This draft, dated March 26, 2003, is written by David S. Goyer. The "Blade" character is based on the Marvel Comics character.
By now, I'm sure you all know who Blade is: the half-human/half-vampire hybrid that is known by his blood-sucking prey as "The Daywalker." In his last two outings, Blade took on his mortal enemies and saved numerous human lives in the process. In "Blade III," the vampire collective has upped the ante in a big, big way. The stage is set for a massive vampire takeover and Blade finds himself hindered by the very people who need him the most: you.
(Warning: There are minor spoilers ahead)
The action kicks off early in the film as Blade hunts down some mobile vampires in a high-speed chase that makes "2 Fast 2 Furious" look like kids on trikes. Realizing that they’ll never bring down the Daywalker with sheer force, the vampire collective sets him up, forcing him out into the spotlight and making him public enemy number one. Now Blade has two enemies: the vampires and the FBI, who think he is a psychopathic serial killer. To make matters worse, the vampires are busy planning to take control of the world from the humans. To do this they’ve unleashed the true heir to the throne, the Grandfather of all vampires: Dracula.
For centuries Sleeping Ugly has slept dormant, apart from the thriving world above. Awakened by the collective, Dracula is amazed by the shape the world has taken in his absence. The first of his kind, Dracula’s blood is pure. He walks in daylight, is invulnerable to silver, and can take the shape of any man. Acquiring a modern name, Drake, the vampire king joins his children and all hell breaks loose.
Early on in the film, the FBI raids Blade’s safe house. Whistler catches gunfire and sacrifices himself to save the operation, blowing the safe house to bits. Blade is drugged and taken in for questioning, but it isn’t long before he figures out that the vampires are running the operation from inside. Just before they take him away to plan his untimely death, he is busted out by the loud, jovial, and obnoxious Hannibal King, part of a sleeper cell of vampire hunters, set in motion by Whistler’s death. Also on the team is Whistler’s niece, Abigail. With three others, calling themselves the Nightstalkers, the group hatches a plan to stop the vampires dead in their tracks, for good. Easier said than done when you’re facing a monster the likes of Dracula.
David S. Goyer wrote the first two "Blade" movies (as well as a "Crow" sequel, "Dark City" and "Freddy vs. Jason") and he adds on the role of director for this one as well. The script is action-packed and if Goyer can apply the same stylistic flair to the screen that Guillermo del Toro did, we have another bona fide hit on our hands. The story is light on drama and character development as you might expect it to be, but it is an entertaining read nonetheless. Goyer does fail to make use of the elements at hand though. He sets up an interesting angle by having the humans hunt Blade, but barely puts it to use. In a lot of ways, "Blade III" is just an amped up version of "Blade II," but not enough to cause complaint. Goyer does a good job of taking what worked in the other films and applying it to the new storyline. This time there is an urgency in Blades crusade. The vampires are planning a sort of apocalyptic takeover and the biggest, baddest vampire ever is on the loose. Blade must be gung-ho in his actions without running back into the hands of the corrupt authorities. Success means no more bloodsuckers. Failure means no more humans. Cue up the techno music. Its ass-kicking time.
Final Rating: A-