When we meet Blade he is on the trail of a particularly brutal vampire named Deacon Frost. Frost is a maverick even within the vampire community because he doesnt believe in the deals made with humans the vampires have had for hundreds of years. Frost is a turned vampire which means at one time he was human. In the vampire world this is a second-class citizen to one who was born a vampire. So he comes up with a plan to bring forth a vampire god, who will even out the vampire world. To do this he needs the blood of Blade, known as "The Daywalker," the most efficient vampire hunter of them all.
Helping Blade in his hunt is Whistler, a weapons maker, teacher, friend. I really love it when friendship, deep and true, is shown in a story. This is the bond between Blade and Whistler. There is a very touching scene (touching scenes not being something I expect to see in a vampire flick) between these two, when Whistler has been hurt and Blade tries to help him. It gets me teary every single time. There is also the relationship between Karen (the token female) and Blade. Believe it or not, its not sexual! Thats a major change for any movie. There might be some chemistry between them, but it never goes any further, and it never gets in the way. They both have a job to do and are better at doing it when they work together. Wow, men and women working together to get something done, and no sex? Almost unheard of. Hurrah!
I like the casting in here. Wesley Snipes plays Blade with a menace/humor combination that is not to be missed. Kris Kristofferson is wonderful as the cantankerous, cool (and sexy) Whistler. Stephen Dorff is perfect as a vampire. Hes got the sensuality and attitude that makes a predator truly great.
Now lets talk about the ink. Tattoos have got a starring role in the show. There are two kinds represented: the tribal and the glyphs. Blade has intricate tribal tattoos, especially on his neck. They are particularly striking because they are black and Snipes is a dark-skinned man. It almost makes it look like he has shadows graphed onto him. The glyphs are marks the vampires give to their human groupies. They look like a combination of barcodes and hieroglyphics, each representing a particular vampire or house. They are intensely cool.
Im not saying Blade is a perfect movie. In fact, I dont consider it a movie at all. Its a flick, which is not as well written as a movie, but a lot more fun. There are some plot holes in there you can drive a semi through. Heck, theres one you can drive a semi through sideways. (Amusingly enough, if you watch the deleted scenes, they close this hole up. What were they thinking when they took it out?) Bearing that in mind, it is just too much fun, with too many good lines, and too many good characters to pass up.