We live in a world where superhero movies and series are being released faster than ever before. And with that, iconic superhero films have come to be known as some of the most memorable movies of all time. Peter Parker hiding behind that Spider-Man mask surely won’t be forgotten. Or how about the powerful heroes in The X Men? Yet there has always been something extra special and memorable about the Blade trilogy. Remember those exciting movies?
The Blade Trilogy was as cool as it got back in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, when the films were released. The trilogy really built the foundation of what we see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe today. We are introduced to a half-vampire, half mortal man by the name of Blade, who was played by the great Wesley Snipes. His mission is to hunt vampires to protect the human race. This would end up being Marvel’s first R-rated superhero movie complete with graphic violence and dark themes.
The first movie in the series, Blade, was released in 1998. It introduces us to Blade, who is a vampire hunter seeking to get his vengeance on the vampires that took the life of his mother. Blade decides to join forces with a vampire hunter and weapons expert named Whistler, to help him destroy the bloodsucking creatures. As the plot builds, we learn that there is always something going on in the background. The urban underworld has started a war between the pure-blooded vampires and the previously human, but “turned” vampires. All in all, the film is complete with spectacular cinematics and is a great introduction to a landmark franchise.
After the successful launch of Blade, Marvel decided to produce a sequel, Blade II. The movie was released in 2002 and takes the viewer to yet another war waged by the vampires. We are introduced to a rare mutation that has taken place and expanded across all vampires, forcing them to prey on each other because of the insatiable bloodlust they have. Reapers, as they are called, are quickly increasing in population, threatening to destroy every vampire there is, as well as the human race, since soon enough, the insufficient amounts of blood will not be enough to satisfy their thirst. Luckily, Blade and Whistler are there to help fight this catastrophic epidemic. They do so in a nerve-wracking fashion.
The trilogy came to an end in 2004, when the last movie was released. Blade is being framed for taking the life of a fellow human, and is hunted by the FBI throughout the movie. Knowing he has no other options, Blade turns to a group of vampire hunters known as the Nightstalkers to fight and hopefully wipe out the most powerful vampire of them all, Dracula. Though this last installment in the Blade trilogy is a great cinematic experience, it received enormous amounts of criticism from the media. In addition, Wesley Snipes himself, who did not get along with the producer of the film, was rumored to have communicated with him only through post-it notes.
