Blade Trinity

The third film in the Blade series sees the vampires attempt to awaken Dracula. Although in this case he looks nothing at all like the aristocratic and sophisticated count of Bram Stoker's imagination. Going by the name of Drake (Dominic Purcell), this vampire takes on a modern appearance in spite of his ancient origins. No matter how evil and twisted the vampires may be, there's no worse crime in the world of Blade than looking dated.

After being set up, Blade finds himself wanted by the FBI, and eventually he is captured. Without the help of his old vampire-fighting allies even he is vulnerable. No matter how good a fighter he may be, Blade is just one man against many.

Fortunately for Blade there are some new recruits willing to take up the fight against vampires. A group known as the Nightstalkers are working on a biological weapon to bring down the bloodsuckers, although they have to work fast before the vampires figure out what they are up to. Nor are they just boffins: Abby (Jessica Biel) is a young woman who has made it her mission to kill vampires. She has the back-up of Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds), an ex-vampire who doesn't seem to know when to stop talking.

Cue lots of stylish fighting to a heavy, hip soundtrack, with the fight choreography designed primarily to make Wesley Snipes look cool. With his long red-lined leather coat, shades, and a sword slung across his back, Blade positively glamorises violence. Abby also oozes cool, although Hannibal King's banter marks him out as the intended comic relief. However his irreverent cheek is mostly annoying rather than actually funny.

Blade Trinity is a movie that's all gloss and no depth, just a very basic story sandwiched in between some rather long fights and chase scenes full of eye-candy effects and shiny weaponry. The special effects are not poor, and include some interesting touches with the vampires' pet dogs. Unfortunately though these visuals make up the majority of what Blade Trinity has to offer in terms of entertainment.

The dialogue is wooden in places, King's jokes fall flat, and the story is not very engaging. Blade is so misanthropic that you wonder why he bothers to fight vampires at all, except for the mere pleasure of killing, because he doesn't seem to be acting out of any particular love for humanity. With a main character who is so very distant and taciturn, and such a tough guy, you would hope that his supporting characters would be more likeable to make up for it. But Abby is a wannabe-Blade, and King just doesn't seem to be able to keep his sense of humour in check. Neither are the ideal foil for Blade's character. This is the kind of film that would have made a good music video, but it doesn't have the depth to provide more than a momentary diversion.