The turn of the millennium was a strange time for action cinema. The influence of The Matrix was everywhere to be found, whether we’re talking kung fu, gun fu, bullet time, or entire ensemble casts being squeezed into the leatheriest of leathers, while the superhero genre was right on the cusp of exploding in popularity. Giving audiences the best of both worlds, Blade II arrived at exactly the right time.
Wesley Snipes’ first outing as the Daywalker predated both The Matrix and Bryan Singer’s X-Men, but it was a spiritual companion in more ways than one. Upping the ante, Guillermo del Toro stepped in for original director Stephen Norrington to deliver a sequel that’s arguably superior to its game-changing predecessor, but equally beloved even if you don’t agree.
In fact, a Reddit thread celebrating the almost painfully early-2000s nature of the film from top to bottom has fans reminiscing on the time capsule that is Blade II, and it’s hard to argue that the vampire-slaying blockbuster contains pretty much every element that you’d find in almost the entirety of Hollywood’s explosive output around the time.
People wearing shades indoors? Check. Inconsistent CGI that was horribly dated within a matter of months? Oh, yes. Baggy jeans? Take your pick. Frosted tips? Unfortunately so. A soundtrack capable of causing physical cringe when viewed through a modern lens? Given the presence of nu-metal, techno, rap, and trance all on the same album, we’re unfortunately inclined to agree.
Make no mistake about it, though, Blade II still f*cking rules, it just reminds us of a bizarre time in our cultural history we’re glad existed before social media.