Everyone wants to see more Blade, and it seems as if Wesley Snipes has re-endeared himself with fans through the character after his appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine, but I can’t be the only one who remembers his apparent childlike shenanigans on the set of Blade: Trinity. Oh, wait, most of you have selectively forgotten there was a third film altogether, one so bad that it killed off the franchise and potential spin-offs? I can’t blame anyone for that, but since it has been two decades and vampires are eternal, I guess it’s a good time to remind people of a few things.
Blade: Trinity is not the worst comic book movie ever made, and it isn’t even as bad as some people claim, but make no mistake, this thing was such a letdown compared to the other two. This film also faced a troublesome production, one where the studio interference seems small in the grand scheme of things, making it somewhat amazing that it was finished in the first place.
David S. Goyer is more famous for being a writer, having penned all of the Christian Bale Batman films, Dark City, and numerous other blockbuster titles, but I’m more interested in the fact that he wrote the 1998 made-for-television Nick Fury movie starring David Hasselhoff and an episode of Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin’? After several others didn’t work out, Goyer would take the director’s chair, even though he had only directed one smaller project before this. His original script for the film was much darker, and the studio insisted on changes, even having him remove the proposed sex scene between the characters of Blade and Abigail Whistler (Jessica Biel). His choices of some of the actors were questioned as well, and they were determined for him to hire a wrestler. The bigger actor problems, however, were with the main star.
Just as Goyer wrote all three Blade movies, Wesley Snipes portrayed the hero in each, and maybe that had gone to his head. The story goes that the star was displeased with the entirety of the production, not liking the revised scripts, Goyer’s appointment to director, the inclusion of more side characters, many of his fellow actors (especially their humor), and there was a misunderstanding about a shirt one of the extras wore. All of this resulted in him being extremely difficult to work with, constantly showing up high, refusing to participate in scenes – except for close-ups – to the point of refusing to do simple actions, like opening his eyes, so many things that slowed down production. This meant that CGI had to be used to insert the lead in many shots or have him react, even giving him fake eyes at one point. He did these things while being an executive producer on the project, but Snipes denies many of these allegations.
When Snipes was in his trailer or on set, he reportedly communicated through an assistant or via Post-it notes, signing them as “Blade.” When he did shoot scenes with others, the actor was reportedly always in character, barely communicating or saying things that sounded more in character, only answering to “Blade.” This could have been some extreme method acting, a delusional state, or a petulant form of protest. The big issue seemed to come from an incident where Snipes reportedly attempted to strangle the director, but Goyer hasn’t said much on the subject, and Snipes has questioned the likelihood of that happening. However, it seems people just want to believe Patton Oswalt’s hilarious accounts of events.
The best casting of the film was Paul Levesque, better known as WWE wrestler Triple H. You’ll know his character by the nose and that vampire pomeranian he carries around. Higher-ups at New Line Cinema insisted on including a professional wrestler for a cameo role, and Goyer was, somewhat understandably, against the idea after their other interferences. The director ended up loving H, not just because he’s a cool guy, but because The Game got what they were doing and nailed the comedic timing, along with the fight scenes. Goyer actually expanded Levesque’s role, and one of the vampire dogs was changed to a smaller breed to give him more to play off of. One of the girls Dracula (Dominic Purcell) kills is even wearing a Motorhead t-shirt, a band that performed multiple theme songs for Triple H, but that might be a coincidence. The biggest problem with H’s character is that someone named him Jarko Grimwood. What!?
It’s almost a non-issue, but Blade: Trinity also has the weakest soundtrack out of the trilogy. There are good songs on there, like “This Blood,” “Weapons of Mad Distortion,” and “Fatal,” but compared to the first two albums – in response and sales – it simply doesn’t match up. This soundtrack follows the same template but feels a little out of place, matching the campier tone of the movie with certain tracks, and though there are good beats, it’s just not as memorable. I listened to the Blade 1 & 2 albums so much when I was younger and didn’t even bother buying this one after I heard it. Ramin Djawadi composed the score, and he has quite the resume, but even those tunes feel slightly out of place. They have a good energy, but almost feel like they were written for something else.
Okay, last thing. Something has always bothered me about the title Blade: Trinity. I know it’s supposed to represent the team-up of him, Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds), and Abigail Whistler, but he clearly does not see them as equals, and they aren’t even working together at the conclusion of the movie, especially if we acknowledge the alternate ending with the werewolf. I’m saying there had to be a better name.
The movie isn’t horrible, but the signs of it being a traumatized bastard childhood are certainly present. The horrible CGI in some (not all) spots and quirky editing can be blamed on Snipes’ pettiness, several of the plot points and campy de-fanged story elements are the fault of the studio pushing quick re-writes, but by the end, it seemed like no one cared. Supposedly, the first commercial credited Jessica Alba instead of Jessica Biel by accident – or was this payback for her shooting that camera with her bow – and promotion for the film seemed unenthusiastic. Blade: Trinity’s underperforming killed the franchise by most accounts, it stopped the Night Stalkers spin-off film from materializing and may have contributed to axing the proposed Underworld crossover. Sure, the rights reverting put a bigger nail in that coffin, but this almost has that werewolf ending making sense, right?
Patton Oswalt, who played Hedges in the film, said in an interview, “If you just sit and watch Blade: Trinity, it’s a D-minus, it just doesn’t work. But if you know what they went through to get that movie made, it is an A-plus.” I’m not sure I can agree with that completely, but it certainly helps me appreciate the movie more and makes forgiving certain parts easier. The better quote comes from David Goyer, “I don’t think anybody involved with that film is happy with the results. It was a very tortured production.” He went on to say it was “the most personally and professionally difficult and painful thing I’ve ever been through,” so before we get too excited about a new Blade film or Snipes potentially returning in a bigger role, let’s all take a moment to remember the past and the pain it caused.
