Blade II MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +1 1/2 Content: -3 1/2

Wesley Snipes returns as the half-human, half-vampire hero of Marvel comics, picking up where the 1998 film left off. After years of searching, Blade recovers the vampire infected body of his mentor Whistler (Kris Kristofferson). After an injection of Blades anti-vampire serum, Whistler is back in form and ready to kill more vampires. In his absence, Blade recruited Scud (Norman Reedus) to build his vampire-destroying weapons. But the trio is really surprised when the vampire nation sends Nyssa (Leonor Varela) with an offer of truce. They want his help because a new breed of bloodsuckers, called Reapers is attacking vampires and, as Whistler says, thats worse than the Daywalker, the vampire name for Blade. Blade teams with Nyssa and her Bloodpack, to hunt down the new threat, but theres more to the problem than meets the eye. Fans of the comic may enjoy this bloodfest, but most may find the gore more than they want to see.

BLADE II creates a posterchild for exploitation of violence as entertainment from the opening scene as Blade chases and dispatches a trio of bloodeaters. Vampire bodies, explode, burst into flames and turn to ash throughout the film. Other characters absorb bullets and keep walking. And, in keeping with the vampire theme, blood flows freely. And, in a couple of cases, literal blood baths are taken. But special effects take gruesomeness to new depths as bodies are sliced in half, with internal organs revealed. The reapers have a mouth that lets the jaw split and swing open to reveal a multi-forked tongue that bears a strong ALIEN look. Mixed into this gorefest are almost forty obscenities and a few strong profanities. Although vampirism is presented as a blood virus rather than an occultic curse, graphic and gory violence in BLADE II doesnt cut it as acceptable viewing.

Preview Reviewer: Paul Bicking
Distributor: New Line Cinema, 888 7th Ave., 20th Fl., New York, NY 10106