The titular Marvel Comics franchise—made popular on the big screen by Wesley Snipes—came to cable TV in 2006 with this action-packed series developed by original writer David S. Goyer. Blade: The Series contains the same basic elements: dark visuals, violent action, and a splatterpunk sensibility. Rap artist Sticky Fingaz takes over Snipes' role as Blade, a unique human/vampire hybrid with all the strengths of his undead adversaries and none of their weaknesses. Blade has devoted his life—such as it is—to eliminating the entire vampire race, whose members have successfully infiltrated the world's human population. His chief adversaries are descendants of the House of Chthon, who believe they can subjugate humans by breeding a more powerful type of vampire. Aided by his initially reluctant ally, Krista Starr (Jill Wagner), Blade battles the Chthonians throughout the 13-episode series, which comes to DVD in an unrated version sporting numerous scenes considered too graphic for broadcast on Spike TV. Early episodes find Fingaz emulating if not overtly imitating Snipes' characterization, but as the series progresses, he makes the role his own. The other cast members are negligible, contributing competent performances but making no real impression. The production values are solid, including the special effects, and the fight sequences reflect more than the usual amount of care in terms of staging, camera angles, and editing. DVD extras include an hour-long “Turning Blade” production documentary, audio commentaries by director Peter O'Fallon and by writers Goyer and Geoff Johns, and TV spots. Likely to appeal to diehard fans of the franchise—but not a wider audience—this is a strong optional purchase. (E. Hulse)
Blade: The Series
New Line, 4 discs, 558 min., not rated, DVD: $39.98 Volume 23, Issue 3
Blade: The Series
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: