Blade II

Based on the Marvel comic book by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan, Blade II is the story of a vampire hunter, with vampire powers, who is hired to fight off a new breed of vampires that is threatening a company of vampires trying to keep the peace with humans. Directed by Guillermo del Toro and screenplay by David S. Goyer, the film is the second part of a trilogy that would stand out from the films made in the original trilogy as Wesley Snipes reprises his role as the titular character. Also starring Ron Perlman, Leonor Valera, Norman Reedus, Luke Goss, Karel Roden, Thomas Krestchmann, Tony Curran, and Kris Kristofferson returning as Whistler. Blade II is an exciting action-thriller from Guillermo del Toro.

Two years after Whistler’s disappearance, Blade has finally found him in Eastern Europe where would battle various vampires to retrieve him. Though weakened, Whistler is able to recover in Blade’s secret workshop that includes Blade’s gadgets inventor Scud (Norman Reedus). On one particular night, the workshop is broken in as Blade would stop the two revealing to be Nyssa (Leonor Valera) and her associate Asad (Danny John-Jules). Nyssa is the daughter of vampire overlord Eli Damaskinos (Thomas Krestchmann) who wants to form a truce with Blade to stop a virus that is carried by a mysterious man (Luke Goss) who is a new breed of vampires that feeds on both humans and vampires. Blade reluctantly joins Damaskinos as Whistler and Scud would team up with Nyssa and her team that includes the cocky Reinhardt (Ron Perlman).

Going into a secret vampire club to find these new breeds called Reapers, they learn that they’re more powerful than vampires except when it comes to sunlight. Still, Blade wonders why the head of the Reapers didn’t kill Nyssa while Whistler captures a Reaper for Nyssa to examine. Realizing what it will take to kill the Reapers, Blade and the team go into another battle where more chilling discoveries are made into why Blade has been hired. Whistler also makes a discovery about the head Reaper and why he’s been coming forcing Blade and Whistler to fight against the enemy.

The film is a continuation of the Blade story where the half-human, half-vampire who hunts vampires is forced to make a truce with his enemy to stop a new breed of super vampires who feed on both humans and vampires. There, he discovers that not all vampires have ulterior motives while the head of this new breed of vampires has reasons that are far more personal than what is expected. While the story is formulaic in terms of what is expected in a comic-book action-thriller, screenwriter David S. Goyer does find ways to keep the suspense going as well as creating characters who are quite complex. Notably Blade as he still struggles with who he is while regaining Whistler, who was in near-death, only adds to the struggle. Still, the Whistler character is the guy that grounds Blade while the vampire Nyssa is aware of Blade’s secretive persona though she is able to get through him.

Goyer’s script also succeeds in finding humor in the story for some of the situations that occur. Notably in the way Blade would interact with foes and allies while it’s mostly very subtle. Still, it’s an action film as Goyer creates moments where it’s about the battles and the stakes in these fights that Blade would be a part of. The overall work Goyer does is superb as he creates a solid script that is a cut above the typical action, comic-book based films.

Guillermo del Toro’s direction is definitely engaging for the stylish approach he does for the film. Notably as he chooses to create a film where it has a different look and feel than its 1998 predecessor. While the film does have conventional ideas of action and fight scenes that is typical of martial-arts action-adventure with some suspense. One of the key elements that allows del Toro to do more is setting up the battle while taking his time to play with the film’s suspense and humorous moments. Notably in the former where there’s a lot of suspicion as del Toro slowly builds up the moment where Blade and Whistler think something isn’t right.

Another key element of del Toro’s direction is the way he creates an atmosphere to the setting that the characters encounter. Whether it’s the brooding moments in the sewers to fight off the army of Reapers or the world that Damaskinos lives in that is sleek yet ominous. It’s part of del Toro’s gift as a filmmaker where he pays attention to the set pieces and the objects that could play a key role in the story. The vast compositions and close-ups del Toro create is very engaging and vibrant for the mood that is set as well as the drama that unfolds. Overall, del Toro creates a very engrossing yet very entertaining film that does a whole lot more than what its genre expects.

Cinematographer Gabriel Beristain does excellent work with the stylish cinematography from the sepia-drenched nighttime interior and exterior settings for Damaskinos‘ halls as well as a dark-blue look for the chilling sewer scene. Editor Peter Amundson does superb work with the editing to maintain a leisured pace for the film while using swift cuts for some of the film‘s fights without being too fast. Production designer Carol Spier, along with art director Elinor Rose Galbraith and set decorators Jeffrey Kushon and Peter P. Nicolakakos, does brilliant work with the set pieces such as Blade‘s home base as well as the sleek look of Damaskinos‘ lab.

Costume designer Wendy Partridge does fabulous work with the costumes that include the sunlight-repellant leather Blade and the vampire team wear during the sewer sequence. Visual effects supervisor Nicholas Brooks does nice work with some of the film‘s visual effects including some of the animation for the Reapers mouth and their interior body parts though some of the movements in the fight scenes by the characters look wobbly at times. Sound designer Scott Martin Gershin and co-sound editor Mathew Waters do wonderful work with the sound from the sound of gunshots and sword clangs to the atmosphere of the club and sewer scenes.

The film’s score by Marco Beltrami is terrific for the mixture of sweeping orchestral bombast that is mixed with chugging rock music to play up the sense of excitement of the film. With additional music by Danny Saber and Buck Sanders, the score features bits of electronic music to play up some of the film‘s action scenes. Music supervisor Happy Walters provides a soundtrack that is a mix of hip-hop, rock, and electronic music as it includes collaborative tracks from Massive Attack/Mos Def, Redman/Gorillaz, Ice Cube/Paul Oakenfold, the Crystal Method, Bubba Sparxxx, the Roots/BT, Busta Rhymes & Silkk tha Shocker/Dub Pistols, and Cypress Hill/Roni Size. It’s an interesting yet engaging soundtrack as the film’s music is a real highlight.

The casting by Nancy Foy is outstanding for the ensemble that is created as it includes appearances from Santiago Segura as a vampire Blade meets early in the film and Karel Roden as Damaskinos’ lawyer who tries to conduct business for his boss. For the roles of Blade and Nyssa’s team, there’s fight choreographer Donnie Yen as the mute swordsman Snowman, Marit Velle Kile as the red-haired Verlaine, Tony Curran as the Scottish Priest, Daz Crawford as the hammer-wielding Lighthammer, Danny John-Jules as Nyssa’s friend Asad, and Matt Schulze as the brash Chupa. Luke Goss is very good as the Reaper leader Jared Nomak who is hell-bent on revenge while proving to be a tough opponent for Blade. Norman Reedus is terrific as Blade’s gadget-creating friend Scud who proves to be a resourceful aid for Blade.

Thomas Krestchmann is superb as vampire council head Eli Damaskinos who hires Blade to help him fight off the Reapers only to have far bigger motives that would make Blade suspicious. Leonor Valera is pretty solid as Damaskinos’ daughter Nyssa who aids Blade in fighting the Reapers while realizing what kind of a person he is when it comes to avoiding trouble. Ron Perlman is amazing as the vampire Reinhardt who despises Blade as Perlman gets to have some of the film’s funniest lines while never taking off his sunglasses. Kris Kristofferson is great as Blade’s mentor Whistler who gives Blade advice while being part of the team as he is aware that something isn’t right as Kristofferson also provides some wonderful one-liners.

Finally, there’s Wesley Snipes in a kick-ass performance as the titular character as he provides a calm performance of a man struggling with himself. Even as he teams up with vampires where Snipes also brings charm to his character while showing that he can seriously kick some ass.

Blade II is a marvelous and thrilling film from Guillermo del Toro that features great work from Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, and del Toro regular Ron Perlman. Of the three Blade films, this one is certainly the best in terms of its production value as well as David S. Goyer’s suspense-driven screenplay. While it may not live up to some of the films that Guillermo del Toro would do later on. It is still a great example of the kind of work he does where he will do more than just entertain by telling a story with characters that audiences can enjoy watching. In the end, Blade II is stellar yet fun action film from Guillermo del Toro.

Guillermo del Toro Films: Cronos - Mimic/Mimic (Director’s Cut) - The Devil's Backbone - Hellboy - Pan's Labyrinth - Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Pacific Rim - Crimson Peak - The Shape of Water - Nightmare Alley (2021 film) - Pinocchio (2022 film)

Related: (Blade) - (Blade III) - (Blade (2024 film)) - The Auteurs #10: Guillermo del Toro

© thevoid99 2012

Hellboy

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 7/10/08 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Based on Mike Mignola's comic book, Hellboy is the story of a red, demonic creature from Hell as he is raised by a professor while fighting other demons for the U.S. government. Directed by Guillermo del Toro with script adaptation by del Toro and Peter Briggs along with additional work from Mike Mignola, the film is a different take on the comic book hero by focusing on a monster with a heart while straying from the origin stories of most comic-book film adaptations. Playing the role of the titular character is del Toro regular Ron Perlman as the cast includes Doug Jones, Selma Blair, Rupert Evans, Jeffrey Tambor, Ladislav Beran, Karel Roden, and John Hurt. The result is an entertaining yet visually-astonishing film from Guillermo del Toro.

After encountering a creature during an attack on Nazis in 1944, a young professor named Trevor Bruttenholm (Kevin Trainor) would take this little red infant with a big hand and little devil horns and raise him as he's dubbed Hellboy. 60 years later, Bruttenholm (John Hurt) runs the top secret Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD) that Hellboy is a part of along with a fish-like psychic humanoid named Abe Sapien (Doug Jones w/ the voice of Abe Sapien). A young FBI agent named John Myers (Rupert Evans) joins the team as he's selected to be part of the team as he fills in for the absent Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) who has checked into a mental hospital due to her control issues with her pyro-kinetic abilities. Myers joins Hellboy and Abe on a mission to fight a creature that is starting to attack the city where Hellboy would encounter a mysterious man (Karel Roden) where Abe discovers that the man is a revived Grigori Rasputin. With Rasputin's aide Isla von Haupstein (Biddy Hodson) and their assassin Karl Ruprecht Kroenen (Ladislav Beren), Bruttenholm realizes what is going on through Abe's psychic visions.

After the battle with the monster, Hellboy sneaks out to visit Liz where she is later visited by Rasputin who makes her lose control of her powers. After discovering the eggs that were latched on Hellboy's body from the fight with the monster, Abe and Bruttenholm figure out what is going on as Bruttenholm revealed to Abe and Myers that he's dying and doesn't want Hellboy to know. After Liz's hospital incident, Myers convinces her to return to the BPRD following another botched mission where Hellboy encountered more monsters including the assassin Kroenen. Though Hellboy is happy for Liz's returns, she decides to spend time with Myers much to his dismay. Bruttenholm discover Kroenen's body as he is aware it's going to back to life where he would also encounter Rasputin who tries to get Bruttenholm to see a vision of the role that Hellboy is destined to play. After Rasputin's break-in and Kroenen's escape, FBI head Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) takes over as Hellboy, Liz, and Myers go to Russia with Manning to stop Rasputin with the aid of a corpse named Ivan (voice of Guillermo del Toro). There, Hellboy is forced to deal with his true roots and destiny where he faces Rasputin and various creatures in all-out battle over the fate of Earth.

Most comic book adaptations often tell the story of how heroes became who they are and such. For Hellboy, it's different though the film's first 10-15 minutes tell the story of how he's found by Professor Bruttenholm. Instead, the film does act like a standard, comic book type of film but with a mix of dry humor, lots of action, and elements of horror and fantasy. Co-writer/director Guillermo del Toro plays true to the film's comic book standard story while adding a bunch of hilarious one liners, a sense of improvisation, a lot of action, and moments of fantasy. Though the plot and story has moments of predictability that comes with most comic book film adaptations, del Toro makes up for it with humor and accessible characters where Hellboy knows he's a hero. One who likes to eat loads of pancakes, Baby Ruth, chomp on cigars, and listen to Tom Waits.

The direction of del Toro is truly superb with a lot of style and flair as he creates a film that is true to the look of a comic book but meshed with fantasy. From the look of New York City and New Jersey to the look of Russia, del Toro has amassed a look that is true to his love of comics and fantasy while adding elements of monsters and creatures that are a mix of puppetry and visual effects. Guillermo del Toro also creates moments where he lets the audience have a break from the action for characters to develop and even delve into humor and drama. The approach that del Toro creates is truly solid and definitely a film that is true to both his own vision as well as Mike Mignola.

Cinematographer Guillermo Navarro creates a wonderful look to the film on a visual scale with use of blue-green lights for some of the film's exterior scenes in Russia as well as some of the battle scenes with Sammael. Navarro's sepia-like, yellowish look is truly wonderful and awash with style as Navarro's work is definitely a highlight of the film. Editor Peter Amundson does some excellent job with the film's leisurely yet rhythmic pacing while creating great cuts for action and drama for the film's sense of style and such. Production designer Stephen Scott along with set decorator Hilton Rosemarin, and supervising art director Simon Lamont do an amazing job in the look of the underground base that Hellboy lives in, the look of New York City, and the world of Rasputin.

Costume designer Wendy Partridge does an excellent job with the film's costumes with the Nazi garb that Rasputin and his cohorts wear to the long trench coat that Hellboy wears as it adds a sense of coolness to the character. Makeup designer Rick Baker does an amazing job with the film's look for several of the film's characters including Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and Sammael. Especially in the work Baker and his team create for the actors in playing those roles along with Baker's brilliant special effects work. Visual effects supervisors Edward Irastorza and Jonathan Rothbart do great work on the look of the monsters and look for some of the film's spectacular scenes that involves Rasputin's look into the future and such. Sound designer Steve Boeddeker and editors Frank E. Eulner and Robert Shoup do great work in the sounds of gunshots, growls (provided by Guillermo del Toro), and such to add a sense of fantasy and horror to the mix.

Music composer Marco Beltrami does some excellent work on the film's music with use of a string orchestra to emphasize on the film's action, drama, and humor while creating triumphant themes for some of the film's action. Beltrami's score is definitely excellent and top notch. The soundtrack features a diverse mix of music ranging from Tom Waits, Vera Lynn, Pete Yorn covering Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds' Red Right Hand, Palo Alto, Johnny Crawford, and Al Green for emphasis on humor and such.

The casting by Jeremy Zimmerman is definitely top notch with cameos by del Toro and comic book writer Mike Mignola as onlookers in a battle scene along with cinematographer Guillermo Navarro's two kids Alvaro and Emilio also as onlookers. Small roles from Angus MacInnes as a World War II sergeant, Jim Howick as a WWII corporal, and in the roles of FBI agents, Brian Caspe James Babson, and Stephen Fisher. Brian Steele does some great work in playing the Sammael monster with his miming movements while notable, standout small roles from Corey Johnson and Kevin Trainor as their respective roles as Agent Clay and the young Professor Bruttenholm are also good. Biddy Hodson is excellent as Rasputin's loyal assistant and lover Isla with her sneering delivery while Ladislav Beran is great as the mute assassin Kroenen.

Karel Roden, who worked with del Toro on Blade II, is brilliant as the villainous Rasputin whose desire for power and terror is matched by his huge presence as a man who is hell-bent on destroying the world and such. Roden's work is great for just being an excellent villain. Jeffrey Tambor is wonderfully funny as Tom Manning, the FBI director who often has issues with Hellboy as he serves as the comic relief for the film. Rupert Evans is excellent as John Myers, the agent sent to be Hellboy's reluctant partner as he tries to help Liz deal with her issues while trying to help Hellboy about his role. Though Doug Jones doesn't actually speak, with an un-credited David Hyde Pierce doing the voice, Jones' performance as Abe Sapien is great for its movements and such as Jones brings life to the character.

John Hurt is wonderful as Professor "Bloom" Bruttenholm, Hellboy's adopted father who worries for what would happen to his son when he won't be around. Hurt's performance is full of class and brilliance as an old man whose knowledge of the occult and magic shows a man who teaches his son about doing what is right. Selma Blair is great as Liz Sherman, a pyrokinetic woman with special powers struggling to deal with those powers and the harm it has caused as well as her relationship with Hellboy. Blair's performance is definitely the anchor needed for Hellboy's own recklessness as the chemistry she and Perlman have is great.

Finally, there's Ron Perlman in the title role as it's a rare leading performance for the veteran actor for any kind of U.S. studio picture. Perlman definitely sells the role with such wit, humor, and charm as he plays a hero who likes being a hero while getting to smoke a cigar and fighting monsters. It's the kind of role that most actors can't do but Perlman does it with such ease, it's as if he's born to play the character as he proves he can be a badass with a heart of gold despite being the biological son of the Devil. It's a great performance from Perlman who often doesn't get a lot of work outside Europe or playing roles fitted for character actors.

Hellboy is a superb and well-crafted film from Guillermo del Toro that features an outstanding performance from Ron Perlman. Along with with great supporting work from Selma Blair, Doug Jones, John Hurt, Karel Roden, Rupert Evans, and Jeffrey Tambor. It's a comic-book action film that has great visuals as well as a strong story that is a cut above most comic-book adaptations. Notably as it features a lot of heart in the complex relationships that del Toro wanted to create that allows its audience to relate to its titular character. In the end, Hellboy is an entertaining yet evocative film from Guillermo del Toro.

Guillermo del Toro Films: Cronos - Mimic/Mimic (Director's Cut) - The Devil's Backbone - Blade II - Pan's Labyrinth - Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Pacific Rim - Crimson Peak - The Shape of Water - Nightmare Alley (2021 film) - Pinocchio (2022 film) - The Auteurs #10: Guillermo del Toro

© thevoid99 2012