Wesley Snipes

In Blade (1998), Snipes can suggest that violence costs his hero something without interrupting the action to explain it. The sternness suits the part, but the sadness beneath it is what makes him worth following once the script runs short. We felt for Blade because Snipes allowed that vulnerability to show without asking for sympathy. This is an actor we value most when his physical control gives us something to notice beyond how well he fights.

Before Blade, the work was already broader than the action label suggests. After gaining notice in Spike Lee’s films, he broke through as Nino Brown in New Jack City (1991). White Men Can’t Jump (1992) made room for his comic timing, while Passenger 57 (1992) and Demolition Man (1993) established him as an action lead. In the latter, he played Simon Phoenix opposite Sylvester Stallone: the physical performer could be cast as the threat as readily as the hero.

Stephen Norrington’s Blade puts that physical ability to good use, building its horror around repeated confrontations that Snipes can sustain. David S. Goyer’s screenplay is less attentive to the man having them, leaving much of his vulnerability to the actor. We wanted more of it, and fewer occasions on which another fight stands in for developing the character. Stephen Dorff’s assured Deacon Frost and Kris Kristofferson’s welcome Whistler help keep the film from depending entirely on its lead. The thin story and unconvincing digital effects matter, but Snipes makes this a good evening for action-horror enthusiasts.

Two Blade sequels followed, then fewer theatrical releases from the mid-2000s and later supporting work, including Dolemite Is My Name (2019). The return as Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) gives him little to play beyond being recognised. It is a disappointing use of an actor who had kept the earlier film interesting even when its writing let him down. Start with Blade, if hard fights and plentiful blood are what the evening calls for.