He hates vampires, despite possessing all of their strengths and none of their weaknesses, but Blade has changed since the last film:

"He's grown comfortable with what he is," says Snipes, adding "He does what he does and has learned to enjoy it... He's a looser Blade but possesses the same ferocity."

The action starts, quite ironically, in a blood bank in Prague where we meet Jared Nomak (Luke Goss, formerly of Bros), whom we soon discover is a new kind of super-vampire.

You see, a rare mutation has occurred within the vampire community: "The Reaper" is so consumed with an insatiable bloodlust that they prey on other vampires as well as humans.

So it appears the regular blood-suckers are no longer at the top of the food chain and the Reapers' quickly expanding population threatens their very existence.

Blade, Whistler (Kristofferson - yes, he's back!) and an armoury expert named Scud (Reedus) are paid a friendly visit by two representatives of the Shadow Council, the governing body of vampires.

The council, including Asad (Danny John Jules - better known as Cat from Red Dwarf) reluctantly admits that they are in a dire situation and require Blade's assistance.

His job, should he choose to accept it, is to lead the "Bloodpack," an elite team of vampires, initially trained to take him out. Now they must work together to prevent the Reapers from wiping out the vampire and human populations.

The primary "bad guys" of the film are extremely well created. None of the trailers show off their most innovative feature, which will both shock and amaze you when you see it.

Similarly, the gore effects are quite astonishing, which is important when you consider the sheer quantity of gore in this film.

Blade's comic book beginnings are well realised and the film never takes itself too seriously but still remains gripping from start to finish.

The action scenes are choreographed exceptionally well and where the script may lack, the action more than makes up for.

What's great is that you don't need any prior knowledge of the subject matter to enjoy this film, you don't even need to have seen the first movie. Explanations are kept simple in what is basically a kick-ass action adventure.

Dominic Bloch