Blade II | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Guillermo del Toro |
Produced by |
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Written by | David S. Goyer |
Based on |
Blade by Marv Wolfman Gene Colan |
Starring | |
Music by | Marco Beltrami |
Cinematography | Gabriel Beristain |
Edited by | Peter Amundson |
Production
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Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
Release date
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Running time
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117 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language |
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Budget | $54 million |
Box office | $155 million |
Blade II: The Soundtrack | ||||
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Soundtrack album by Various Artists | ||||
Released | March 19, 2002 | |||
Genre | Electronica, Hip-Hop, Alternative Rock, Industrial Metal | |||
Length | 55:52 | |||
Label | Immortal/Epic/Virgin/EMI | |||
Producer |
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Blade soundtracks chronology | ||||
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Marvel Comics film series soundtrack chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic |
Blade II is a 2002 American superhero horror film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Blade. It is the sequel of the first film and the second part of the Blade film series, followed by Blade: Trinity. It was written by David S. Goyer, who also wrote the previous film, directed by Guillermo del Toro, and had Wesley Snipes returning as the lead character and producer.
The film follows the vampire Blade in his continuing effort to protect humans from vampires, finding himself in a fierce battle against an extremely savage, powerful mutant vampire who seeks to commit global genocide of both vampire and human races. Blade and his human allies are coerced into joining forces with a special elite group of vampires. It takes place two years after the events of the first film.
Blade II was released on March 22, 2002, and was a box office success grossing over $155 million. It also received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, earning praise for its performances, atmosphere, and action sequences, although its script and lack of character development has been criticized.
Two years after the events of Blade, a pandemic known as the "Reaper virus" has spread through the vampire community. Infected vampires are turned into Reapers, mutants immune to all vampire weaknesses with the exception of bright light, who kill humans and turn any vampires they feed on into more Reapers. Unable to contain the Reapers, Vampire Lord Eli Damaskinos sends two emissaries, Asad and his daughter Nyssa, to seek the aid of vampire hunter Blade and his team, consisting of weaponsmith Abraham Whistler and Blade's new assistant Scud. Blade has since recovered Whistler, who has been tortured and held captive by the group of vampires. Whistler had been turned into a vampire by them and after returning to their headquarters, Blade gives Whistler an anti-virus vampire serum to turn him back to human. After meeting with Damaskinos and his human familiar, lawyer Karel Kounen, they cautiously agree to help due to the danger of the Reapers' uncontrollable hunger and rapid mutation. Asad then introduces them to The Bloodpack, a group of vampires trained for the sole purpose of killing Blade. In addition to Asad and Nyssa, The Bloodpack consists of Reinhardt, Chupa, Snowman, Verlaine, her lover Lighthammer, and Priest. To keep them in line and after Reinhardt's racially-charged remark, Blade humiliates Reinhardt and plants an explosive charge on the back of Reinhardt's head.