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Blade, not being as well known as Spiderman, the X-Men etc, had a distinct disadvantage upon release. It wasn't the well known brand superhero. They didn't have a bankable star driving the project, or a well known director helming it. What were disadvantages turned out to be advantages, the bad becoming the good. As the character was not the best known, there were no expectations. There was no requirement to make the film "child friendly" or to follow a set idea of how the main character acted. The film took Wesley Snipes to his highest standard yet, and gave him a franchise and a healthier bank balance. What could have been an un-mitigated disaster turned into a massive triumph, and all should be happy for that.

The film skips along at a merry pace, and it's not often you are given time to stop and draw breath. Blade as a character is allowed to walk the fine line between hero and sociopath, he is driven to fight his thirst as opposed to feed it. The novelty of a vampire being able to withstand sunlight, silver and garlic is a novel one, although not that useful throughout the movie. His nemesis, a rock-a-like youngster, comes across less tough and more psychotic, not afraid to do some dirty work, but generally just enjoys the slaughter. There are a few side characters popping up here and there, but overall they are meaningless, plot devices as opposed to character in their own right. Script wise the film never aims above its station, and it produces some memorable and quotable lines. As an action film should be, the machismo is dripping from every mono-tone comment Blade comes out with.
Directorial style isn't over apparent. You couldn't watch it and identify with to a specific director. Everything had been done plentiful before, but it was sufficient to service the films needs, and Norrington should take credit for dealing a natural hand when other would be tempted for a more frantic and excessive style.

As an actor, Wesley Snipes has an appalling taste in picking projects. After promising appearances in Demolition Man and White Men Can't Jump, he walked in DTV hell. Blade gives Snipes his own little corner, an ass-kicking, neck biting nut job who doesn't need to speak much and needs to show emotion less. He wears the glasses well and looks the part, adding a bit of believable muscle to a limited role. He never excels mediocrity, but in a film of this genre he doesn't need to, he just needs to avoid stinking the screen up. Dorff plays Deacon Frost with a nice wry smile at the camera. He knows he will never overpower Snipes' screen presence with brawn, so he plays frost as a psychotic, revelling in evil goings on without camping it up big style. In fact, the film is to knowing to allow camp to come into it. He makes Blade look weak with brain instead of brawn, and obviously a bit of vampire folklore helps also. Kristofferson pops up as grumpy old whistler, Blades mentor and only friend. It's the required "Yoda" role that every dark and rebellious superhero needs, he's the Alfred to Batman, the Ferguson to Cantona.

Blade is a triumph for all involved, as although it will never win an Oscar it is better than it should be. That's because it's more than the sum of it's parts, and children, you can learn a lesson from that.