There are certain roles that define a successful actor's career. Irrespective of how many roles he's ever played, there's usually just one character that transforms him into a household name, and secures his place in our collective memory.
For Wesley Snipes it was, and forever will be, Blade. He was literally built for the iconic role of vigilante vampire killer - tattoos, samurai sword and razor-sharp threads included...
Snipes had many headlining roles before that, but Blade clearly defined him, so much so that you could never imagine anyone else playing the part (as clearly demonstrated by the highly forgettable mini-series spin-off).
The problem was that after Blades 1, 2 and 3, what else could Snipes do with the role, and where else could he go?
Well as it happened, it turned out to be jail... Tax evasion doesn't pay, and Snipes learned that the hard way.
While he did his time, all thoughts of Blade were put on the backburner. Nevertheless the vampire genre continued to draw the crowds to the movies, even though the plethora of Blade-like characters on offer were just poor imitations of the original.
But now Wesley Snipes is back, and he's already made a comeback on the big screen in a number of supporting roles.
But us diehard Blade fans are now waiting for Snipes to sink his teeth into a part that suits his brooding demeanor.
As yet, no talks of any Blade sequels, but the other day I chanced upon a trailer for an upcoming movie called Gallow Walkers... starring no less than Wesley Snipes as a Wild West gunslinger hunting down a plague of evil undead... Cool!
I'd call it Cowboy Blade or something similar... the role looks that familiar...
Unfortunately it looks more like Straight-to-DVD material - but whatever said and done, its good to have Snipes back where he belongs.
And hopefully this'll be a taste of more gory good things to come...
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