Blade is a horror-action film based off of Marvel comics, written by Stan Lee, directed by Stephen Norrington. Blade has a star-packed cast including, Wesley Snipes, N’Bushe Wright, Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Dorff, and Sanaa Lathan. The film takes place in modern day New Orleans in 1997.

Blade, played by Wesley Snipes, is a human/vampire hybrid whose mother, played by Sanaa Lathan, was bitten by a vampire while she was pregnant, and Blade must carry the burden of being half vampire. 30 years later, he is out to avenge his mother’s death by ridding the world of vampires. On the road to achieving this, he meets a blood specialist, Dr. Karen Jenson, who helps Blade and his mentor, Abraham Whistler kill vampires. This isn’t all. There are advanced vampires who are trying to rid the world of humans and to do this, they need to summon an evil god. In order to summon the god, they need Blade’s special blood type. So, while Blade is after vampires, they are after him as well.

Wesley Snipes really understands how to portray Blade’s personality. He starts off with this standoffish, cold persona but as the story progresses, we see more of his backstory and start to understand why he is like this. As the movie continues, we really get to see a more vulnerable side of Blade. With Wesley Snipes, there is never emotionless acting, he really knows how to embody any character he is playing. The emotion he puts into Blade gives the movie an edge that not many movies achieve. His incredible acting really makes you sympathetic and relate yourself to the character.

The costumes in Blade will forever be iconic. These amazing costumes were designed by Sanja Milkovic Hays, a costume designer who has created for the Star Trek saga. Blade wears all black with a harness vest and a leather jacket that sweeps the floor. The piece that ties it all together are the black sunglasses. This costume really compliments Blade’s dark and cold persona. It really shows that he is not someone to mess with, if you’re a vampire. The weapons he carries on his back show that he is ready for anything the vampires pull. Blade is truly a trailblazer when it comes to killer fashion.

This film really shocked me the first time I watched it. It looked so old at first and that put me off from it. But after watching it, it has become one of my favorite superhero movies. I truly think this movie is timeless in every aspect. From the cinematography to the music to even just the lighting, everything fits the mood perfectly. While the special effects are iffy at times, considering it’s from the 90s, it’s very easy to look past and enjoy the rest of the movie. Anybody who is into sci-fi and vampire slaying will absolutely love this masterpiece of a movie.