EXTENDED DISCUSSION: / blade-review Jay and Jack discuss the often overlooked Marvel movie Blade, where apparently some motherf**kers are supposedly always trying to ice skate up hill.
I mean, with the way Deadpool marketed itself as "the first R-Rated comic book movie" and the amount of people who bought into that, he kind of has a point. Though that might be more a case of people not realising Blade was a comic book character.
I can’t even express how many people I’ve seen call Black Panther the “first (successful) black led superhero movie,” completely forgetting about the epic trendsetter that was Blade, thank you for fighting the good fight against Blade erasure
First time I whole heartedly disagree with RLM. Blade is a classic. Snipes IS Blade (much like Downey is Iron Man). The reboot has A LOT to measure up to.
The remake will suck, and you know it. Not that the original series are like the best movies ever. But Disney is incapable of doing anything even slightly properly.
Mahershala Ali is going to be the new Blade. I personally loved this movie, and people forget that it IS the originator of the current MCU. The second one is not bad either, but the third is trash. I'm actually interested in seeing this reboot.
It's strange to hear them discussing the movie in terms of something "everyone has forgotten," because in my mind it's remained one of the most influential genre movies of the last 30 years and 100% holds up as a stylistic masterpiece that defines that turn-of-the-millennium music video aesthetic. It's gorgeous in all its anamorphic glory.
Blade was a success at least as far as I can remember also thats why it had 2 sequels. I can see why nobody is talking about it because there has been over 10 years of build up movies for Avengers ending that you just forget about all the super hero movies that get crapped out over the years.
@@get8bit To be fair most people don't even know Blade is a comic book movie as he is a very obscure Marvel character that never had his own series prior to the movies release. Pretty much every character was invented for the film. Furthermore the people who made it weren't making a comic book movie they were making a vampire/action movie. Also the media never said Black Panther was the first black superhero movie, at most they said it was the first black MCU movie, but I understand bashing "duh mee dEE uh" on the interwebz makes you sound cool so who cares if you gotta hypocritically invent fake news? No one will notice and you'll get those cheap internet point that you clearly value so much. Obviously everyone just collectively forgot that Blade wasn't even the first black superhero film of the 90s, along with pretending Hancock never existed, because that's how evil "duh mee dEE uh" is. This can't possibly be a reflection of your own desire engage in faux outrage while also decrying "outrage culture" without a shred of self awareness...right?
@@JamesKlemm87 TONS of articles out there proclaiming black panther not only the first MCU black super hero, but the first black super hero in film period. They pretended my fav childhood films Spawn, Meteor Man, and THREE Blades never existed. I don't have to invent shizzzzzzzz. The media does lie through their teeth while sucking.
@@geovani60624 more like "perfect sunday afternoon hangover movie", the exact quote from the ending, which is actually a very valuable segment of movies I think!
The line at the end of the film was Blade being arrogant. He was saying that Frost trying to beat him was as futile as trying to ice skate uphill. It is an equivalent to Dirty Harry's "A man's got to know his limitations"
i kinda like how the CGI looks. It's dated in the same way harryhausen's stop-motion is. Not that it's that good, but it has that same charming jankiness to it that most dated CGI lacks
Blade and Blade 2 were fucking great! I still put the vampire club opening scene in Blade as one of the best openings in any movie ever. They're pure cheese but they're not trying to be anything else so it works. It's not pretty good/bad it's pretty good/cheese good. There's a self awareness and unapologeticness about cheese good that separates it from bad. Flash Gordon is a perfect example of this.
Some aspects of this movie are outdated, like the special effects and overall style. But I think the techno soundtrack for the action scenes is one of the most underrated things ever and I wish they used more music like that in action movies. It actually elevates a scene to a whole new level.
I'd argue that the movie is actually more enjoyable to watch in 2016 than 1998. The aspects of the movie that date it to the 90's were exhausting even in '98 due to two decades of action heroes spouting one-liners. While the good parts of Blade are still good, the parts that feel dated add a level of enjoyable schlock to the movie these days. Now it can be enjoyed as both a solidly made superhero film and a hilariously pretentious grimdark 90's action movie full of techno leather swordfights. The parts that are actually weird writing things, like Whistler's cancer? That stuff is still kinda weird and doesn't help at all. But trying to ice skate uphill always makes me laugh when I re-watch it.
"Some people are always trying to ice skate uphill." That horrible one-liner is the only thing I really remember about this film that made vampires lame long before Twilight ever came out.
Whistler becoming a vampire "cured" his cancer and allowed him to be in Blade 2. Or maybe they were just trying to say that Whistler would be out in Blade 1 no matter (death by vampire or cancer).
oddly enough, the special effects in Spawn were ahead of its time, in fact they hold up well even today. But the "hell" CGI shit was fucking terrible. His costume effects were amazing.
Wesley Snipes/Blade doesn’t get nearly enough credit it deserves for being a pioneer to both Marvel and the superhero movie genre in general. It’s so awful that it doesn’t get the love it deserves . Also, I always felt that the last line was about how some people are always fighting the natural order of things in circumstances where they shouldn’t belong. It’s so cheesy, but I absolutely love that final kill line haha
Can you guys review Reign of Fire or Event Horizon, they're both shlock but stand the test of time real well compared to what's been coming out these days. At least they have some heart, and balls, big beefy balls.
How DARE you refer to the glorious nightmare fuel that is Event Horizon schlock!? I mean, it is, but that's just rude. I watched that for the first time in my 20s, and still woke up from a very confusing horror dream afterwards
does him having cancer even need to be a plot thing though? can he not just have cancer? is it not cool that a character just has a major disease and it doesn't come into the plot at all, it just shows one of his weaknesses as a human and makes him more real of a character
I think the point they're making is it's kind of weird to introduce that he has cancer and is dying only for that not to be relevant at all. It would've been interesting if he deliberately became a vampire to over come his "weaknesses" as a human.
King Steve I don't get comments like this. Like really, are you THAT fascinated with the woman that you feel like you have to defend her at any given opportunity?
Just throwing out there, three years later, that Stephen Dorff was in Season 3 of True Detective and absolutely killed it in his role. He's legitimately a great actor.
And The Mask. Still wish they hadn't waited 15 years to do a sequel because they were hoping Jim Carrey would come back. In the comic everyone who is the main character dies at the beginning of the next storyline. The only reoccuring characters are the cop and the mask itself (Loki).
You guys aren't accurate in describing Blade's influence on films. It influenced movies like the Underworld series, Daylight, Priest, Ultraviolet, Daywatch, Night watch, etc. Not the superhero film genre. Just because a movie features a superhero doesn't mean people perceive it that way. This set off a chain of vampire action films in a way that John Carpenter's Vampires or From Dusk 'Til Dawn never did. In fact it may also have influenced the Matrix. But it really has nothing to do with influencing the superhero films. That was, indeed, X-Men. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films, the Fantastic Four films, Daredevil, Elektra, Catwoman, Batman Begins, etc. all comes from X-Men, not Blade.
Completely disagree. Blade was a catalyst for the next and most prominent wave of comic book films. People'd argue Burton's Batman, but it really was Blade. Batman & Robin, and Forever before it, quelling superheroes as popular and marketable. Which honestly was the Batman series during 90s. There's some one offs here and there, but still, they weren't that prevalent. Marvel was planning on doing Spider-Man and X-Men in the 90s, but it kept getting reshuffled or put in development hell. Blade showed studios and Marvel that a lesser-known could do well, so it was like studios asked what else they had and Marvel handed over top tier with glee. THEN, X-Men and Spider-Man happened and every studio was buying up comic book properties in a tidal wave of trend. Blade is an important comic book movie. (Ironically, people didn't originally know it was a Marvel character, let alone a comic book character.) I suppose Blade and its sequels influenced more and more vampire stuff, but so did Anne Rice adaptations, with Interview with the Vampire and Queen of the Damned.
I remember when this movie came out, it wasn't marketed as a superhero movie and hardly anyone knew this was based on a comicbook character. Hell, people didn't even recognize the Marvel logo at the beginning of the movie. For a lot of movie goers it may have been their first time seeing the logo and probably didn't bat an eyelash since it was the first movie that wasn't some direct to VHS garbage. He barely had a run of popular comics at the time (if any at all) and still doesn't. Blade was so obscure that the movie pretty much had free rein to do whatever to the character.
litovietbui Right. It actually influenced the comic book Blade it was so good. Originally Eric wasn't a half-vampire. He was just a vampire slayer with immunity from a vampire's bite (he couldn't be turned) bc of his mother being bitten while pregnant having an adverse effect on him. Mutating him. So the comic's literally evolved the character more to match the popular interpretation of him being a daywalking dhampir.
Gotta disagree with you guys. This movie is so cool and deservedly confident in itself, with a lead that nails the character and is interesting to watch, it shits on all this new, safe Marvel garbage from such a great height.
ACTUALLY...............*clears throat*............... Spawn from 1997 that you didn't mention was the first modern superhero comic book movie AND it had a black superhero character. Just so you know. *adjusts extra thick glasses with tape in the middle and feels super smart*
Isn't Bane white in the comics? Pink skin, brown hair. If I remember correctly, his original design in the Animated Series looked much more Hispanic, though.
+Leee if race doesn't matter for characterisation why should it matter if he is black? Hollywood is trying to get away from white as the norm for everything. Not every character who is black has to have their story be about them being black.
I saw this movie in theaters when I was 13 years old and I LOVED it. It started a trend of me loving the idea of being some kind of monster-hunter or demon-slayer based on average to bad late 90's to early 2000's movies. Blade, Van Helsing, the Angel TV series, etc.
This makes me want to see Wesley Snipes' grand return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, complete with a 4th-wall breaking reference to being imprisoned somewhere for 20 years. brb, off to watch his new Western...
I love this film because that scene where blood sprays from the ceiling in the vampire rave is just the perfect sweet spot of being really fucking awesome and absolutely absurd. It's one of my favorite movie scenes.
Oh god I remember when video game graphics regressed by 10 years just because "they're polygons". They were a steaming pile of shit is what they were. Virtua Fighter 1 in the arcades was the start of it. Then Playstation 1 with its garbage graphics.
***** I guess you totally missed my point. Everyone tries to one up someone with "Everyone forgot (insert name here)". So, I took it further. No one would say the 1950's film Batman franchise started comic book movies. But I guess that wasn't clear enough for you.
Between their take on Blade and Mad Max 2: Road Warrior, I think RLM do have some modern biases at just weird times. Personally, I'd take Blade over half of the MCU, especially Black Panther.
I still think the Blade movies are some of the best comic book movies. I think it's due to the simple plot and the fact that there is no Natalie Portman character to fuck it. Same reason why I love Dredd. I like bad movies and 90s cringe as well. Let's see if another Spider man reboot will learn or if we have to sit through Uncle Ben dying again.
Well uncle ben is the equivalent of kenny in southpark. He always dies in different ways and instead being sad and down , its becoming laughable that every iteration of uncle ben ends with death .
Blade was one of those early movies I saw on a CRT TV as a kid that made me LOVE wild action movies like this, and then the Matrix of course sealed the deal. I loved it, I didn't realize everyone forgot about it. Every time I write about something with swordfights Blade has some influence. Especially the whole concept of "x type of creature that hunts similar creatures because he's the good guy" really got to me.
I love Blade and I don't care who knows. Also, "Wesley Snipes rips out a man's throat and throws it at another guy. You're not gonna see that in Ant Man!"
I watched this for the first time last week, and as someone who grew up in the late 90s early 2000s listening to techno and watching The Matrix I fucking loved it. Some pieces of the OST are now in my regular listening rotation
Not a big deal that you didn't know Blade was from comics... the movie used the comic book character as a jumping-off point but had very little in common with it otherwise. The character's look, his abilities, his friends and his world were all invented fresh for the movie. A lot of kids back then didn't realize it, though, because they pre-debuted the movie version of Blade on the _Spider-Man_ cartoon show on Fox beforehand.
@@l34CoNCreepy Yeah, the movie's version of Blade, as well as David Goyer's original character Whistler who was invented for the movie, debuted on the _Spider-Man_ cartoon show on Fox. At the time, Marvel's TV and movie liaison division were one and the same. The movie came out years after the TV appearance, though, because New Line Cinema kept demanding changes and made production a nightmare.
A few years back, studio Madhouse released an anime series of this Marvel property.... It's actually pretty good. I think Blade is great. This is one of the few time that I COMPLETELY disagree with RLM.
The original Blade was from the 70s Dracula comic. They were sick of using enemies of Dracula people already knew like Van Helsing so they invented a new one.
Here is the re:View: "The movie was nothing special. The effects haven't aged well. The script is a mess because Brandon Lee tragically died during filming which is the only reason anyone remembers it and the only impression is made on society was to inspire a wrestler that's more popular than the movie to rip off the look....okay bye"
Blade 2 is a better movie. But Blade is pretty great given that it came out of nowhere, was made for about $3 and maybe influenced the Matrix, X-Men and a bunch of other stuff.
Dudes, I never stopped talking about Blade. Blade was pretty dope and I can see how it hasn't aged well, but it's still cooler than half the stuff coming out. I think "Smack My Bitch Up" was the most dated reference you made in this video, that's something that no one talks about anymore. But Blade paved the way for X-Men, and that paved the way for Spider-Man which was so successful that superhero movies started to be taken seriously. That paved the way for Iron Man and the MCU. Also, it fell into that trap of the third movie being crap. Blade Trinity, X-Men The Last Stand, and Spider-Man 3 all sucked, mostly because I think they were at the end of a 3 picture deal and instead of keeping it simple as you say, they tried to jam in every idea they ever had into that last movie and it got way too bloated.
Meteor Man is vastly underrated IMO. It has hilarious moments, like the one where the protagonist accidentally grabs this fashion book, absorbs its contents, drops it at the antagonist, who also absorbs the knowledge, and both of them then proceed to "battle" by doing catwalks.. Also, they are full of crap. Blade is a classic, and did not age poorly at all. Way to miss the mark, guys.
Ah Meteor Man such a good popcorn movie! Who could forget the drive by scene. And such great performances by legendary actors Don Cheadle, Deebo, James Earl Jones, Chris Tucker (uncredited: mall announcer), and America’s Dad himself Bill Cosby who saves the day with his magical fingers.
I bought doughnuts one night, and was looking forward to eating them in the morning. When I woke up the bag was completely swarmed with ants, and I had to throw them away.
Regarding the non-shaky cam action scene, this one is quite obvious. This is a movie from an era when action stars still had action-chops. People like Evans, Pratt, Damon or Hemsworth don't hold a candle to people like Snipes, Van Damme, Statham or even Schwarzenegger/Stallone (and don't start me on Jackie Chan and the other HK martial artists). That's the difference between self-made people who busted there asses in the gym and pampered Hollywood stars who hired a personal trainer. And the difference shows. One recent movie that did that OK was "John Wick" which was basically long-take-action-porn. While Keanu Reeves was a bit sloppy, far from real pros like the HK guys, he clearly worked seriously for the role and effort is duly noted.
I would also add Tom Cruise to that mix also Evans, and Hemsworth aren't really trying to be action stars outside of the Marvel movies which are all CGI anyway
It would just be too expensive to train extensive choreography with Evans or Hemsworth. I guess they would do it, but it's not worth the time and money.
The reasons you gave on why Blade was good (not focusing 2/3 on the characters figuring-it-out in particular) is maybe why Dredd was such a good movie. Good quality action without too much modern psychological bullshit.
Jay says there seems to be cool things that aged well from every generation except the 90's. Oh, Jay. Don't you remember growing up in the 90's, uttering in your most grossed out voice, "Ew, 80's special effects! It looks so 80's! The 80's styles were the worst. Why were the 80's so bad??" I do. I also remember in the 90's how envious we were of people who grew up in the 60's, the way people wish they grew up in the 80's today. That's because when a time passes the three decade mark, it becomes a classic. Wait until the mid 2020's, and people will get a gleam in their eye when someone plays that good old fashioned techno. See their hearts just melt away from the memories...
Long ago I thought Plinkett reviews were their best and Half in the Bag was OK. Now I really like Best of the Worst. I have laughed to tears because of numerous episodes.
I remember in the 00's when we ripped on how uncool the 80's were. Give it another ten years and the 90's will be cool and the 00's will be the lame decade.
In the past few years, Blade has finally been given its due as a terrific comic book/action film, and it is clearly the template for all future films in the Marvel universe. The CGI is dated, but this is a better film than many of the Marvel films in the past 5-7 years. Wesley Snipes is also a far more convincing superhero than 99 percent of the actors who have played a Marvel comics character.
"I'm going to assume that that was a Wesley Snipes line?" "Actually, it's not. That's something that Snipes just randomly said in a meeting." "It did come from Wesley Snipes then." "Yeah." What an unintentionally absurd dialogue. Love it. 😆
Blade was fucking sick and that soundtrack oh my! Not a smart movie by any stretch but just so much fun. "Some motherfuckers are always trying to ice skate uphill" LOL
Jay keeps shitting on the effects, but I think most of them all still pretty damn good. Udo Kier's death looks gruesome and the blowing up of the heads as well. The CG stuff I can even still look past.
If techno and sword fighting is wrong I don't wanna be right.
Truer words have never been spoken.
It's not techno though.
@@dandansen4261well, he said he doesn't wanna be right.
You actually got me to laugh out loud 😂
@@dandansen4261 shut up dan
“I was a dumb kid who thought Techno was awesome and sword fighting was awesome.”
Those things ARE awesome though.
That line has been wonderful bait to draw out all you nerds who have yet to realize how you're seen by others
@@MegaZeta Dismissing a whole music genre based on your own insecurities is fucking ridiculous
Pretty sure Jay loves synthwave
@@MegaZeta And we're the ones whom history keeps on proving right. Half the stuff people do today are just extensions of the 90s.
@@Lodatzor uh that's how time works. The present is an extension of the past.
When I was a kid we were allowed to open one Christmas present on Christmas Eve. I opened Blade. Made my family watch this movie on Christmas eve.
I knew I wasn't the only family that did this!
That's what jesus would have wanted
Hahahahaha that's great
Actually Blade has THE best opening in superhero's movies ever. In my opinion.
..because of Traci Lords, correct.
Maybe if Watchmen didn't exist imo, that fight scene plus the credits are unmatched
@@RickReasonnz No.
Superman: The Movie has the best opening.
Dark Knight Rises is great.
Ice skating uphill was huge in the 90's...
I don't think Crashed Ice started until the 2000s.
It makes sense because he also said "motherfuckers"
You have to remember Jay and Jack weren't the cool kids.
They didn't know about all the rad and/or tubular trends.
I didn't know about uphill skating, but I just love that line. It's just cool.
actually you can skate uphill if the hill is tilted sufficiently relative to the direction of gravity
I was rewatching Blade II recently and realized I forgot how good it was. Then the credits rolled, directed by Guillermo del Toro. Well, no shit.
lol blade 2 was shit
And it had the Cat from Red Dwarf! :D
yeah I've always loved blade 2
The only thing I remember from that film is the vampire guy going "So sweet!" while drinking blood and the terrible cgi blood.
Blade and Blade 2 are both far better than any shit marvel has ever put out.
Nobody remembers Blade?? The intro sequence was legendary! I still remember it to this day.
Like 10 billion commenters on this video, Jack thinks he's the only person who remembers something that a bunch of people remember
Which you antude asshole
@@MegaZetaJack also thought nobody was going to watch Avatar 2. I like the dude, but his grasp of our reality seems to elude him sometimes.
@@KilliK69 I've been watching Pre Rec and yeah he has some absolutely wild takes on that show.
I mean, with the way Deadpool marketed itself as "the first R-Rated comic book movie" and the amount of people who bought into that, he kind of has a point.
Though that might be more a case of people not realising Blade was a comic book character.
I can’t even express how many people I’ve seen call Black Panther the “first (successful) black led superhero movie,” completely forgetting about the epic trendsetter that was Blade, thank you for fighting the good fight against Blade erasure
i also liked spawn 1997
I can't believe Jack is replacing Mike.
I can't believe Josh replaced Star Trek.
I can't believe they're replacing Red Letter Media with an all Jack cast
I can't believe re:View is replacing Wesley Snipes taxes.
Actually...
Honestly fuck this "is x replacing "y" meme.
Wait .... Techno and sword fighting are not awesome?
@Major Gear Yes, thank you!
Those things fit together like peanut butter and jelly. Except if its in an unfitting setting
First time I whole heartedly disagree with RLM. Blade is a classic.
Snipes IS Blade (much like Downey is Iron Man). The reboot has A LOT to measure up to.
Wait they're actually doing a reboot? goddamn :(
some movie makers are always trying to ice skate up hill
The remake will suck, and you know it. Not that the original series are like the best movies ever. But Disney is incapable of doing anything even slightly properly.
@@suicidalbanananana Yes, Blade will be a part of the MCU
Mahershala Ali is going to be the new Blade.
I personally loved this movie, and people forget that it IS the originator of the current MCU. The second one is not bad either, but the third is trash. I'm actually interested in seeing this reboot.
It's strange to hear them discussing the movie in terms of something "everyone has forgotten," because in my mind it's remained one of the most influential genre movies of the last 30 years and 100% holds up as a stylistic masterpiece that defines that turn-of-the-millennium music video aesthetic. It's gorgeous in all its anamorphic glory.
Hugh Jackman is Wolverine and Wesley Snipes is Blade
The media literally told everyone, "Black Panther is the first black superhero movie." They flat out pretended Blade never existed.
Blade was a success at least as far as I can remember also thats why it had 2 sequels. I can see why nobody is talking about it because there has been over 10 years of build up movies for Avengers ending that you just forget about all the super hero movies that get crapped out over the years.
@@get8bit To be fair most people don't even know Blade is a comic book movie as he is a very obscure Marvel character that never had his own series prior to the movies release. Pretty much every character was invented for the film.
Furthermore the people who made it weren't making a comic book movie they were making a vampire/action movie.
Also the media never said Black Panther was the first black superhero movie, at most they said it was the first black MCU movie, but I understand bashing "duh mee dEE uh" on the interwebz makes you sound cool so who cares if you gotta hypocritically invent fake news? No one will notice and you'll get those cheap internet point that you clearly value so much.
Obviously everyone just collectively forgot that Blade wasn't even the first black superhero film of the 90s, along with pretending Hancock never existed, because that's how evil "duh mee dEE uh" is. This can't possibly be a reflection of your own desire engage in faux outrage while also decrying "outrage culture" without a shred of self awareness...right?
@@JamesKlemm87 TONS of articles out there proclaiming black panther not only the first MCU black super hero, but the first black super hero in film period. They pretended my fav childhood films Spawn, Meteor Man, and THREE Blades never existed. I don't have to invent shizzzzzzzz. The media does lie through their teeth while sucking.
I agree with RLM about 90% of the time. This is part of the 10% remainder. Blade is legitimately a fun, awesome fucking movie that still holds up.
Did u even watch the review? They love it
@@asseroya they said it's a drunk background movie
These guys also didn't like Tron and Tron Legacy. Almost unforgivable.
@@geovani60624 more like "perfect sunday afternoon hangover movie", the exact quote from the ending, which is actually a very valuable segment of movies I think!
The Count Of Monte Fisto was probably really drunk and didn't realize what she was saying.
That's the only explanation.
Wait. The Crow came out 4 years before this, was R rated, had 2 Asian main characters, and did the techno sword fight gun slinger thing... so...
It is almost like 90s comic book movies were so progressive that no 'progressives' ever saw them.
an asian lead in a martial arts movie? what a daring choice
Yeah people keep talking about the greatest comic book movies im over here with the crow always my favorite.
@@roselynn6753 Nah, The Crow was alright, but its sequels suck balls.
@@roselynn6753 it is ok
The first two Blade movies are great. Some of the best examples of action horror. Wesley Snipes just owns the role.
and then dead pool shows up
The line at the end of the film was Blade being arrogant. He was saying that Frost trying to beat him was as futile as trying to ice skate uphill.
It is an equivalent to Dirty Harry's "A man's got to know his limitations"
Whatever else you say about this movie, that intro is still the hypest shit of all time.
i kinda like how the CGI looks. It's dated in the same way harryhausen's stop-motion is. Not that it's that good, but it has that same charming jankiness to it that most dated CGI lacks
Blade and Blade 2 were fucking great! I still put the vampire club opening scene in Blade as one of the best openings in any movie ever. They're pure cheese but they're not trying to be anything else so it works. It's not pretty good/bad it's pretty good/cheese good. There's a self awareness and unapologeticness about cheese good that separates it from bad. Flash Gordon is a perfect example of this.
Some aspects of this movie are outdated, like the special effects and overall style. But I think the techno soundtrack for the action scenes is one of the most underrated things ever and I wish they used more music like that in action movies. It actually elevates a scene to a whole new level.
I'd argue that the movie is actually more enjoyable to watch in 2016 than 1998. The aspects of the movie that date it to the 90's were exhausting even in '98 due to two decades of action heroes spouting one-liners. While the good parts of Blade are still good, the parts that feel dated add a level of enjoyable schlock to the movie these days. Now it can be enjoyed as both a solidly made superhero film and a hilariously pretentious grimdark 90's action movie full of techno leather swordfights.
The parts that are actually weird writing things, like Whistler's cancer? That stuff is still kinda weird and doesn't help at all. But trying to ice skate uphill always makes me laugh when I re-watch it.
A vampire movie is supposed to be dark...
Raja Thyagaraj What We Do In The Shadows
"Some people are always trying to ice skate uphill."
That horrible one-liner is the only thing I really remember about this film that made vampires lame long before Twilight ever came out.
I agree. It's not a good movie, but it is very enjoyable to watch especially because of all that 90s cheese.
Whistler becoming a vampire "cured" his cancer and allowed him to be in Blade 2.
Or maybe they were just trying to say that Whistler would be out in Blade 1 no matter (death by vampire or cancer).
BEST LINE EVER! You are over thinking it. Ice skating uphill, if you will.
Jay, The Matrix has aged JUST FINE, thank you very much.
Ok
Yup, it has aged well. I thought it was great when I saw it in theaters in '99 and I still think it's great!
The story and effects are all time classic. But nobody could dress anything close to that nowadays without looking ridiculous.
I beg to differ
The Matrix was and still is awesome
Jay not liking the special effects in Blade makes me feel like I've entered a Mandela offshoot universe.
I liked Blade, it got me into Vampire the Masquerade since my dad had the GURPS rulesets. I really liked it, personally.
Don't forget Spawn [1997]
Or Steel starring Shaq
Now that they brought up Blankman they need to do a re-view of it.
Fun fact: At the time I recommended Spawn to my brother and he recommended The Matrix....... Soooo............... yeah......
oddly enough, the special effects in Spawn were ahead of its time, in fact they hold up well even today. But the "hell" CGI shit was fucking terrible. His costume effects were amazing.
The Rocketeer
Wesley Snipes/Blade doesn’t get nearly enough credit it deserves for being a pioneer to both Marvel and the superhero movie genre in general. It’s so awful that it doesn’t get the love it deserves
.
Also, I always felt that the last line was about how some people are always fighting the natural order of things in circumstances where they shouldn’t belong. It’s so cheesy, but I absolutely love that final kill line haha
Can you guys review Reign of Fire or Event Horizon, they're both shlock but stand the test of time real well compared to what's been coming out these days. At least they have some heart, and balls, big beefy balls.
How DARE you refer to the glorious nightmare fuel that is Event Horizon schlock!?
I mean, it is, but that's just rude. I watched that for the first time in my 20s, and still woke up from a very confusing horror dream afterwards
They should do Event Horizon but on Best of the Worst
@I Wanna Die Movie Night Beat me to it.
Blade is one of my favorite comic book movies with Dredd, Captain America: Winter soldier and V for Vendetta.
does him having cancer even need to be a plot thing though? can he not just have cancer? is it not cool that a character just has a major disease and it doesn't come into the plot at all, it just shows one of his weaknesses as a human and makes him more real of a character
+Hurbs Buckooglberb I don't love Johnny.
I think the point they're making is it's kind of weird to introduce that he has cancer and is dying only for that not to be relevant at all. It would've been interesting if he deliberately became a vampire to over come his "weaknesses" as a human.
@@averyhepburn8092 yeah in the 5 years since I made this comment I’ve understood more what they meant hahah
Blade really doesn't get much credit for it's influence.
The 90s aged really well, compared to the hellscape we live in now. Techno is still big and so is sword fighting.
Jennifer Lawrence really isn't that hot though, lel
She is a human potatoe, she is not
No ass.
King Steve
I don't get comments like this. Like really, are you THAT fascinated with the woman that you feel like you have to defend her at any given opportunity?
Well, we've all seen her cooch, and it ain't pretty. There's no....mystique to it anymore.
I remember that (i was the girl she raped and killed btw)
"everybody forgot about it. nobody talks about blade ever" i need to start hanging out with you guys, if you dont know anybody that talks about blade.
Where do you fucking live? Nobody where i live remembers blade
+Jepze Your fault for living in a hole. Blade is great and a lot of people know this.
Don't be mad at Jepze. He's clearly in an area experiencing the Mandela Effect.
+everett von scott I live in country so i guess that is true
+Madklok Well you have to hide your powerlevel, man.
Just throwing out there, three years later, that Stephen Dorff was in Season 3 of True Detective and absolutely killed it in his role. He's legitimately a great actor.
3 years later? You mean 3 decades later? Blade is old. Stephen is in the movie felon. Watch that one
That was a long three years...
In my opinion Blade gets even better with age. It is great movie, ahead of its time and as reviewers noticed - really influential.
There is also the Crow but most people forget it is based on a comic book.
And The Mask. Still wish they hadn't waited 15 years to do a sequel because they were hoping Jim Carrey would come back. In the comic everyone who is the main character dies at the beginning of the next storyline. The only reoccuring characters are the cop and the mask itself (Loki).
You guys aren't accurate in describing Blade's influence on films. It influenced movies like the Underworld series, Daylight, Priest, Ultraviolet, Daywatch, Night watch, etc. Not the superhero film genre. Just because a movie features a superhero doesn't mean people perceive it that way. This set off a chain of vampire action films in a way that John Carpenter's Vampires or From Dusk 'Til Dawn never did. In fact it may also have influenced the Matrix. But it really has nothing to do with influencing the superhero films. That was, indeed, X-Men. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films, the Fantastic Four films, Daredevil, Elektra, Catwoman, Batman Begins, etc. all comes from X-Men, not Blade.
You might include the Resident Evil franchise as well. Swap super zombies for vampires.
Completely disagree. Blade was a catalyst for the next and most prominent wave of comic book films. People'd argue Burton's Batman, but it really was Blade. Batman & Robin, and Forever before it, quelling superheroes as popular and marketable. Which honestly was the Batman series during 90s. There's some one offs here and there, but still, they weren't that prevalent. Marvel was planning on doing Spider-Man and X-Men in the 90s, but it kept getting reshuffled or put in development hell. Blade showed studios and Marvel that a lesser-known could do well, so it was like studios asked what else they had and Marvel handed over top tier with glee. THEN, X-Men and Spider-Man happened and every studio was buying up comic book properties in a tidal wave of trend. Blade is an important comic book movie. (Ironically, people didn't originally know it was a Marvel character, let alone a comic book character.)
I suppose Blade and its sequels influenced more and more vampire stuff, but so did Anne Rice adaptations, with Interview with the Vampire and Queen of the Damned.
I remember when this movie came out, it wasn't marketed as a superhero movie and hardly anyone knew this was based on a comicbook character. Hell, people didn't even recognize the Marvel logo at the beginning of the movie. For a lot of movie goers it may have been their first time seeing the logo and probably didn't bat an eyelash since it was the first movie that wasn't some direct to VHS garbage. He barely had a run of popular comics at the time (if any at all) and still doesn't. Blade was so obscure that the movie pretty much had free rein to do whatever to the character.
litovietbui Right. It actually influenced the comic book Blade it was so good. Originally Eric wasn't a half-vampire. He was just a vampire slayer with immunity from a vampire's bite (he couldn't be turned) bc of his mother being bitten while pregnant having an adverse effect on him. Mutating him. So the comic's literally evolved the character more to match the popular interpretation of him being a daywalking dhampir.
Creators even admitted going forward based on Blades's success... They said it! So fact. No Blade, no X-Men, no Marvel Studios (as they are now).
Gotta disagree with you guys. This movie is so cool and deservedly confident in itself, with a lead that nails the character and is interesting to watch, it shits on all this new, safe Marvel garbage from such a great height.
It's just a better movie than you might think it would be, there's a lot of dumb and bad stuff in it too, chill out
It sux dude, it just doesnt hold up well at all, Marvel isnt 'safe' at all, it just doesnt need a cheap R rating to create stories of worth ;)
And Blade is gonna be part of the mainstream now. Strange.
Loki Heimdallr how exactly does it suck??? It’s a pretty solid action film.
Wesley Snipes as Blade elevates it, without that it would probably be a pretty terrible movie.
ACTUALLY...............*clears throat*............... Spawn from 1997 that you didn't mention was the first modern superhero comic book movie AND it had a black superhero character. Just so you know. *adjusts extra thick glasses with tape in the middle and feels super smart*
We don't talk about Spawn. Ever.
Do we? I've never met you! was I drunk?
Ah, I do that sober. I don't know which is which any more.
No.
Peter Loew Spawn was terrible though
I can't wait for the Blade re-make starring an all-white cast!
Nothin' wrong with that!
JonTron Hey, you're right. There's hope yet.
Isn't Bane white in the comics? Pink skin, brown hair. If I remember correctly, his original design in the Animated Series looked much more Hispanic, though.
+Leee if race doesn't matter for characterisation why should it matter if he is black? Hollywood is trying to get away from white as the norm for everything. Not every character who is black has to have their story be about them being black.
chaz Davis It wasn't a joke. Equilibrium is the closest thing we've got so far.
Nope. Also Gods of Egypt.
I saw this movie in theaters when I was 13 years old and I LOVED it. It started a trend of me loving the idea of being some kind of monster-hunter or demon-slayer based on average to bad late 90's to early 2000's movies. Blade, Van Helsing, the Angel TV series, etc.
This makes me want to see Wesley Snipes' grand return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, complete with a 4th-wall breaking reference to being imprisoned somewhere for 20 years.
brb, off to watch his new Western...
Brian Marini The IRS are the biggest bloodsuckers of all.
I think that would make a great dead pool movie
This wqs brought up in Expendables 3 actually. Direct call out and everything.
I love this film because that scene where blood sprays from the ceiling in the vampire rave is just the perfect sweet spot of being really fucking awesome and absolutely absurd. It's one of my favorite movie scenes.
re:View Galaxy Quest pleeeeease
Why, so they can shit on a perfectly good movie?
You gotta give the CG in this movie a pass. This was back when video games were just starting to use 3D graphics instead of sprites.
Oh god I remember when video game graphics regressed by 10 years just because "they're polygons". They were a steaming pile of shit is what they were. Virtua Fighter 1 in the arcades was the start of it. Then Playstation 1 with its garbage graphics.
@@WildBluntHickok I tried playing Ocarina of Time a few years ago and it's darn near unplayable with its fat polygons and checkerboard textures.
"Techno bad" -literally Moby
In Decay? More like Into Gay!
A F T R T H A T? More like H O M O S E X U A L! amirite fellas?
@@indecay8756
You sed it, brother!
Up vote for Darkman Re:view.
No one ever brings up The Rocketeer when talking about superheroes movies...
They should re:View that movie.
+MrBing 90 No I'm well aware of how much they've talked about it. I meant more generally, people never seem to bring it up.
+allluckyseven I'd love that, but they already like 10 mins about it on Half in the Bag. So it's unlikely they will
No one ever goes back to the 1960's (or even the 1950's short films) Batman. Comic book movies have been a thing since comic books it seems.
*****
I guess you totally missed my point. Everyone tries to one up someone with "Everyone forgot (insert name here)". So, I took it further. No one would say the 1950's film Batman franchise started comic book movies. But I guess that wasn't clear enough for you.
Did they just say that The Matrix has aged badly is no longer cool? Hrhrmrhrrmrhmrrjhrhrrmrrrmrmrmmmmm..........................
Between their take on Blade and Mad Max 2: Road Warrior, I think RLM do have some modern biases at just weird times. Personally, I'd take Blade over half of the MCU, especially Black Panther.
Half? I'd say 3 tops
I havent forgotten about Blade. That movie was fucking awesome!!!
I still think the Blade movies are some of the best comic book movies. I think it's due to the simple plot and the fact that there is no Natalie Portman character to fuck it. Same reason why I love Dredd. I like bad movies and 90s cringe as well. Let's see if another Spider man reboot will learn or if we have to sit through Uncle Ben dying again.
Well uncle ben is the equivalent of kenny in southpark. He always dies in different ways and instead being sad and down , its becoming laughable that every iteration of uncle ben ends with death .
It always amazes me how no one remembers that Men In Black is based off a Marvel comic even though it says that in the opening scene.
No one has forgotten about Blade... It comes up almost monthly in one way or another...
Blade was one of those early movies I saw on a CRT TV as a kid that made me LOVE wild action movies like this, and then the Matrix of course sealed the deal.
I loved it, I didn't realize everyone forgot about it. Every time I write about something with swordfights Blade has some influence. Especially the whole concept of "x type of creature that hunts similar creatures because he's the good guy" really got to me.
I love Blade and I don't care who knows.
Also, "Wesley Snipes rips out a man's throat and throws it at another guy. You're not gonna see that in Ant Man!"
My favorite R rated 90s comic book movie was The Crow. I still play the soundtrack when I am feeling nostalgic.
I watched this for the first time last week, and as someone who grew up in the late 90s early 2000s listening to techno and watching The Matrix I fucking loved it. Some pieces of the OST are now in my regular listening rotation
I love Blade, it's one of my favorite old series to binge.
The Phantom gets mentioned. 'One of my favourites.' WHAT A HERO!!!
Loved the Rich Evans cameo at 11:51
love you man :D :D :D
I've always loved Blade, I didn't even know that it was a comic though.
Not a big deal that you didn't know Blade was from comics... the movie used the comic book character as a jumping-off point but had very little in common with it otherwise. The character's look, his abilities, his friends and his world were all invented fresh for the movie. A lot of kids back then didn't realize it, though, because they pre-debuted the movie version of Blade on the _Spider-Man_ cartoon show on Fox beforehand.
@@l34CoNCreepy Yeah, the movie's version of Blade, as well as David Goyer's original character Whistler who was invented for the movie, debuted on the _Spider-Man_ cartoon show on Fox. At the time, Marvel's TV and movie liaison division were one and the same. The movie came out years after the TV appearance, though, because New Line Cinema kept demanding changes and made production a nightmare.
A few years back, studio Madhouse released an anime series of this Marvel property.... It's actually pretty good. I think Blade is great. This is one of the few time that I COMPLETELY disagree with RLM.
The original Blade was from the 70s Dracula comic. They were sick of using enemies of Dracula people already knew like Van Helsing so they invented a new one.
Most people didn't know at the time and it really is a vampire film more than a comic book movie.
What about a re:View of "The Crow"?
After more then 20 years still holds up very well
Here is the re:View:
"The movie was nothing special. The effects haven't aged well. The script is a mess because Brandon Lee tragically died during filming which is the only reason anyone remembers it and the only impression is made on society was to inspire a wrestler that's more popular than the movie to rip off the look....okay bye"
Shoulda done Blade 2, it's the best of them
Nah the first is better.....both are brilliant tho
Blade 2 is a better movie. But Blade is pretty great given that it came out of nowhere, was made for about $3 and maybe influenced the Matrix, X-Men and a bunch of other stuff.
I actually liked the first one better.
2nd movie is still good tho.
Agreed.
Yup, Blade 2 was awesome
This episode has the two skinny ones? Those hack frauds!
fat shaming.
Goyer's right about structure. Blade has excellent structure. Its one of the few action horror films that works imo
Dudes, I never stopped talking about Blade. Blade was pretty dope and I can see how it hasn't aged well, but it's still cooler than half the stuff coming out. I think "Smack My Bitch Up" was the most dated reference you made in this video, that's something that no one talks about anymore. But Blade paved the way for X-Men, and that paved the way for Spider-Man which was so successful that superhero movies started to be taken seriously. That paved the way for Iron Man and the MCU. Also, it fell into that trap of the third movie being crap. Blade Trinity, X-Men The Last Stand, and Spider-Man 3 all sucked, mostly because I think they were at the end of a 3 picture deal and instead of keeping it simple as you say, they tried to jam in every idea they ever had into that last movie and it got way too bloated.
Oh it's the other guy
and the OTHER other guy
When people tune in to re:View they wanna see Mike Stoklasa and the other guy. They don't wanna see the other guy and an other other guy.
+Emperor Palpatine I like Jack :(
He has a name and his name is Jake!
No it's not, it's Jack & Jay
Actually just watched Blade a few months ago. Definitely silly in some parts but still a really fun movie.
Meteor Man is vastly underrated IMO. It has hilarious moments, like the one where the protagonist accidentally grabs this fashion book, absorbs its contents, drops it at the antagonist, who also absorbs the knowledge, and both of them then proceed to "battle" by doing catwalks..
Also, they are full of crap. Blade is a classic, and did not age poorly at all. Way to miss the mark, guys.
Ah Meteor Man such a good popcorn movie! Who could forget the drive by scene. And such great performances by legendary actors Don Cheadle, Deebo, James Earl Jones, Chris Tucker (uncredited: mall announcer), and America’s Dad himself Bill Cosby who saves the day with his magical fingers.
That track is actually called Blade ... Good tune!
I guess they've never seen the Netflix shows. Those are gritty as hell.
The Flash, Jessica Jones and Daredevil are all shit
I forgot that RLMs comment section is full of human garbage. I gotta stop commenting.
+David Garcia So that makes you human garbage in your own eyes...
IF I say my bag of doritos is full of ants does that mean there are only ants in there?
I bought doughnuts one night, and was looking forward to eating them in the morning. When I woke up the bag was completely swarmed with ants, and I had to throw them away.
Dude I rewatched Blade recently and it reminded me how much I appreciated the movie.
i only remember that intro, my grandma didn't let me watch it so i only could watch the intro before she would find out
This movie rules. Everything they laugh about in this video is what makes this movie awesome
Is this replacing Wesley Snipes Tax Evasion?
Death Machine was amaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing. Brad Dourif is so over the top and nuts, it's hilarious.
Regarding the non-shaky cam action scene, this one is quite obvious. This is a movie from an era when action stars still had action-chops. People like Evans, Pratt, Damon or Hemsworth don't hold a candle to people like Snipes, Van Damme, Statham or even Schwarzenegger/Stallone (and don't start me on Jackie Chan and the other HK martial artists). That's the difference between self-made people who busted there asses in the gym and pampered Hollywood stars who hired a personal trainer. And the difference shows. One recent movie that did that OK was "John Wick" which was basically long-take-action-porn. While Keanu Reeves was a bit sloppy, far from real pros like the HK guys, he clearly worked seriously for the role and effort is duly noted.
I would also add Tom Cruise to that mix also Evans, and Hemsworth aren't really trying to be action stars outside of the Marvel movies which are all CGI anyway
It would just be too expensive to train extensive choreography with Evans or Hemsworth. I guess they would do it, but it's not worth the time and money.
The reasons you gave on why Blade was good (not focusing 2/3 on the characters figuring-it-out in particular) is maybe why Dredd was such a good movie. Good quality action without too much modern psychological bullshit.
The effects are fine. If you could suspend your disbelief with early 3D games, you can do it here.
Stephen Norrington end up directing League of extraordinaire gentleman...and david goyer end up writing Batman v superman. What a sad fate.
Jay says there seems to be cool things that aged well from every generation except the 90's. Oh, Jay. Don't you remember growing up in the 90's, uttering in your most grossed out voice, "Ew, 80's special effects! It looks so 80's! The 80's styles were the worst. Why were the 80's so bad??" I do. I also remember in the 90's how envious we were of people who grew up in the 60's, the way people wish they grew up in the 80's today. That's because when a time passes the three decade mark, it becomes a classic. Wait until the mid 2020's, and people will get a gleam in their eye when someone plays that good old fashioned techno. See their hearts just melt away from the memories...
People talk about Blade. It's more remembered than most of the movies they talk about.
Honestly, is there anything better than RLM's re:reviews?
I mean re:Views, cant edit on my phone
***** mhm, i like these better personally
Half a Plinketto in the bag
Long ago I thought Plinkett reviews were their best and Half in the Bag was OK. Now I really like Best of the Worst. I have laughed to tears because of numerous episodes.
penicillin
No Rich Evans, no sale. These are my terms.
Love Rich Evans. I think it is a good thing to hear different voices once and awhile. The guys that run RLM know what they're doing.
Always impressed with Jay's obscure film knowledge.
The one movie I'm always in the mood for.
New Order - Confusion (Pump Panel Reconstruction Mix)
I remember in the 00's when we ripped on how uncool the 80's were. Give it another ten years and the 90's will be cool and the 00's will be the lame decade.
The performance is perfect! This kind of person in this crazy context would act and talk exactly like this...
Call me crazy, but I like the visual effects. They're so unapologetically 90's. 🤣
I miss the late 90's - early 00's Edgelord phase.
Even if it has its fair share of cringe , it still has its awesome stuff .
is jay replacing blade
Is your edit replacing your original comment?
Lol yes he is.
In the past few years, Blade has finally been given its due as a terrific comic book/action film, and it is clearly the template for all future films in the Marvel universe. The CGI is dated, but this is a better film than many of the Marvel films in the past 5-7 years. Wesley Snipes is also a far more convincing superhero than 99 percent of the actors who have played a Marvel comics character.
"I'm going to assume that that was a Wesley Snipes line?"
"Actually, it's not. That's something that Snipes just randomly said in a meeting."
"It did come from Wesley Snipes then."
"Yeah."
What an unintentionally absurd dialogue. Love it. 😆
Blade was fucking sick and that soundtrack oh my! Not a smart movie by any stretch but just so much fun. "Some motherfuckers are always trying to ice skate uphill" LOL
"We're ready for some gritty shit"
>Thinks of DCEU
>Sad Price is Right music plays
"as soon as the song that kinda sounds like 'Smack My Bitch Up' starts playing"
best / most accurate phrasing ever
Jay keeps shitting on the effects, but I think most of them all still pretty damn good. Udo Kier's death looks gruesome and the blowing up of the heads as well. The CG stuff I can even still look past.