A half-mortal, half-immortal (Wesley Snipes) is out to avenge his mother’s death and rid the world of vampires. The modern-day technologically advanced vampires he is going after are in search of his special blood type needed to summon an evil god who plays a key role in their plan to execute the human race.
Plot: A half-vampire, half-mortal man becomes a protector of the mortal race, while slaying evil vampires.
Director: Stephen Norrington
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Runtime: 120 min
Rotten Tomatoes Consensus: Though some may find the plot a bit lacking, Blade‘s action is fierce, plentiful, and appropriately stylish for a comic book adaptation.
Online Ratings:
- Rotten Tomatoes 56% (Audience 78%)
- IMDB 7.1
- Metacritic 45
- Roger Ebert 3.5/4
“For fans of the franchise only.”
Review:
Blade was originally shot in 35 mm, and with this new remaster, it was finished at a 4k digital intermediate — this means you’ll get a native presentation on this disc. On top of that, as per the norm with UHD releases, it was also given a HDR color grade for your viewing pleasure in HDR10.
You will notice right out of the gate that this is the best Blade has ever looked — there is an uptick in detail, clarity, sharpness — and of course — with the use of HDR, there are deeper black levels, depth and dimension. You could argue some of the close-ups — which reveal massive amount of detail and characteristics — could’ve been shot yesterday. Speaking of clarity, the grain is completely gone and it appears so clean a few scenes look soft because of it. (Some DNR has to be at work because some shadows didn’t land right, or maybe the right words would be, the balance was off.)
HDR wise, you are in for a ride because the blue-grey color palette bounces around a bit with bright highlights popping in and out depending on the scene. This is a dark movie, but it appears rather bright if that makes any kind of sense. Something that really stood out to me in UHD was Blade’s leather jacket — it looks great in every lighting environment and scene. The only distraction for me is the CGI that takes place throughout the film because it really stands out — they look bad. Everything about this disc is an upgrade to the Blu-ray, even if this particular aspect falls way below par. (Don’t let that distract you from picking up a copy.)
Unfortunately, there is nothing new when it comes to special features on this release. You will still find both commentary with Wesley Snipes and other members of the cast along with an isolated score with commentary by composer Mark Isham. (For those that want it.)
In conclusion —
Taking everything I’ve said into account, Blade gets my recommendation to own — but for fans only. It is an upgrade, but it’s not something I could recommend at full price if you don’t already love the movie. If you’ve watched your Blu-ray copy a few times, then it’s time to upgrade. I’ll never deny a new disc to a media owner, so feel free to add to your (hopefully) growing physical media collection. No matter what you decide to do, you can grab a copy at your local retailer on 4K & Blu-ray today. It will make a great stocking stuffer for any fan of the film.
Are you a fan of Blade? Will you be picking it up to own? Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Cheers,
Matt.
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