Blade: Trinity (2004)

Wesley Snipes was robbed out of a fitting third entry in the successful Blade series with Blade: Trinity, a film that was so obviously made to set up another franchise that Snipes is basically relegated to a co-starring role in his own film. Joining him in this very non-horror outing are the heavily pumped up Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds, complete with his own nonstop imaginary laugh track. To say that director David Goyer decided to go the jokey route with this one is a major understatement. Funny enough to slay most eager-to-please audiences, Goyer has written and cast a high-adrenaline action comedy with fight scenes thrown throughout the picture -- none of which are exciting or filmed with the sure hand that the character's fans are used to. The style of the series has been ground to a halt here as well, with sets and lighting schemes that leave little to be desired, making the viewer hunger for even a hint of the panache that was so abundant before. As far as the music goes, the trip-hop soundtrack is severely overused as are the numerous slow-mo walking scenes that are there for sheer "cool" factor. The casting is a problem as well, with the king of all vampires, Drake (Dominic Purcell), coming off as beefed-up runway model trash, while Parker Posey slums it up with her usual quirky shtick that falls flat in almost every scene. Many will find Reynolds to be the saving grace of the film with his Kevin Smith pop-culture-tinged dialogue keeping things light and airy, but they tend to forget that this is a Blade movie, not a reverse Rush Hour! In fact, there's something disturbing about a creator who takes a series away from his main actor -- but then audiences wouldn't be able to get all hot and worked up over a young Hollywood starlet as she loads up her iPod with official soundtrack clips to kill bloodsuckers to, would they? ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide