Blade: Trinity (DVD)

Now that actor Wesley Snipes is suing New Line Cinema, is a pretty safe bet that this is the last time you will see him as the taciturn day-walking vampire hunter called Blade. In Blade: Trinity the plot unfolds as follows: When his nemeses at the Vampire Nation frame him in a series of brutal killings, Blade joins forces with the Nightstalkers, a secret society of human vampire hunters — and the trail of blood leads directly to the notorious vampire of legend, Dracula (Dominic Purcell).

Written and directed by David S. Goyer, Blade: Trinity also stars Jessica Biel as Abigail, the daughter of Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), who inherits the vampire-slaying duties that once belonged to her now elderly and crippled father. Ryan Reynolds costars as Hannibal King, one of the Nightstalkers — these two new characters are clearly meant to open the door for more Blade-style movies, as the eternal fight between good and evil never really ends… does it?

While Blade: Trinity is probably not destined to become a classic or a movie that fans will want to watch over and over, it’s good fun while it lasts. There is a lot more snappy humor in this Blade film than has been seen previously (not from Blade, mind you — he’s as surly and unsmiling as ever). Hannibal is the resident comedian, but another character played by indie queen Parker Posey is pure vamp-camp, and there’s even a poofy Pomeranian in the mix. Blade: Trinity is a safe bet for anyone who’s a fan of the franchise, or someone who just likes action movies.

The beautifully presented two-disc DVD set comes with an exclusive mini comic book, and the interactive menus are easy to work and thankfully the many, many featurettes are imbued with ‘Play All’ options. …Did I say “imbued”? It must be riveted into my brain after hearing Goyer say it over and over again, in all its possible uses, in the hour-long making-of featurette and director commentary. After awhile, it’s downright humorous. Also worth a chuckle is the blooper reel — they’re usually not as funny as you’d hope but the one for Blade: Trinity is especially amusing, mostly thanks to Reynolds’ cutting up and on-the-fly wisecracks.

The making-of featurettes cover everything from the inception of Blade in comic books, to how the weapons were made and how the stunts were performed in this third installment in the film franchise. It’s all very well presented, intelligently laid out, and edited in such a way to keep you interested and entertained even on subjects that you’re not especially enamored of. Most notable is the inclusion of several on-set interview clips with Snipes (who, later, shunned all press upon the movie’s release).

There are two separate over-the-movie commentary tracks, plus a mini-doc in which the director interviews the writer (or is it the other way around? They’re both the same person, y’know). There is also an alternate ending which is kind of cute — in a comedic, Underworld kind of way — but was thankfully excised from the theatrical release. Finally, there is 10 extra minutes imbued, er, added into the movie making it an “unrated” version audiences haven’t seen before.

Read the full review on the theatrical release of Blade: Trinity here.