GoldbergBlog

Guillermo Del Toro’s Proof of Talent: BLADE II

Guillermo Del Toro is one of the best directors working today and if you need me to tell you that, then clearly you’ve never seen any of his films. The guy was absolutely robbed of the Best Foreign Film Oscar for Pan’s Labyrinth but the only film of his that I don’t like is Mimic and that one was taken away from him (to read more about it, you can check out the gossip-heave Down and Dirty Pictures by Peter Biskind; also note that Del Toro was too classy to note how Miramax fucked him on the film). But for me, the film that proves Del Toro’s talent isn’t The Devil’s Backbone or Pan’s Labyrinth, but Blade II. It’s not that I think Blade II is better than these films, but rather that it was a film that could have easily been utter crap had other directors tried to take a shot at it.

To begin, I am not a fan of the original Blade. I think Stephen Dorff is a terrible actor and a whiny villain. I don’t think the character of Blade is particularly interesting (he’s vampire Batman, essentially and Alfred is more of an ass-kicker) and the only memorable part of the entire film is when he presses Donal Logue’s face up against a moving subway train. But it was financially successful and New Line ordered up a sequel. Enter Del Toro.

Now all the elements are there that play to Del Toro’s strengths: there’s the comic book world (although clearly Hellboy is closer to his own heart), there’s the opportunity for fun monsters and imaginative gore, and there’s even a grandfather/mentor figure. I’ve always found this last aspect of his films most intriguing. In Cronos it’s Jesus Gris (Federico Luppi) who’s actually the main character instead of the supporting role, in The Devil’s Backbone it’s Professor Casares (Luppi again), in Blade II it’s Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), in Hellboy it’s Professor Broom (John Hurt), and to a lesser extent, it’s Dr. Ferriero (Álex Angulo). And all these characters have some relation to death. And with Del Toro, I think it’s more than just a standard narrative trope.

Anyway, back to Blade II. So all the elements are available but it takes Del Toro to bring them out and weave them into a downright amazing action-horror flick. In some ways, I wish Hellboy was rated R, not because I think it needs to be, but because he’s such a master with the grotesque that he makes gore beautiful but still shocking. Yet the film never forgets the action or the humor. It’s a real testament to his directorial style that he can make film as different as Blade II and Pan’s Labyrinth and yet you know they’re from the same guy. It’s just that Blade II knows what it is and it knows it doesn’t have to hit the deeper notes of Pan’s because it’s main goal is to entertain. And it does this in spades.

Before The Matrix Reloaded got all the acclaim for using CGI stunt doubles in the Burly Brawl, Del Toro already did it with a fight scene between Blade and two ninja vamps. And while Reloaded may have had more CGI stuntmen, it did not have the humor and wit of Blade II. That film is constantly entertaining and it even gives the tremendously dour Blade a few quips and the jokes work. And he didn’t have to put in those jokes (like he had to with Hellboy or else they would have been notably absent) or he could have overdone it like David Goyer did in Blade: Trinity, but there’s just the right balance. And while Goyer is credited with the film’s script, Del Toro’s fingerprints are all over that baby.

Blade II is just constantly impressive. With Pan’s Labyrinth and to a lesser extent, Hellboy, I expected greatness. Those were Del Toro’s babies and he raised ‘em up big and strong. Blade II was an adopted child and it’s in far exceeding any expectation of an already established character and moderately successful origin film that Del Toro stepped up and proved to the American mainstream that when left to his own devices, few could match his amazing talent. While most didn’t learn his name until Pan’s Labyrinth, looking over his filmography, Blade II is the surprise standout that shows Del Toro’s massive reach never extends his mighty grasp.

Oh, I also hear from people who’ve met him and developed friendships with him that he’s an incredibly warm, affectionate, and all-around nice guy. So that’s cool.

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