Blade: Trinity

MPAA Rating: R

Entertainment: +3

Content: -4

Blade: Trinity resumes the story of the dark, cold vampire hunter, Blade (Wesley Snipes). In this third episode of the Marvel Comics vampire trilogy, Blade and his partner, Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), stumble into a police raid, a trap set by their vampire enemies. Blade assumes that this is their latest attempt to end his crusade against vampires until a mysterious band of slayers known as the Nightstalkers rescues Blade from police custody. The Nightstalkers Abigail (Jessica Biel), Hannibal (Ryan Reynolds) and their friends share the frightening truth: The vampires are searching for a final solution in their war against humanity, and that solution involves the return of Dracula himself. Now Blade and his companions must find a way to defeat the deadliest and most powerful vampire of all and to finally put an end to the vampires ceaseless blood-lust.

Blade: Trinity is a fitting conclusion we hope to a mediocre series of films. Like its predecessors, this film is merely a vehicle for intensely violent action sequences and special effects. Its plot is interesting at times but too similar to recent films like Underworld and The Matrix. The films biggest asset is the comedic genius of Ryan Reynolds. Unfortunately, Reynolds performance is also drenched with filthy language and gross sexual references. And one character denies the existence of God, claiming that after death we face nothingness. Such a statement betrays the films naturalistic worldview and explains why it lacks the religious imagery that is typical of vampire movies. In this film, vampires are not portrayed as demonic but as an evolutionary fluke, and thus the best weapons against them are biological. In the end, Blade: Trinity easily earns its R rating and Previews strongest negative marks.

Preview Reviewer: Shaun Daugherty
Distributor: New Line

Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.

Crude Language: Many (16) times mild (hell 3, damn 4); strong (-ss 8, b-tch 1)

Obscene Language: Many (60) times moderate (p-ss 1, s-ck 1, other 1); strong (f-word 40, s-word 8, finger gesture 3, d-ck 4, other 2)

Profanity: Many (12) times moderate (G 5); strong (GD 5, J 1, JC 1)

Violence: Many times moderate (nearly nonstop fighting and death, hand-to-hand combat, gun battles, struggles, etc; violence involving vampires, neck bites and rapid decomposition of bodies related to vampire mythology; vampires harvest blood from comatose human bodies); strong (a few gory decapitations, vampires shown feeding on human bodies)

Sex: None

Nudity: Few times mild (man twice shows a tattoo below his waist near the groin); moderate (woman shown naked in shower with body parts mostly obscured by camera angle and actors pose); strong (uncovered genitals)

Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: Several times mild (reference to a sexual relationship, reference to sexual arousal and bodily fluids); moderate (man asks another man if he has ever had sex); strong (use of strong sexual metaphors, use of rape as a metaphor for being badly beaten in a fight, man refers to a womans genitalia, graphic reference to self-gratification, several references to sexual acts)

Drugs: Few times mild (man drugged, man must inhale a substance to control his vampirism)

Other: Reference to vampirism and the drinking of blood as a sacrament, use of evolution terminology, naturalistic explanations given for fantasy and religious mythology, denial of the existence of God by a vampire

Running Time: 119 minutes
Intended Audience: Adults

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