5 Reasons Why Blade is the Most Important Marvel Movie Ever
[This article was written in 2013 and republished in 2018 for Blade’s 20th anniversary]
Fifteen years ago this month, Marvel and New Line released the first Blade movie into cinemas. A decade and a half on and Marvel Studios, now operated by Disney, has become one of the most important players in the blockbuster field. And much of that is down to Blade.
While 2000’s X-Men was a marquee moment for the comic-book movie adaptation, Blade was arguably a more significant (though less dramatic) watershed for the proliferation of what would become one of the most commercially successful genres in movie history. Read on to find out why.
First, a little history. The Blade character first appeared in comic book The Tomb of Dracula in 1973 and quickly earned his own solo outings. Born to a mother who was bitten during labour, he possesses many of the strengths of vampires - speed, healing, long life - with none of their weaknesses to silver, garlic or sunlight.
The film version of Blade is similar in many ways, with both characters sharing a hatred of Deacon Frost - the vampire responsible for their mothers death. The plot sees Wesley Snipes’ vamp-hunter attempting to stop an apocalyptic event which would see the whole world turned into pasty undeads.
Also starring Kris Kristofferson, N’Bushe Wright, Stephen Dorff and Udo Kier, Blade was directed by Brit Stephen Norrington and written by David S. Goyer.
Here are my five reasons why Blade is the most important Marvel movie ever made.
It was the first
Bar an 80s experiment with Howard the Duck and DTV flicks like The Punisher, Blade was Marvel’s first self-funded feature film and the beginning of a brand which would take over the world. It was a gamble for a studio that hadn’t yet found its feet, an expensive experiment that ultimately tested the waters for future comic book adaptations. And yet the brand still looks familiar, with Avi Arad front and centre as one of the films producers. With a hand in everything from X-Men to The Avengers, he’s become synomynous with all things Marvel. And then there’s David S. Goyer, the sole screenwriter here and still churning out words for movies like Batman and Man of Steel.
It took a chance on a director
In recent years, Marvel has been notable for its willingness to make unusual decisions when it comes to the helmers of their biggest movies. James Gunn and Joss Whedon are the most recent examples, for Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers but do you remember when you thought when you first heard Kenneth Branagh was directing Thor?!
And this is a long-standing tradition, going all the way back to Blade. Brit Stephen Norrington had only made one feature back in 98, the grungy Terminator rip-off Death Machine, and was actually better known as a special effects technician with credits on Alien 3 and The Witches. But Marvel saw the potential in the 33 year old and gave him his first big studio picture. And the results speak for themselves - a truly gritty, seriously stylish piece (which we must remember predates The Matrix by a full year) with visual effects that still stand up today.
Unfortunately, Norrington’s next big budget experience was on 2003’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - an overblown turkey which led to the filmmaker essentially retiring from the business. Our loss, sadly.
It took the world seriously
Comic books have long been considered frivolous things - something young boys read when they weren’t pulling girls hair or playing with toys. Today’s nerd culture sees things somewhat differently but in the past the same attitude was passed to comic book adaptations.
Not so with Blade. This is of one of Marvel’s most grim and realistic worlds, with no immortal superheroes who can fly in at the last second to save the day. But it also extends to the subject matter, which is presented without a hint of spoof while the human elements of the story bend and stretch to accommodate the supernatural material.
Blade is a supernatural vampire killer and the film spends little enough time explaining the reasons for it or apologising for any potential absurdity. And that’s a vital ingredient if you expect to gain new audience members, as well as providing a satisfactory experience for fans of the source material. This drive for seriousness is also backed up by the fact that…
It had real stars
Gene Hackman may have worn a bald cap for Superman but it was rare to see a name of any sort step in front of cameras for a comic-book movie. But Blade managed to secure not only a host of strong supporting talent like Kristofferson and a talented young villain in Stephen Dorff, they had perfect casting for their main hero.
Wesley Snipes may have fallen on hard times today but he was a 90s powerhouse in everything from White Men Can’t Jump to Demolition Man. Blade arrived at a perfect time in his career and allowed the star to bring his personal experience of martial arts to the role - allowing for free form fight scenes which are more reminiscent of Eastern cinema.
With a serious tone and bigger stars also came a bigger budget, with the $45 million helping to add to the scale of the film and the impressive visuals effects and large scale fight scenes which helped it to become a significant box office success in 1998. And that’s all the more interesting when you consider…
It was R-rated
This is, in many ways, the most significant point to be made about Blade. Apart from the Blade trilogy (and under-performing The Punisher) Marvel has never released another R-rated picture and it doesn’t seem likely to again.
Even other studios have had trouble making commercial successes out of more mature content, with only 300 being anything resembling a real hit. It’s a sector that’s just waiting to be mined, especially in contrast to the increasingly cheery and family oriented films coming out of the Marvel-Disney collaboration and the promise of animated efforts like the upcoming Big Hero 6.
Grown-ups need entertaining comic-book movies too, and Marvel were the first to break that barrier with a film that remains one of the most enjoyable, and culturally significant, comic adaptations of all time.
Isn’t it time you watched Blade again?