Blade: Trinity

BLADE: TRINITY
Triple H makes a memorable debut in an otherwise forgettable film.

Review by Mike Rickard II

“A man’s got to know his limitations” - Harry Callahan in Magnum Force

Anyone familiar with Greek mythology will recall the legend of Icarus, a youth whose grand ambitions cost him his life. For those unfamiliar with the story, Icarus was imprisoned with his father Daedalus on the island of Crete. Daedalus, a renowned inventor, fashioned artificial wings with feathers fastened by wax. This allowed him and his son to fly away to safety. However Daedalus warned his son not to fly too high or the heat of the sun would melt his wings. Icarus, like any son, ignored his father’s advice and soon found himself crashing into oblivion much like the many WWE wrestlers who have flown too close to the sun known as Triple H. Daedalus maintained a steady path and flew to freedom. The story of Daedalus and Icarus is similar in many ways to the ambition of Triple H and screenwriter/director David S. Goyer in the film Blade: Trinity.

Ever since it was announced that Triple H would be appearing in Blade: Trinity, wrestling fans have been waiting to see how he would compare to the Rock. After his debut in The Mummy Returns, the Rock has found himself flooded with film offers and while it’s still unclear if he will be able to make the leap to mainstream box office success, he’s found enough success where he has been able to make wrestling his hobby rather than his livelihood. With films scheduled into 2006 (according to information taken from the Internet Movie Database at www.imdb.com), finding work in Hollywood doesn’t seem to be a problem for the Rock.

Enter Triple H who considers himself the standard bearer for World Wrestling Entertainment. Anyone familiar with the WWE knows that Triple H considers himself a student of professional wrestling and prides himself as being dedicated to the industry to the point of obsession. He has to be the best and no one can outshine him, hence his professional rivalry with the Rock, perhaps the most successful performer of all time. So far, Triple H has not been able to match the box office success of the Rock in the world of wrestling. While Hunter has held the WWE Title for much of the last two years, the box office generated by his main events pales to the money made during the Rock’s heyday. Anyone familiar with Triple H’s rivalry with the Rock has to ask themselves if Triple H saw his role in Blade: Trinity as his entrée into Hollywood and a fresh chance to eclipse the Rock.

Screenwriter David S. Goyer has established a niche as the author of dark thrillers such as the cult classic Dark City, Blade and Blade II, and the much anticipated Batman Begins (Thanks to the All Movie Guide www.allmovie.com, a consistently good source of film knowledge). After having written the screenplays for the first two Blade films, Goyer opted to direct as well as write Blade: Trinity.

Since this is GumGod.com and not FilmThreat.com, let’s focus on Triple H’s much talked about film debut (at least much talked about in the wrestling community) Without getting into a lengthy discourse on Blade (see my web site http://hometown.aol.com/Kingmo69/Bladetvs.html for a complete run-down on the character) , Blade (Wesley Snipes) is a half-human/half-vampire who protects humanity from vampires (his mother was bit by a vampire while in labor and somehow Blade was born with all of the abilities of vampires but none of their weaknesses) who fights vampires with the help of his mentor Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) , a weapons-maker who is the vampire-hunting equivalent of 007’s Q. At the start of the film, things are not going so well for Blade. His war on vampires is spiraling out of control and Whistler (played with relish by Kris Kristofferson whose haggard looks make one wonder if he’s not undead himself) is especially concerned now that Blade’s war has attracted the attention of law enforcement.

Triple H plays Jarko Grimwood, a member of a vampire group led by Danica Talos (Parker Posey) who have devised a one-two punch to defeat their arch nemesis Blade (Wesley Snipes). Talos and her crew have unearthed Drake (Dominic Purcell), the Alpha Male of vampires and orchestrated an elaborate set-up where one of their human slaves (known as familiars) posed as a vampire and took a stake for the team. As a result, Blade is now hunted by the very humans he tries to protect. The FBI become involved and raids his hide-out, leading to Blade’s capture and Whistler’s death.

If one were to believe the promos for Blade: Trinity shown on Monday Night Raw, one would think Triple H had a co-starring role. If one were to listen to Triple H detractors, he has a walk-on role. Unlike the Mummy 2 where the Rock appeared in the film’s prologue and finale, Triple H appears throughout the film and in several key scenes including the discovery of Drake, the attempted kidnapping of Blade, and the final showdown between the vampires and Blade. The best comparison for Triple H is to wrestler Harold Sakata who played Oddjob in the film Goldfinger. Oddjob is one of the most memorable henchmen in the Bond franchise, largely due to his look and mannerisms. Sakata did his job well, despite the limited part. Likewise, Triple H does a good job playing the lead henchman in Blade: Trinity. He definitely has a screen presence and while he doesn’t have the same amount of charisma as the Rock, he’s not someone you’re likely to forget. Does that mean that he’s leading man material? It’s too early to tell but Triple H could definitely make his mark in non-leading roles. Given the fact that he seems intent on taking his rivalry with the Rock out of the ring and into Hollywood, it seems unlikely that Triple H would settle for secondary parts for long given the Rock’s current ability to lead pictures on his own (although in all fairness, none of the Rock’s pictures can be considered major successes with the exception of the Scorpion King). Triple H is scheduled to star in Jornada del muerte but given the fact that it’s a film produced by the WWE, it’s the equivalent of kissing your sister. The true test for Triple H will be if Hollywood starts knocking on his door after seeing him in Blade: Trinity.

As for the film itself, Blade: Trinity is a flawed film that while entertaining, could have been so much more. Screenwriter David S. Goyer not only penned this sequel but directed it. Unfortunately he has big shoes to fill. While Goyer does a good job directing, his work doesn’t compare to director Steve Norrington’s work in Blade and Guillermo del Toro’s in Blade II. Blade and Blade II featured great cinematography and fight scenes. Blade and Blade II featured memorable and intense fight scenes between Blade and his vampire foes, showcasing star Wesley Snipes’ martial arts background. Blade: Trinity is more a by the numbers production with action scenes that while entertaining, are nothing new or memorable. Even the climatic swordfight between Drake and Blade seems like it was thrown together over a cup of coffee which is a shame given the swordplay seen in the first two films.

The film’s biggest flaw is that it introduces several interesting concepts but fails to develop them. Ever since the first Blade film, longtime fans have wondered if Blade would encounter Dracula in any of the films (Blade first appeared in the comic book Tomb of Dracula). Well, Dracula (referred to as Drake in the film) does appear but the character finds little to do than stand around and chomp on the occasional late night snack. Dominic Purcell does the best he can with the character but Dracula is relegated to the role of a glorified henchman. It reminds me of the much maligned (and deservedly so) Batman and Robin that transformed the arch-villain Bane into a villain’s flunky. It’s just such a waste. Rather than weave a film with the King of Vampires creating some master plot against Blade, he’s pretty much just there to provide a cool final fight scene. It could have been so much more.

Even worse, really interesting characters are wasted. While Ryan Reynolds does a spectacular job playing Hannibal King (a human member of the Nightstalkers who had once been a vampire), the only thing the character shares with his comic book namesake is his name. In the comic books, Hannibal King was a private detective who ended up on the wrong end of a pair of fangs and was turned into a vampire. Unlike most vampires however, he fought his vampire bloodlust and battled the undead, occasionally teaming up with Blade. The problem isn’t that Ryan Reynolds’ character isn’t interesting; it’s that he’s not Hannibal King. It would be like making a film adaptation of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels and having Chris Rock play Hawk as a non-descript college student. Perhaps Goyer didn’t want to seem like he was doing a retread of vampire heroes such as Nick Knight or Angel (although Hannibal King preceded them by decades) but it just seems like a waste of a really terrific character.

Major events are glossed over. Blade’s mentor and friend Whistler is killed during the FBI raid but judging by Blade’s reaction, you’d think he lost a dollar in the soda machine. The Nightstalkers come up with a virus capable with the potential to destroy every vampire on Earth but by the end of the film, it’s an afterthought. The film just fails to do anything with the novel concepts it introduces.

There’s no doubt that Goyer set out to make the most spectacular Blade film of all time. "This film will have it all he must have thought. Blade framed for murder and a fugitive from the FBI. The Nightstalkers, a band of vampire hunters led by Whistler’s daughter. And that’s just the beginning. This film will have Dracula, a band of Goth type vampires, and vampires abducting humans to use as blood farms. Just to make things interesting, we’ll kill off Whistler, introduce even cooler anti-vampire weaponry, and have the Nightstalkers develop an anti-vampire bioweapon." The problem is that all of these concepts are thrown out and then abandoned as the next one is set up. Goyer doesn’t do anything with the concepts and inevitably they end up being nothing more than wasted potential. Sometimes less really is more.

In the end, Goyer falls into the trap of overreaching. Like Icarus of legend, he attempts to fly too high and finds himself crashing into oblivion. On the other hand, Triple H takes the steady approach and does a good job without overstepping his abilities. He succeeds where Goyer’s ambitions failed him and ends up playing Daedalus to Goyer’s Icarus.