‘Dyuta’ was one of the first ones to see David Goyer’s Blade: Trinity and here’s the scooper’s very positive thoughts…
I saw a Blade Trinity test screening last night and it was excellent! The ensemble cast worked extremely well, with a nice balance between Abigail, Hannibal King, and Blade. While I fully anticipated Abigail to be a generic, midriff-bearing beacon to attract the teen male demographic, the role was played with surprising depth by Biel. There were 3-4 really solid scenes that defined the character and offered a glimpse into her motivations and the constant internal struggle that remained hidden to other characters. Moreover, only one of those scenes actually had dialogue! The raw emotion in the others really came through in her facial expressions and body language. She also isn’t there for window dressing, as she has her own action sequences that showcase quite well how much work she put into the physical aspects of the role. As for Ryan Reynolds, he definitely looked fit enough to wage war on the undead while still cracking jokes at a lightning pace. He isn’t given as much a chance to show off his combat skills in as many action sequences as Biel, but his dialogue definitely compensates for it. He may actually be funnier in this action/horror hybrid than he was in Van Wilder, a ‘pure’ comedy. As Goyer stated, he makes an interesting foil to Blade in that his demeanor and methods are the opposite: infused with humor and often light-hearted. I definitely have no worries if they decide to spin-off the Nightstalkers into their own franchise. The comedy elements, in my opinion, were extremely well done and the jokes hit their mark 9 times out of 10. However, it’s possible that some purists may take issue with the quantity of the jokes, citing that it takes away from the dark tone of the film. Speaking of which, Goyer definitely held up his promises of putting in more genuinely suspenseful moments and scares. For me, the ending felt a little flat, and I definitely hope they go with one of the other 2 allegedly filmed endings. In the end, I was much more satisfied with Trinity than Blade 2, since it managed to avoid the same mistakes: shoddy CGI and an awkward romantic subplot. This time around, the CGI was replaced by excellent fight choreography for all the heroes and an especially interesting swordfight. Going out on a limb, I’d say Trinity is as good if not better than the first flick, especially if they fix the ending and make a few tweaks to the sfx.
I barely mentioned the man himself: Blade! This certainly isn’t because he was bad. Far from it, he’s just as solid as ever, delivering a complete bad-ass who has unintentional moments of humor because he’s so menacing and offering the occasional wry remark. I’d say he’s less ‘jokey’ than in the second film, especially with Ryan Reynolds picking up the slack. Since his character, like Abigail, leans more towards the silent, stoic type, they really tend to express themselves physically in both their action sequences and facial expressions more than dialogue.
Also, the music was pretty good and there was blatant product placement for the iPod since you consistently see Abigail listening to one (not that it matters, since iPods are so cool). As Hannibal explains, she likes to make her own playlists on her spiffy Powerbook when she goes out vampire hunting. Thus, the soundtrack is diagetic in certain places (that is, both onstage and offstage – heard by both the characters and the audience). There were some nice techno, hip/hop tracks which I hope they keep. Since I don’t think the soundtrack was finished yet, my ear caught a few tunes lifted from the Matrix sequels/trailers. Overall, the soundtrack was excellent though, even at this early stage.
P.S. Interestingly enough, it certainly looked like a finished product. In spite of disclaimers prior to the screening, there was only one SFX shot that remained incomplete.
Source: Dyuta
