I love this movie. And there are people who said/advertised Black Panther as the "first superhero or marvel movie with a black lead" did a huge disservice to this awesome triology.
That pissed me off to no end when that was happening. Blade, essentially, single handedly revitalized comic book movies in general after Schumacher tainted them so much that people lost interest even in Batman.
True. I enjoyed Black Panther, but you shouldn't have to tear down or ignore older movies to prop up newer ones. Blade was awesome and deserves to be remembered.
In the ACTUAL MCU, Chadwick was but we all know that Wesley Snipes started it ALL...if Blade wasn't a smash hit success, Marvel was gonna go bankrupt and we would've never got the MCU we have today
@@MaRodney07 I'm not talking about MCU. Many advertised it as a 'first Marvel movie with a black lead' some media even said it's the "first black superhero" like Blade didn't exist. When Black panther released, MCU just started just a few years ago (10 years ago) and being the fist in MCU might not be that special compared to blade. And if you ask who is the best superhero in movies among those two, i'd select blade. Because i felt that Black panther was not allowed to shine in that movie with all those side characters doing all the jobs for him while all that Black Pather does is just listen and obey them. He didn't feel like a main character. Meanwhile Blade is kicking a*s like a real hero in this movie.
Blade's reveal is great. He's just there, in a room full of dozens of vampires, and they're scared of HIM. That's how you make a character a badass. You see this a lot with villians, but so rarely with heros. Definitely a 'show, don't tell' moment.
I watched a video of how to create a John Wick type character. Its very similar. When Blade appears there are fearful whispers in a way you normally see attributed to heavy villains.
This movie is so iconic and so GROUNDBREAKING. It broke so many rules. It was a rated R comic book movie. It starred a man of color as the main lead in a comic book movie. It had a female character who is NOT a romantic lead. These were all things Hollywood said would never work and it was a blockbuster.
I was waiting for one of the leads to catch feelings. When it didn't happen and they parted ways, I was sooo happy. Why does everyone have to get together? I'm glad they went for the natural, logical conclusion rather than a contrived storyline.
There was something else I noticed, there is a stereotypical old white man, listening to rock, grease monkey, who is not racists, but is the father figure of a badass black man. Really think aobut it, would you ever see a positive image like that, where a cool badass black guy character has a loving white guy as a father figure? and not as the racist villain? not for any particular reason or anything, I just think they wouldn't do it thats all. (plus the villain Deacon was "with" blades mom, meaning a white guy and black woman, not a stereotypical relationship, especially at the time.)
Wesley moves so fast with his martial arts, they had to tell him to slow down because they had a hard time capturing all of his moves. The dude is the real deal.
@@Hirnknaker Yes. He also had that issue while filming The One where some scenes were slowed down because his natural speed was considered too unnatural in a film about someone going around killing their parallel universe doubles and absorbing their power.
Part of the reason his fighting looks so polished compared to other characters is the fact that Snipes had been taking martial arts lessons since he was 12 (the other reason is the stunt team also knew what they were doing).
Plus when the lead actor has the kind of martial arts skills as Snipes has it makes the stuntmen jobs 100x easier as they don’t have to teach the actor anything they can just get straight down to business of designing a action scene knowing Snipes can do anything they can do. Trained dancers are also a dream for stuntmen as they can memorise complicated choreography easily.
Saw this in theaters when it came out. The opening sequence has to be the best i've ever seen. It was the first DVD(PC) I ever bought before DVD was the standard
That was kinda the problem I had with the movie. The opening was so much better than anything that followed so the ending just didn’t feel all that impactful
When Wesley snipes punched Donald Logue he actually dislocated his jaw by accident so when they took him to the hospital covered in burn prosthetics they were terrified as to what happened to him. Lol. Also they extended his role in the film because everyone liked him so much on set. Class act.
F***ing LOVE this film and it's still one of my Top 10 Favorite Comic Book Films ever made. Wesley Snipes is synonymous with Blade the same way RDJ is to Iron Man, and that opening sequence? Masterpiece of an opening scene for a CBM. The tone, style, and visual flare is so unique and gothic while also being the perfect B-list character tone needed for someone like Blade. I could go on and on but I'll just leave it at this. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
The director had only planned on using Donal logue as Quinn in only a few scenes but he tested so well with audiences they kept him in the entire movie. That dude's hilarious.
Even after all these years I still love this movie. The new one will probably be good, but 90s cinema had a certain feel to it that you really can't do nowadays.
When this movie came out, I was deep into Hongkong Cinema, this was the first Hollywood movie that impressed me with its Martial Arts choreography and the general style of filmmaking (the framing and the editing). Back in the day most American movies had sloppy fighting, boring editing and mediocre framing. This was the first movie that could keep up with the intensity of HK movies.
I love how badass Blade is and how well Wesley Snipes shows off what you can do when you've got an actor who can pull off the moves. He doesn't get enough credit for his contribution to growing the comic book movie genre. I hope you also get around to Demolition Man at some point. Snipes pulls off the most comic book accurate Joker-personality in that role without being Joker.
Fun Fact! Blade's first appearance outside of comics was the 1994 Spiderman cartoon, which helped to introduce the character to the public consciousness well in advance of this movie. 😉👍
I completely played out this soundtrack twice over after this movie came out. Like literally, I had to buy it a third time I wore the CDs down so hard.
@@JamesVSCinema the Crow is amazing, Brandon Lee's last film, he was actually killed filming a scene with a gun that was supposed to be firing blanks.
When this came out I was living in Japan, the theater exploded this laughter during the night club scene. The little girl who was kicking Blade's ass is the daughter of Billy Blanks, martial arts instructor.
This is literally the ONLY Marvel film i own. I mean, the MCU is alright & everything but Blade ROCKS. Loved it from the first viewing at the cinema. Got it on video, got it on DVD... Bloody love it. And to be fair - the bubbly blood cgi looked just as shit then as it does now but everything else was on point, so it was allowed.
The only marvel i own is the first two blade movies, first two Spider-Man, first two X-men, and into the spiderverse. The late 90’s-early 00’s were hit or miss. Pretty bad superhero movies but when they hit. Jesus, they’re some of the greatest movies when they hit.
Tbf the first Blade was made on a smallish budget, so the CGI is more a product of that than of it being a 90s film. Blade 2 got a much bigger budget due to the success of the first movie, and it definitely shows. But agree, Blade is badass top to bottom regardless
Blade and The Rock had the theaters packed where it was sometimes standing room and fire marshall's had to intervene when the no shows for ticket sales dropped to zero! A unique time for American recreation in cinemas.
Bruh, no one is touching Blade in absolute savage department. ------- Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema Be safe out there and enjoy the day, Batman (1989) tomorrow/sunday!
This wasn't a movie that really kicked it off for Marvel in terms of real blockbuster success... even 2002 Spider-Man only loosened the lid on that jar... but this is the movie that gets unfortunately buried by the mistaken treatment of (the excellent) "Black Panther" as a first for a black Marvel superhero; Blade had already had a whole-ass trilogy. This movie is great. Great look, great tone, this was when vampires were still cool and felt dangerous, and were as much tween romance fodder.
Blade started it , X-men elevated it, and Spider-Man solidified marvel in movies. Those three films are so important to the superhero landscape we have now. Blade is the one of the best of all time for sure!
These films are my favourite comic book movie series. Wesley and the filmmakers killed it, the action, the props, the 90's vibe, everything. G.I. Wesley.
This movie has one of the most memorable opening sequences, at least of the 90's, and an amazing character introduction. You knew you were in for a good time. The movie that saved Marvel, there would be no MCU without this movie.
This movie is as much fire today as when it came out. It seems that some of the best Marvel films and shows were from the lesser known heroes. It just goes to show how incredible Marvel writers were back in the day, I grew up reading all of those comics.
The series of “What we do in the Shadows” had Snipes on the Vampire council and they refered to him as Daywalker. The actor who played Quin kind of reprised his role in the series. According to the show after he made Blade he “fell in love with the vampire lifestyle” and became a full vampire
So Wesley Snipes said "some motherfuckers are always trying to ice skate uphill" and Davis S Goyer heard it and thought it was the coolest thing and he put the line in in a spot where it doesn't make sense and Wesley Snipes told him it didn't make sense and David just didn't care.
It makes sense. The phrase referred to how ridiculous it was for Frost to try and defy nature. He wanted to cheat his way to greatness as the Blood God, le Magra.
I remember watching this movie in theaters with my brother. We both left thinking there was no way we'd ever be as cool. Hell, we didn't think anyone would ever be as cool. Coolness level of Blade in this movie is unmatched. (That said, I am VERY curious to see what the MCU does when Merhershala Ali assumes the role. Could be great, but he's got some big shoes to fill.)
I still love the Blade movies even all these years later. Wesley Snipes plays the role excellently, such a badass. Also, cinematography is top notch as well.
I love this film, it never gets the credit it deserves. Blade is such an awesome character in general not just in this movie. I was be irrationally angry when you would see articles about Marvels first R rated movie "Deadpool" being a success, as if Blade doesn't exist or wasn't commercially successful when it released it topped box offices across the world in it's first few weeks. The music, the action scenes the "corny" dialogue was peak 90's entertainment.
I think it’s in large part to Wesley Snipes, every movie he’s in, he radiates cool and charisma. It’s genuinely hard to think anyone else could play Blade, Wesley Snipes lives and breathes the character.
One of my favorite reactions of yours James. I’m really looking forward to watching the full, uncut reaction this evening. Also I noticed this time how many anime-esque moments Blade had in it, I had never spotted that before this video (and I’ve watched Blade more than a few times). I hope you’ll be adding Blade 2 to an upcoming poll. Take care y’all.
Right there with ya on this one James. I’d say the second one is the best, largely because the villain is more compelling, but it’s damn hard to match that opening in the club.
I love Blade, I remember watching it like a year after it came out and I fell in love and still love it now. Wesley Snipes is an actual martial artists, and you can totally see that, and can see him pulling off some Capoeira moves on the final fight scene. I love Wesley Snipes too, have seen all his movies. I recommend Demolition Man or New Jack City to those who haven't seen those two movies.
When this came out, the actor who plays the ginger vampire was playing a sitcom dad, and I have never been able to take seriously as a vampire. Which works, since his character is pretty bad at his job.
My favorite superhero movie of all time. Favorite doesn't have to be perfect. Nothing else like Blade. Another stylistically excellent movie from 1998 (kind of a superhero movie actually), Dark City.
Blade and Blade 2 were two movies I were scared af of when I was a kid. But, now that i'm older, they might be two of my favorite superhero movies and Blade is in my top 5 favorite heroes. Wesley Snipes was fire in this role and I can't wait to see how Mahershala Ali does in the role in the MCU.
I think you'd love Tony Scott's The Hunger (1983). Aesthetically very similar to his brother's Blade Runner, but about present-day vampires in New York.
First time I saw this I was about 8 when it came out. At the end when he takes the guys head off then catches the sunglasses as the music starts, that was the coolest thing I’d ever seen! Still holds up! Hope you’re having a great start to your weekend🤙 Much love and Respect brother🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
a cool detail thats easy to miss is how in the beginning after the cops shoot blade and realize he has body armor, they bring in a different guy with a higher caliber rifle to shoot at him, you can see how his bullets punch through that door which is a nice touch, its those kinda moments that I love most in movies
When I was younger, to me he was a real hero compared to anything at the time; these movies carry the weight of killing off a lot of vampires well and it just start struck me even with the humor (felt ahead of it’s time)
I think what made this movie even better and iconic is the fact that all fighting scenes were ALL WESLEY SNIPES. PRACTICAL. He really did all of it. From the unbelievable kicks to fast hand to hand combat. When already amazed makes you feel amazed even more that it was done irl. Before matrix and some other films you named off so you know it was original content & With a Black man being the lead star🖤🙌🏽.
Right on James. Welcome to the OG MCU flick. No lie, without this, there would have been no Marvel movies. This is a once a year watch for me. Cool stylistically, and Snipes did all his own martial arts. To this day I still call out people at work for always trying to ice skate uphill. lol Hope you dig it.
I was born in 1980 and grew up on VHS. When I got older and had a job, DVD became the format of choice. This was one of the first DVDs I ever bought, along with The Matrix, Goldfinger, and Payback. This was just before the turn of the century. I'm officially one of those guys.
this was shockingly good... and the fact that they weren't afraid to start with that much blood just cued you in to the fact that they weren't going to pull their punches on this comic book movie. loved it.
I was 11 years old when this came out, I grew up a big Batman fan. He's my #1 super hero/comic book character. But when i first saw blade as a guest character in the 1996 Spider-Man Animated Series, Season 2 episode 9. i was like whoa this guy is bad ass, Reminds of Punisher & a little bit of Batman. Didn't get to experience this in the theater as i was too young, My brother R.I.P. Went to see it with his girlfriend and was just raving about it, Saying it's the best comic book/action film he had seen a while. And i was pumped to see it, Finally got to watch it when it was available at our local video rental store. And instantly became a Blade fan after the first watch. Such a great 90's Comic Book Film, Still baffles me how this doesn't get the credit it deserves for not only saving Marvel from bankruptcy. But also comic films in general, Especially after Batman & Robin, The Phantom, STEEL almost killed them if not nearly did for good.
One of the first successful comic book movies, the first R rated superhero movie, the first really successful black superhero. Yeah, this movie should be remembered
I love this film so much. An R-rated Marvel film starring a Black superhero, years before X-Men and Spider-Man, and decades before Black Panther and Deadpool?? Lol, I'm amazed this film was even greenlit
Loved this on original release & also great on theatrical 4k re-release - so well shot and acted. Surprise surprise a great character of colour WITHOUT IT GETTING RAMMED DOWN YOUR THROAT!
Just gonna say it like this: Whichever actor tries to take up the mantle of Blade in the future has his work cut out for him. Snipes nailed it to perfection...and with indomitable style. Over and done
Entirely correct response, sir. This movie is so good precisely *because* of all the cheesy aspects, simple easy to follow plot, and over the top action. They knew exactly what they were doing and leaned into it.
One of my favorite movie of all time of that period of dark heroes ( Blade, Batman, The Crow, The Shadow, Darkman etc...) And i'm one of those that really like the sequels!
The Blade Trilogy was awesome and I own all 3, but understand that there was broad appeal and not just in the black community. People from multiple ethnicities liked these movies. The beautiful lady that played his mother is the heroine of the movie Alien vs. Predator (AVP). Great reaction James! Keep up the good work. Peace.
I just love the fact that there at least appears to be so much Wesley Snipes in his performance of the fight scenes. It's not just martial arts moves given to an actor. It's a choreography routine performed by someone with their own individual style. I suppose it's a little like Carl Weathers playing Apollo Creed. He had the athletic background long before getting the part in the film. That experience can really make a difference.
"I can comprehend the motion of things. It's not just a befuddled mess." This is why I've come to look back on Blade more and more fondly when compared to many more recent action/superhero films.
This was the first R Rated Marvel movie I saw on DVD! Denzel Washington, LL Cool J, and Michael Jai White were considered for Blade till Wesley Snipes was cast.
The movie that paved the way for all of Marvel. Our first legitimate super hero from Marvel, who wasn't silly or poorly done. Norrington did a fantastic job with the material.
So in the original comics, the vampires were nowhere near this organized. The writers swiped a whole bunch of stuff (like the twelve families/clans we see at the end and in the TV-show that followed later) from the tabletop rpg "Vampire: the Masquerade", and ended up having to pay the publisher of that game an undisclosed amount to avoid a lawsuit. Same thing happened when the guys who made Underworld outright stole the plot from a novel published by the same company (White Wolf). The game's back in a fresh edition, btw! For those who prefer their gaming with dice instead of mouse and keyboard. :-D
I remember when this film was announced. Was already a fan of Snipes and Blade as a comic character. Marvel comics did this thing with bringing all the classic monsters into the lore with their superheroes and it rocked. But eventually Blade was brought into the mix and he ruled. Dracula needed an ultimate enemy and Blade was it. He had the Nightstalkers chasing him made up of human hunters but Blade was the next step. So this film was a perfect storm of the character brought into our world at the time
Before this movie came out, Westley Snipes had a special on TNT to show great martial arts around the world. It was also the return of Ernie Reyes Jr., which led to his role in the Matrix. Also, Blade is the reason why we have superhero movies and killer soundtracks!
Saw this at the cinema and loved it, and yes the cgi hasn't held up well but the story and energy of the film have more than made up for it. And Wesley was born for this role, I don't think they'll ever be able to replace him.
I remember when I was younger I was about to put on lotr 2 towers which I loved and then I saw the intro of blade, and just sat there and watched this cause it's so awesome
Love the Blade series. Blade and The Matrix was some of my first DVDs. Wesley Snipes has always been one of my favorite action stars, also comedic stars. The MCU Blade has a lot to live up to.
The Blade movies were some of the most early marvel movies I ever saw, including the early X-men and Ghost Rider movies, and they got me super into comic books
Hancock is a 2008 American superhero film directed by Peter Berg from a screenplay by Vince Gilligan and Vy Vincent Ngo. The film stars Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman.
I agree, I remember when this came up with Black Panther as the first black marvel hero, I was like "Anyone remember Blade?" but I get it, he's not the classic superhero, more like a sort of antihero or something like that.
I love this movie. And there are people who said/advertised Black Panther as the "first superhero or marvel movie with a black lead" did a huge disservice to this awesome triology.
That pissed me off to no end when that was happening. Blade, essentially, single handedly revitalized comic book movies in general after Schumacher tainted them so much that people lost interest even in Batman.
True. I enjoyed Black Panther, but you shouldn't have to tear down or ignore older movies to prop up newer ones.
Blade was awesome and deserves to be remembered.
In the ACTUAL MCU, Chadwick was but we all know that Wesley Snipes started it ALL...if Blade wasn't a smash hit success, Marvel was gonna go bankrupt and we would've never got the MCU we have today
Yeah that annoyed me too. Blade is so iconic and they just chose to ignore it
@@MaRodney07 I'm not talking about MCU. Many advertised it as a 'first Marvel movie with a black lead' some media even said it's the "first black superhero" like Blade didn't exist. When Black panther released, MCU just started just a few years ago (10 years ago) and being the fist in MCU might not be that special compared to blade.
And if you ask who is the best superhero in movies among those two, i'd select blade. Because i felt that Black panther was not allowed to shine in that movie with all those side characters doing all the jobs for him while all that Black Pather does is just listen and obey them. He didn't feel like a main character.
Meanwhile Blade is kicking a*s like a real hero in this movie.
Blade's reveal is great. He's just there, in a room full of dozens of vampires, and they're scared of HIM. That's how you make a character a badass. You see this a lot with villians, but so rarely with heros. Definitely a 'show, don't tell' moment.
I watched a video of how to create a John Wick type character. Its very similar. When Blade appears there are fearful whispers in a way you normally see attributed to heavy villains.
This movie is so iconic and so GROUNDBREAKING. It broke so many rules. It was a rated R comic book movie. It starred a man of color as the main lead in a comic book movie. It had a female character who is NOT a romantic lead. These were all things Hollywood said would never work and it was a blockbuster.
Feel that! Must’ve been interesting coming out in theaters during the time.
I was waiting for one of the leads to catch feelings. When it didn't happen and they parted ways, I was sooo happy. Why does everyone have to get together? I'm glad they went for the natural, logical conclusion rather than a contrived storyline.
I always thought the leads had a romance
@@luxurybuzz3681 There was an attraction there but Blade only cares about killing vamps so he wasn't about to get distracted by the squidly.
There was something else I noticed, there is a stereotypical old white man, listening to rock, grease monkey, who is not racists, but is the father figure of a badass black man. Really think aobut it, would you ever see a positive image like that, where a cool badass black guy character has a loving white guy as a father figure? and not as the racist villain? not for any particular reason or anything, I just think they wouldn't do it thats all. (plus the villain Deacon was "with" blades mom, meaning a white guy and black woman, not a stereotypical relationship, especially at the time.)
Wesley moves so fast with his martial arts, they had to tell him to slow down because they had a hard time capturing all of his moves. The dude is the real deal.
Yeah I was looking for this comment!!!
Didn't have jet lee the same problem in lethal weapon 4, he was to fast for mel gibson?
@@Hirnknaker Yes. He also had that issue while filming The One where some scenes were slowed down because his natural speed was considered too unnatural in a film about someone going around killing their parallel universe doubles and absorbing their power.
Part of the reason his fighting looks so polished compared to other characters is the fact that Snipes had been taking martial arts lessons since he was 12 (the other reason is the stunt team also knew what they were doing).
I recognized some stuntpeople from the jacky jan team, so yea, martial artis and martial ARTist can do tha together.
Plus when the lead actor has the kind of martial arts skills as Snipes has it makes the stuntmen jobs 100x easier as they don’t have to teach the actor anything they can just get straight down to business of designing a action scene knowing Snipes can do anything they can do.
Trained dancers are also a dream for stuntmen as they can memorise complicated choreography easily.
Saw this in theaters when it came out. The opening sequence has to be the best i've ever seen. It was the first DVD(PC) I ever bought before DVD was the standard
I most definitely can see why!
That was kinda the problem I had with the movie. The opening was so much better than anything that followed so the ending just didn’t feel all that impactful
Yeah, it blew me away. Saw it in the theater too! Still my favorite comic book movie.
@@getoffmyplane Don't EVER try cocaine.
Same here. 🔥 was in middle school I think.
When Wesley snipes punched Donald Logue he actually dislocated his jaw by accident so when they took him to the hospital covered in burn prosthetics they were terrified as to what happened to him. Lol. Also they extended his role in the film because everyone liked him so much on set. Class act.
Snipes portrayal of Blade just cannot be equalled, he’s the ultimate badass.
F***ing LOVE this film and it's still one of my Top 10 Favorite Comic Book Films ever made. Wesley Snipes is synonymous with Blade the same way RDJ is to Iron Man, and that opening sequence? Masterpiece of an opening scene for a CBM. The tone, style, and visual flare is so unique and gothic while also being the perfect B-list character tone needed for someone like Blade. I could go on and on but I'll just leave it at this. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
The director had only planned on using Donal logue as Quinn in only a few scenes but he tested so well with audiences they kept him in the entire movie. That dude's hilarious.
Having a regenerating punching bag for Blade to beat up every time they meet was a great choice.
Donal is also in Ghost Rider, as the best friend
Even after all these years I still love this movie. The new one will probably be good, but 90s cinema had a certain feel to it that you really can't do nowadays.
This movie has my favorite quote about ice skating.
Lmfaoooo!
Theres always a mtother fucker out there :) lol
The introduction of blade is on par with the Joker from The Dark Knight. Such perfect character introductions.
When this movie came out, I was deep into Hongkong Cinema, this was the first Hollywood movie that impressed me with its Martial Arts choreography and the general style of filmmaking (the framing and the editing). Back in the day most American movies had sloppy fighting, boring editing and mediocre framing. This was the first movie that could keep up with the intensity of HK movies.
Phenomenal movie. Totally holds up to this day. He's still the most badass hero / antihero imo. You can also see how it influenced The Matrix.
I love how badass Blade is and how well Wesley Snipes shows off what you can do when you've got an actor who can pull off the moves. He doesn't get enough credit for his contribution to growing the comic book movie genre.
I hope you also get around to Demolition Man at some point. Snipes pulls off the most comic book accurate Joker-personality in that role without being Joker.
Fun Fact! Blade's first appearance outside of comics was the 1994 Spiderman cartoon, which helped to introduce the character to the public consciousness well in advance of this movie. 😉👍
I completely played out this soundtrack twice over after this movie came out. Like literally, I had to buy it a third time I wore the CDs down so hard.
😭
All the Blade movies had killer soundtracks, 3 is hard af with that production from RZA and Ramin Djawadi
The OST to this flick was on nonstop in my shitty '94 beater when I was a teen, just so many good tracks!
I think each of the scores are underrated
Great choice! The Crow and Blade are my two favourite comic book films
The Crow sounds familiar >.>
@@JamesVSCinema I'd definitely recommend it. Bruce Lee's son Brandon Lee died in the last week of filming it because of a faulty prop gun
@@JamesVSCinema the Crow is amazing, Brandon Lee's last film, he was actually killed filming a scene with a gun that was supposed to be firing blanks.
@@JamesVSCinema The Crow an absolute must :)
Has he seen Spawn yet?
When this came out I was living in Japan, the theater exploded this laughter during the night club scene.
The little girl who was kicking Blade's ass is the daughter of Billy Blanks, martial arts instructor.
This is literally the ONLY Marvel film i own. I mean, the MCU is alright & everything but Blade ROCKS. Loved it from the first viewing at the cinema. Got it on video, got it on DVD... Bloody love it. And to be fair - the bubbly blood cgi looked just as shit then as it does now but everything else was on point, so it was allowed.
The only marvel i own is the first two blade movies, first two Spider-Man, first two X-men, and into the spiderverse. The late 90’s-early 00’s were hit or miss. Pretty bad superhero movies but when they hit. Jesus, they’re some of the greatest movies when they hit.
Tbf the first Blade was made on a smallish budget, so the CGI is more a product of that than of it being a 90s film. Blade 2 got a much bigger budget due to the success of the first movie, and it definitely shows.
But agree, Blade is badass top to bottom regardless
The blood rave fight at the start is still one of the best Marvel movie fights. X2's opener holds up really well too.
Blade and The Rock had the theaters packed where it was sometimes standing room and fire marshall's had to intervene when the no shows for ticket sales dropped to zero! A unique time for American recreation in cinemas.
The sequence where he vaporizes the guy and snatched his sun glasses is one of the few scenes that looks as cool as it sounds.
it's going to be hard seeing anyone else other than Wesley Snipes playing Blade, i loved these movies as a kid
yeah, that are some really big boots to fill for the new movie
Mahershala Ali's ice skating up hill...
thats why im not watching it or why I didn't watch the series, I know it will piss me off seeing someone else as blade.
Technically speaking, the entire MCU owes it's existence to this fantastic movie.
Bruh, no one is touching Blade in absolute savage department.
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Awesome movie
Some mother f*@%#&s always trying to ice skate uphill XD
This movie is why I found the MCU overhyped from the start. Some mothafuckas always trying to ice skate uphill.
The very first Marvel character that got a movie was "Howard the Duck"
Cap flape-ing 🤣👍
This wasn't a movie that really kicked it off for Marvel in terms of real blockbuster success... even 2002 Spider-Man only loosened the lid on that jar... but this is the movie that gets unfortunately buried by the mistaken treatment of (the excellent) "Black Panther" as a first for a black Marvel superhero; Blade had already had a whole-ass trilogy.
This movie is great. Great look, great tone, this was when vampires were still cool and felt dangerous, and were as much tween romance fodder.
Blade started it , X-men elevated it, and Spider-Man solidified marvel in movies. Those three films are so important to the superhero landscape we have now. Blade is the one of the best of all time for sure!
@Lee Brown Mistaken treatment vis a vis major motion picture releases, which was obvious in context.
Black panther sucked
CGI didn't age well, but the prosthetics and makeup was great! Overall, I'm happy with how it holds up.
These films are my favourite comic book movie series. Wesley and the filmmakers killed it, the action, the props, the 90's vibe, everything. G.I. Wesley.
This movie has one of the most memorable opening sequences, at least of the 90's, and an amazing character introduction. You knew you were in for a good time.
The movie that saved Marvel, there would be no MCU without this movie.
This movie is as much fire today as when it came out. It seems that some of the best Marvel films and shows were from the lesser known heroes. It just goes to show how incredible Marvel writers were back in the day, I grew up reading all of those comics.
The series of “What we do in the Shadows” had Snipes on the Vampire council and they refered to him as Daywalker.
The actor who played Quin kind of reprised his role in the series. According to the show after he made Blade he “fell in love with the vampire lifestyle” and became a full vampire
LOL!! Yes! Fking Wesley Snipes' Skype connect was crap! Look at him, showing off his daywalker ish.
What!??? Ok I need to finally watch that show!
So Wesley Snipes said "some motherfuckers are always trying to ice skate uphill" and Davis S Goyer heard it and thought it was the coolest thing and he put the line in in a spot where it doesn't make sense and Wesley Snipes told him it didn't make sense and David just didn't care.
LMFAO but I get it though 😭
It makes sense. The phrase referred to how ridiculous it was for Frost to try and defy nature. He wanted to cheat his way to greatness as the Blood God, le Magra.
Freakin love this movie. This was marvels first successful movie and helped them get out of bankruptcy. Clearing the way for other movies too
I remember watching this movie in theaters with my brother. We both left thinking there was no way we'd ever be as cool. Hell, we didn't think anyone would ever be as cool. Coolness level of Blade in this movie is unmatched. (That said, I am VERY curious to see what the MCU does when Merhershala Ali assumes the role. Could be great, but he's got some big shoes to fill.)
I still love the Blade movies even all these years later. Wesley Snipes plays the role excellently, such a badass. Also, cinematography is top notch as well.
Best Marvel movie and definitely best Marc character intro
Completely forgotten how saucy this dude is..insane level
I love this film, it never gets the credit it deserves. Blade is such an awesome character in general not just in this movie. I was be irrationally angry when you would see articles about Marvels first R rated movie "Deadpool" being a success, as if Blade doesn't exist or wasn't commercially successful when it released it topped box offices across the world in it's first few weeks. The music, the action scenes the "corny" dialogue was peak 90's entertainment.
I think it’s in large part to Wesley Snipes, every movie he’s in, he radiates cool and charisma. It’s genuinely hard to think anyone else could play Blade, Wesley Snipes lives and breathes the character.
@@slayer45670 He was excellent and was on fire in the 90's however the character himself has always been a badass
One of my favorite reactions of yours James. I’m really looking forward to watching the full, uncut reaction this evening. Also I noticed this time how many anime-esque moments Blade had in it, I had never spotted that before this video (and I’ve watched Blade more than a few times).
I hope you’ll be adding Blade 2 to an upcoming poll. Take care y’all.
Right there with ya on this one James. I’d say the second one is the best, largely because the villain is more compelling, but it’s damn hard to match that opening in the club.
I love Blade, I remember watching it like a year after it came out and I fell in love and still love it now. Wesley Snipes is an actual martial artists, and you can totally see that, and can see him pulling off some Capoeira moves on the final fight scene. I love Wesley Snipes too, have seen all his movies. I recommend Demolition Man or New Jack City to those who haven't seen those two movies.
When this came out, the actor who plays the ginger vampire was playing a sitcom dad, and I have never been able to take seriously as a vampire. Which works, since his character is pretty bad at his job.
Donal Logue really is just the worst vampire 🤣🤣🤣
My favorite superhero movie of all time. Favorite doesn't have to be perfect. Nothing else like Blade. Another stylistically excellent movie from 1998 (kind of a superhero movie actually), Dark City.
Blade and Blade 2 were two movies I were scared af of when I was a kid. But, now that i'm older, they might be two of my favorite superhero movies and Blade is in my top 5 favorite heroes. Wesley Snipes was fire in this role and I can't wait to see how Mahershala Ali does in the role in the MCU.
I think you'd love Tony Scott's The Hunger (1983). Aesthetically very similar to his brother's Blade Runner, but about present-day vampires in New York.
First dvd I ever bought.. still have it.. c'mon the Snipes!👊
🤌🏽✨
First time I saw this I was about 8 when it came out. At the end when he takes the guys head off then catches the sunglasses as the music starts, that was the coolest thing I’d ever seen! Still holds up! Hope you’re having a great start to your weekend🤙 Much love and Respect brother🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
a cool detail thats easy to miss is how in the beginning after the cops shoot blade and realize he has body armor, they bring in a different guy with a higher caliber rifle to shoot at him, you can see how his bullets punch through that door which is a nice touch, its those kinda moments that I love most in movies
One of the best Anti-Hero Movies ever made.
Wesley Kicked ass in this movie.
I still listen to that Vampire Club Techno Song from time to time.
I remember walking out of this movie in London, being surprised it was still day time and feeling like a real bad ass! lol
Also what I have learned is blade saved Mavel from bankruptcy and paved the way for future hero films.
When I was younger, to me he was a real hero compared to anything at the time; these movies carry the weight of killing off a lot of vampires well and it just start struck me even with the humor (felt ahead of it’s time)
I think what made this movie even better and iconic is the fact that all fighting scenes were ALL WESLEY SNIPES. PRACTICAL. He really did all of it. From the unbelievable kicks to fast hand to hand combat. When already amazed makes you feel amazed even more that it was done irl. Before matrix and some other films you named off so you know it was original content & With a Black man being the lead star🖤🙌🏽.
The fact that this movie 24 years old and is still this great of a movie speaks volumes. This was my favorite reaction to this movie.
Right on James. Welcome to the OG MCU flick. No lie, without this, there would have been no Marvel movies. This is a once a year watch for me. Cool stylistically, and Snipes did all his own martial arts. To this day I still call out people at work for always trying to ice skate uphill. lol Hope you dig it.
Donal Logue, redheaded gentleman comedian, has been in SO many films, his timing is impeccable! God I love this movie.
I was born in 1980 and grew up on VHS. When I got older and had a job, DVD became the format of choice. This was one of the first DVDs I ever bought, along with The Matrix, Goldfinger, and Payback. This was just before the turn of the century. I'm officially one of those guys.
this was shockingly good... and the fact that they weren't afraid to start with that much blood just cued you in to the fact that they weren't going to pull their punches on this comic book movie. loved it.
I was 11 years old when this came out, I grew up a big Batman fan. He's my #1 super hero/comic book character. But when i first saw blade as a guest character in the 1996 Spider-Man Animated Series, Season 2 episode 9. i was like whoa this guy is bad ass, Reminds of Punisher & a little bit of Batman. Didn't get to experience this in the theater as i was too young, My brother R.I.P. Went to see it with his girlfriend and was just raving about it, Saying it's the best comic book/action film he had seen a while. And i was pumped to see it, Finally got to watch it when it was available at our local video rental store. And instantly became a Blade fan after the first watch. Such a great 90's Comic Book Film, Still baffles me how this doesn't get the credit it deserves for not only saving Marvel from bankruptcy. But also comic films in general, Especially after Batman & Robin, The Phantom, STEEL almost killed them if not nearly did for good.
One of the first successful comic book movies, the first R rated superhero movie, the first really successful black superhero. Yeah, this movie should be remembered
i don't know if you gonna do all the trilogy but this notification does put a smile on my face
I was 22 when this movie came out. It was one of the first movies I remember watching multiple times in the theater. It was such a cool movie
Where the Super Mario movie was an example of what /not to/ do when adapting a work, Blade is an example of what /to/ do when adapting something.
Blade was always my favorite superhero and most people don't even know its Marvel. Super underrated.
1990s. Best Decade of Cinema and last Decade of an amazing time living as a human in a western country...
WOAH... Hold everything, just at the start. I wanna say YOU are super dope. In today's world we need more super dope people to look up too.
I appreciate you always! Good vibes more than ever
I love this film so much. An R-rated Marvel film starring a Black superhero, years before X-Men and Spider-Man, and decades before Black Panther and Deadpool?? Lol, I'm amazed this film was even greenlit
Blade and Hellboy were on loop in my home on vhs :"D love blade and Blade 2 !
Loved this on original release & also great on theatrical 4k re-release - so well shot and acted. Surprise surprise a great character of colour WITHOUT IT GETTING RAMMED DOWN YOUR THROAT!
Just gonna say it like this:
Whichever actor tries to take up the mantle of Blade in the future has his work cut out for him.
Snipes nailed it to perfection...and with indomitable style. Over and done
Entirely correct response, sir. This movie is so good precisely *because* of all the cheesy aspects, simple easy to follow plot, and over the top action. They knew exactly what they were doing and leaned into it.
This was the movie that pushed me to get a DVD player. Always a fun watch.
One of my favorite movie of all time of that period of dark heroes ( Blade, Batman, The Crow, The Shadow, Darkman etc...) And i'm one of those that really like the sequels!
oh, right... the Shadow was cool, but didn't perform well.
The Blade Trilogy was awesome and I own all 3, but understand that there was broad appeal and not just in the black community. People from multiple ethnicities liked these movies. The beautiful lady that played his mother is the heroine of the movie Alien vs. Predator (AVP). Great reaction James! Keep up the good work. Peace.
I just love the fact that there at least appears to be so much Wesley Snipes in his performance of the fight scenes. It's not just martial arts moves given to an actor. It's a choreography routine performed by someone with their own individual style. I suppose it's a little like Carl Weathers playing Apollo Creed. He had the athletic background long before getting the part in the film. That experience can really make a difference.
"I can comprehend the motion of things. It's not just a befuddled mess." This is why I've come to look back on Blade more and more fondly when compared to many more recent action/superhero films.
Blade! Man, this was one of the movies my brother and I would watch like every night together when we shared a room as kids!
Just a fun/bad ass film!
This was the first R Rated Marvel movie I saw on DVD!
Denzel Washington, LL Cool J, and Michael Jai White were considered for Blade till Wesley Snipes was cast.
Great damn casting on Wesley!
Always love your reactions brother 👊 hope you and the fam are well
The "ice skate uphill" line is still one of the best lines from any movie
Blade and Blade II are 2 of my favorites superhero / action movies. Wesley Snipes was in his top prime 👍🏼👍🏼
The movie that paved the way for all of Marvel. Our first legitimate super hero from Marvel, who wasn't silly or poorly done. Norrington did a fantastic job with the material.
So in the original comics, the vampires were nowhere near this organized. The writers swiped a whole bunch of stuff (like the twelve families/clans we see at the end and in the TV-show that followed later) from the tabletop rpg "Vampire: the Masquerade", and ended up having to pay the publisher of that game an undisclosed amount to avoid a lawsuit. Same thing happened when the guys who made Underworld outright stole the plot from a novel published by the same company (White Wolf). The game's back in a fresh edition, btw! For those who prefer their gaming with dice instead of mouse and keyboard. :-D
I remember when this film was announced. Was already a fan of Snipes and Blade as a comic character.
Marvel comics did this thing with bringing all the classic monsters into the lore with their superheroes and it rocked.
But eventually Blade was brought into the mix and he ruled.
Dracula needed an ultimate enemy and Blade was it. He had the Nightstalkers chasing him made up of human hunters but Blade was the next step.
So this film was a perfect storm of the character brought into our world at the time
Before this movie came out, Westley Snipes had a special on TNT to show great martial arts around the world. It was also the return of Ernie Reyes Jr., which led to his role in the Matrix. Also, Blade is the reason why we have superhero movies and killer soundtracks!
The bloodrave techno track is still one of the best EDM tracks ever!!!!!!!! 🤩
Saw this at the cinema and loved it, and yes the cgi hasn't held up well but the story and energy of the film have more than made up for it. And Wesley was born for this role, I don't think they'll ever be able to replace him.
I remember when I was younger I was about to put on lotr 2 towers which I loved and then I saw the intro of blade, and just sat there and watched this cause it's so awesome
Love the Blade series. Blade and The Matrix was some of my first DVDs. Wesley Snipes has always been one of my favorite action stars, also comedic stars. The MCU Blade has a lot to live up to.
Blade is my favorite Marvel movie of all time. So stoked to see Wesley Snipes reprise his role in a potential cameo in the remake.
Blade (1998) is why Marvel's universe took off.
This film deserves so much more love than it gets.
I bought an old crt for gaming and it had a VHS built into it and there was a tape inside and it was this film. The nostalgia was real.
The Blade films is one of the few great vampire movies of the past 25 years. Easily!!
The Blade movies were some of the most early marvel movies I ever saw, including the early X-men and Ghost Rider movies, and they got me super into comic books
Hancock is a 2008 American superhero film directed by Peter Berg from a screenplay by Vince Gilligan and Vy Vincent Ngo. The film stars Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman.
I went to see this twice in the cinema. Still one of the best in its genre
You just gotta love that flashiness of the late 90's
People say the Black Panther was the first Black actor to have a superhero film. You should see Blade, this film started it all.
Factuals
I agree, I remember when this came up with Black Panther as the first black marvel hero, I was like "Anyone remember Blade?" but I get it, he's not the classic superhero, more like a sort of antihero or something like that.
One of the best openings to an action movie ever