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Review

A terrific, energetic action/horror film with Snipes as a vampire hunter who, with the help of mentor Kristofferson and doctor Wright, plans to destroy upstart punk bloodsucker Dorff's mission to turn the Earth into one big vampire dinner. This hugely entertaining adaptation of the comic book beautifully captures the look and feel of a top-drawer graphic novel, thanks to a punchy script by David S. Goyer and imaginative, super-stylish direction by Norrington. Blade neatly avoids the jokey tone of most action/horror/sci-fi films, and while there is humor, it's never at the expense of the story or characters. Opening with a great, gory battle in a nightclub and never letting up, Blade comes closer than most any American film to date to duplicating the hyperkinetic pace and excitement of Hong Kong "heroic bloodshed" films, and despite an unnecessary plot entanglement towards the end that smacks of Batman- itis, and a slight overlength, Blade is one of the best escapist films in a long time. It's what John Carpenter's Vampires should have been.