked around for in the online supplements to the first movie. The 'House of Erebus' is mentioned throughout the first film, and on one of the related websites you can find that it's not a single 'House' but a confederation of vampire clans worldwide. Each of these clans has distinctive traits but are still all vampires at their core. Whistler was bitten by Quinn who we see getting hacked up, burned, etc. and still not just living but regenerating incredibly quickly. He was a member of the Cianteto tribe, graced with greatly enhanced strength and the ability to regenerate lost limbs and organs. They basically don't die unless you strike an immediate and overwhelming killing blow, such as when Blade decapitated Quinn in the temple. So by getting turned by Quinn, Whistler inherited these same traits as a vampire. This allowed him to survive an otherwise fatal gunshot to the head and is why the vampires that took him could torture him repeatedly without the risk of killing him.
It’s still so hard to believe that this movie was directed by the legendary Guillermo del Toro. It’s actually pretty obvious seeing how you can see many pieces of his genius here.
It's got a ton of GDT hallmarks. Weird vampires (Chronos, The Strain), an autopsy (almost everything), Ron Perlman (also almost everything), etc. Only Doug Jones is missing (unless he's a Reaper and I never noticed😅). I love seeing Guillermo's fascinations on display, and how he explores them in different ways while mixing genres.
The move for Disney/Marvel is to give Guillermo the money and let him write and direct Blade, if he wants to do a new one or a continuation with Wesley Snipes.
Most people often don't realize that Guillermo PLAYED the "loose end". Even back then when the movie came out at a time he was not really visibly seen by the viewing audience much.
If you guys haven't figured it out or didn't know...the Blade movies is what kept Marvel into the movie business...they were literally about to go bankrupt and hang it up but Blade grossed so many millions at the box office that eventually birthed the MCU.
19:39 The vampires explained this to Blade near the beginning of the film. Nomak was born a vampire but the virus that makes all vampires what they are was mutated creating a new strain of vampire; the Reaper strain. Of course, we find that all to be a load of bullshit near the end of the movie.
The thing about vampires is, the mroe they resist their death, the more extreme their death is. That's why vampires who resist go up so wild in sunlight or with silver. Nomak and the daughter accepted their deaths, so they didn't fight. As a result, their deaths were so much less 'intense'.
With Guillermo del Toro in the driver's seat they couldn't help but make the most fantastical, gruesome vampires ever on film. He turned them from sexy monsters into creepy nightmare fuel. I watched this 3 times in the theaters when it came out, bringing diff friends each time. The SFX in that year were top tier.
Blade 2 is honestly one of the best comic book movies ever made. And this movie was made 20 YEARS AGO!!! Imagine what it would be like if present day Guillermo Del Toro made this movie!?!?! Also the “reaper” breed of vampires later influenced him to make both the book series and tv show The Strain, which has some of the scariest vampires you will ever see.
@antoniochasten3192 Trinity was intended to introduce Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biels characters and spin them of into their own movies , but unfortunately that sidelined Blade and he is virtually a guest star in his own movie easily the weakest of the 3 with Blade 2 being the best and surprisingly Luke Goss as Nomak is really really great in this , surprising as this is his first acting role after being in the UK boyband Bros .
@@marvelstarwarsgeek1511 I know the history of the third film. The behind the scenes was such a shitshow, they should've just killed it during production. I remember going to see it opening weekend in December '04. Wasn't barely any one there in the theater and I just couldn't believe how far the quality had fallen from 1 & 2 to Trinity. IMO, Blade is the best film out of the two but 2 ain't far behind. Luke Goss is a damn solid actor and action guy. Loved him as Prince Nuada in Hellboy 2 and quite a few of his B action movies.
It's actually a mix of practical and CGI thrown on top of it to accentuate what was already there. One of Guillermo del Toro's best design implementations
Blade one and two use to give me nightmares when watching it during my childhood. The visual effects are good for a movie that came out during that time
Great movie and great fight scenes. They were clearly visible and easy to follow. The cgi was also tastefully done, only being used to emphasise power hits.
It's a pity people don't play lesser known games ... For instance, Blade teaming up with Morbius in Midnight Suns is something I did not know I needed.
Fun fact, the fat character at 5:08 is a famous Spanish actor/director Santiago Segura (friend of Guillermo del Toro) when he knocks on the door at that minute he says "Torrente 3" which was the movie he directed in those years, nothing to do with the subtitles
Yeah, when he says, "I'll consider you a loose end", what do people do with loose ends? Take care of them, tie them up lol. They don't get to remain loose ends.
"Can you blush?" Is him throwing shade that Blade is dark skinned so he can't blush red like a white guy. A little subtle Nazi humor which is why Blade messed with him the most and called him Adolf afterwards.
That's one reading of it, but in the context of the movie it directly relates to blushing being a blood reaction of which actual vampires wouldn't able to, only humans. (as in predator vs prey).
I absolutely love Nomak as a villain (S tier for me), his arch is amazing and you even feel for him at the end.. His Smart, Threatening, goes toe to toe with the hero and has a Great Look and Design..
Blade...It was going to be one of the R rated movies of my time when I was young.❤😎 Wesly seriously considered his version of Blade. They are one of the best, than the movies that existed from the late 90s to the early 2000s. It's joint management... excellent for practicing the same movements you see in their comic pages. And great fact: I didn't know. Also, that he trained high-level types of tricks and maneuvers in fights when he was young... I missed that detail. which makes his version even...GOD❗❗❗🔥🔥🔥👌
Haha this is the second reaction channel that I have watched reacting to Blade 2 that seemingly didn’t understand Ron Pearlman’s “Can you blush” slur towards Blade. When people with a light skin complexion blush, their cheeks tend to turn red so o it’s usually very visible. When people with a dark skin complexion blush, their cheeks turning red is obviously a lot less noticeable or not noticeable at all. In other words, Ron Pearlman’s character was making fun of Blade for being black!
Ron Pearlman is an actor that is either the main character (ex. Hellboy) or the less emphasized character that is inevitably just there to die, usually in a gruesome way(ex. Outlander). Btw, if you guys haven't seen Outlander with Jim Caviezel, I'd love to see you guys react to it. It's a great genre bending sci fi/horror flick with a a few familiar faces. It's a very underrated and under the radar kind of film. Also, I'm fairly certain that there are no reactions to it on YT. Loved the Blade II reaction. Rock on guys!
Donnie Yen was in this movie as one of the Vampire, snow. He was also the Fight Choreographer in this movie. However because of how the producer Treated him without any respect to this fight contributions and stunt team, he refused to work in Hollywood until recent years… for Starwars and John Wick for example.
Y'all definitely have to watch Blade Trinity Frfr 💯. The cast in that one is awesome. And y'all should watch the music video for blade Trinity done by The RZA. It's a pretty cool video and the movie uses the song as well
Fun Fact: The song "Family Feud" by Marco Beltrami used during the scene when Nomak kills his father is also used during the scene where Orlando Bloom's character surrenders Jeruselum to Saladin.
I don't know who sounds more surprising when they say naughty sounding things: Kristen because she looks like an angel or Achara because of the British accent? Lol
One of the cool things about this movie is Luke Goss who plays Nomak also teamed up again with Perlman in the Golden Army as Prince Nuada. Two exceptional villains or in this case anti-heroes as i think both characters can be empathized with on some level.
I only discovered Norman Reedus during the Walking Dead so when I found out he was in this I went back and watched it again…He had such a baby face here and has only aged like fine wine. He was my favourite part about this movie.
I would've liked to see more Tony Curran who was great as the Vampire elder Markus in Underworld. When the Blade and the Matrix flicks were coming out, the movies were soooo much fun. Great reaction!
LOVE this movie!!! Still a really fun movie to watch. It never gets old. This is my favorite movie of the franchise. They stepped it up a lot I feel. The action, the cgi and practical fx, the horror and gore, and the villains. Nomak is probably my favorite vampire villain period. He was actually a real threat to not only Blade, but the other vampires as well. And you can feel that. Its not too many movies where I actually feel like the villain is that much of a threat. It was just a really nice sequel to an already great first film. Glad you guys enjoyed it. The 3rd one isn't as good as the first 2 by a long shot, but its not a terrible movie. You guys will probably enjoy that one too. Also, I get the point about Ron Pearlman's character, but he definitely wouldn't be able to pull off a decent fight scene with Wesley's Blade. His character couldn't fight. Also Blade's not the type to play with his food tbh. He always just goes for the kill so it makes sense how he killed him. The final boss fight was worth it tho.
The “can you blush?” question is supposed to be a double insult to blade being black, especially a darker black man and half vampire. People used to think (at least I hope people don’t still think this) that black people couldn’t blush bc our skin is darker so it’s just not as easily seen as it would be on someone with lighter skin so black people used to get asked if they can blush😅 and being a vampire you’re blood doesn’t circulate in your body bc you’re technically dead so your heart doesn’t beat therefore blood can’t rush to the cheeks or face and cause a blush reaction and Blade is only half vampire so another reason they’re asking “can you blush?”🙃
"Can you blush" was a nasty turn of phrase that was commonly used as racist, joking rhetoric towards black people. The Blood Pack used it on Blade in a (slightly) different context.
"I'm sorry for doubting you, Whistler!" *Whistler pulls gun out* *GASP* 😂 Poor Whistler! But yea, they did a great job at setting that up. Made that Skud death so satisfying. He thought he got one over on Blade just to be immediately proven wrong in the worst way. Also, Nyssa didn't really wanna be turned. She was hoping that Nomak would kill her like he killed the dad. Instead, since she was her father's favorite, he decided she deserved a worse fate. So, in a way, you could consider that a more evil turn for Nomak that justifies his end, even if it might have been a more low-information, impulsive decision. Was really happy with how they handled the villain here; way more human and tragic a character than you would expect from such an inhuman being, what with his own development and origin, and family dynamic. And Guillermo del Toro with the creature effects NEVER disappoints. Always a treat. Would definitely agree that this one is grosser than the first. lol Fo shooo. If you guys haven't seen Pan's Labyrinth yet, I highly suggest that. A must-see del Toro film, and the practical effects are insane (and just a really creepy and simultaneously beautiful film). Also, Hellboy and Hellboy II are two more del Toro must-sees. And Snipes as Blade... man, what can be said that wouldn't take paragraphs of gushing? Feels like he was born to play him. He made Blade so iconic, that just like RDJ and Jackman, no one can picture someone else pulling it off NEARLY as well, if at all. The man's electric in this role.
yeah Blade 2 is very very cool. I remember seeing it in cinemas and flippign out that Ron Perlman was in it. He always played the cool characters. :) Fun fact: the guy that played Nomak was in a boy band with his brother in the 80's - they called themselves Bros (pronounced Bross). It was a very a-typical boy band and the girls seemed to like them. But good to see them getting better success in movies in their later years. I think he's in Deathrace 2000 as well. But yeh the Blade movies hold a special place in our hearts and will be difficult to top if they ever get around to making an MCU Blade movie.
If you love this movie check out this TV show called The Strain it was on FX a couple years ago. It's basically this same universe and vampires but like a vampire apocalypse great show you will hate the kid tho..😂😂😂
This is the only movie I can think of with superhuman martial arts scenes that are brutal in live action. You have plenty of supernatural stuff, form wuxia to The Matrix, and your brutal stuff like Kill Bill and The Raid, but rarely are they mixed together.
39:58 Blade it can end right here. In other words, Blade you can just walk away. My guess is that Nomak's plan was to take his father's place as leader of the Vampires.
Is this a different cut of the movie? I remember Whistler being brought back in a completely different scene, unless I'm confusing it with another scene. I don't know, it's been forever since I've seen this movie, so I probably don't know what the hell I'm talking about. Anyway, I'm glad you both liked it. I keep going back and forth between this one and the first one as far as which one is the best, but I lean more towards this one at the moment. I'm curious how you'll feel about the 3rd one. A lot of people don't like it.
I’m just realizing that there’s no training minter with blade. He starts a badass. From day one. Today a lot of people are upset when they don’t see the hero train to learn how to use their powers or abilities. This is why blade is great. Just goes hard from day one.
The fight between Nomak and Blade STILL had to happen. Even though Nomak's father made him that way, because of an experiment. Nomak STILL had to die, he was still a monster. A sympathetic monster , but a monster none the less. Like his father said, when he ( Nomak) is done with vampires, who's next? Humans of course. The only way to save Nomak, & more importantly humans , Nomak had to die. This is why most ppl were pissed about how the studio screwed Wesley in the 3rd. But props to Ryan Reynolds for bringing Wesley Snipes to the MCU. If it weren't for Wesley, there would be no MCU.