“Blade” The great success of the Marvel movie started from here!

And in the 21st century, Blade is back!

The composition of the confrontation between Blade and the villain Frost is also interesting. Blade is black, muscular, and a warrior-like character with a tragic side, while Frost, on the other hand, is white, stylish, and a smart cynic. Except for being a vampire, he looks like a modern snobbish young man. Even after Stephen Dorff, who plays the role, came into the limelight with his starring role in `` Backbeat '' (1994), he avoided flashy Hollywood entertainment works and mainly worked in independent films. Still, after reading the script for ``Blade,'' he felt that it was different from the action movies he had seen before, and decided to star in it.

The scene shot on Dorff's first day of filming is halfway through the film, when he takes a girl hostage in a downtown park and confronts Blade for the first time. Dorff, who was nervous as it was his first time participating in filming, admitted that he did not perform well. As a producer, Snipes also gave his opinion, which caused their relationship to become a little awkward. But this works. There is no scene where they appear together until the climactic confrontation. From then on, each of them proceeded to shoot their own scenes without meeting each other, and in the final confrontation scene, they acted in a state of heightened tension, which was effective in heightening the tension of the movie. .

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There's a hint of a 1970s Blaxploitation film about a black hero fighting a white villain. However, this work is based on comics and is an entertainment depicting a surreal world. Blade's exploits are thrilling, but they are not just about good and punishing evil.Although the film has a reality that goes beyond the boundaries of conventional vampire movies, the action is so crazy that it is unrealistic. The reason ``Blade'' was able to be such a success is because these elements were so well intertwined.

The production cost of 45 million dollars is lower than the 120 million dollar budget of the American comic book movie `` Batman& Robin Mr. Freeze Strikes Back '' (1997) released the previous year, but ``Blade'' is different from that movie. Only the North American box office revenue recorded a positive profit. Due to its popularity, it was made into a series, with the second installment directed by Guillermo del Toro, who was then on the market, in 2002, and the third installment directed by Goyer, the creator of the film, in 2004.

On the other hand, Marvel gained momentum from the success of ``Blade'' and released `` X-Men '' in 2000 and `` Spider-Man '' in 2002, which were huge successes. Then, in 2008, the memorable first MCU film `` Iron Man '' was created, and from there it carved out a spectacular history that continues with `` The Avengers '' and others. By the way, in 2024, a new Blade story is scheduled to be produced as part of the MCU, starring Mahershala Ali from Green Book, which makes me very happy. I feel a little emotional that the history of Marvel movies has come full circle after a quarter of a century.

Text: Manabu Soma

After working as an information magazine editor, became a freelance writer. He writes articles and reviews for magazines such as ``SCREEN,'' ``DVD & Video Distribution,'' and ``Cinema Square,'' as well as theater pamphlets and the movie site ``Cinema Today.'' Currently appearing on Star Channel "GO! Theater". I host club events as a hobby.

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