Movie · 1998 · Horror, Action · 2h 1m · R · English
Curator score: 3.9/10 (714.1K ratings)
Against an army of Immortals, one warrior must draw first blood.
Overview
The Daywalker known as "Blade" - a half-vampire, half-mortal man - becomes the protector of humanity against an underground army of vampires.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.9/10
IMDb: 7.1/10
Letterboxd: 3.50/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 59%
Metacritic: 47
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Stephen Norrington
Production
New Line Cinema, Amen Ra Films, Imaginary Forces
Cast
Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N'Bushe Wright, Donal Logue, Udo Kier, Arly Jover, Traci Lords, Kevin Patrick Walls, Tim Guinee, Sanaa Lathan, Eric Edwards, Donna Wong, Carmen Thomas, Shannon Lee, Kenny Johnson, Clint Curtis, Judson Scott, Sidney S. Liufau, Keith Leon Williams
Curator Review
Verdict
A slick, hard-R comic-book vampire action movie with a huge style advantage: Wesley Snipes is the whole engine, and the film still lands as a swaggering, blood-soaked genre piece even when the effects show their age.
Best for
fans of 90s action-horror
viewers who like cool, stoic antiheroes
comic-book movie fans interested in pre-MCU experimentation
people who enjoy neon, techno, and nightclub aesthetics
audiences looking for a fast, violent vampire movie
Skip if
you want polished modern CGI
you dislike campy dialogue and comic-book excess
you prefer horror over action
you need deep character development or lore-heavy worldbuilding
Overview
Blade is one of those movies that announces its attitude immediately and never really lets up. It’s a vampire action film with nightclub neon, techno pulse, and a lead performance so physically assured that the movie often feels like it’s being held together by pure cool. The opening is still a knockout, and the film’s commitment to momentum gives it a propulsive, almost punk energy.
Worth noting
What makes it endure is how cleanly it understands its own appeal. It doesn’t waste time explaining the hero into existence; it just lets him stride in, cut through bodies, and dominate the frame. The action is blunt, the gore is playful, and the production design gives the whole thing a grimy late-90s comic-book sheen that’s easy to miss in more polished superhero movies.
Bottom line
Some effects are dated and the plotting is fairly standard, but the movie’s confidence is the point. Blade is less about narrative surprise than about attitude, rhythm, and iconography, and on those terms it still works very well. If you want a vampire movie that feels like it’s wearing sunglasses indoors, this is the one.
Top Letterboxd reviews
matt lynch (4★) · 7417 likes
"Some motherfuckers are always tryna ice skate uphill." > "I am Iron Man."
Patrick Willems (3.5★) · 7039 likes
Wesley Snipes understands how to move and pose in a comic book movie better than any actor in history
Angela Ferraguto (3★) · 3194 likes
Opening with horny writhing youths coating their bodies in blood the MCU could never
Nakul (3.5★) · 2589 likes
BLADE goes insanely hard, aside from dated CG it still holds up pretty well. Such a fun, stylish and over-the-top movie with action sequences that go from badass to downright crazy in scope, it's so gloriously 90's!!! That opening club scene where blood rains from the ceiling is one of the coolest scenes in comic book movie.
Wesley Snipes absolutely owns this character. He talks like a superhero, moves like a superhero and fights like a superhero. It's hard to imagine anyone more perfectly suited to play this character than him.
marcella (4★) · 2582 likes
funny how shakespeare has been silent ever since "some motherfuckers are always trying to ice-skate uphill" was written