Quick, name one film Wesley Snipes made between Blade and its new sequel, Blade: Trinity.
Aside from Blade II, that is.
Come on, think a little harder.
No idea?
Don’t feel too bad you don’t remember The Art of War (2000) or Undisputed (2002). Audiences no longer bother with Snipes unless he’s turning thirsty bloodsuckers into piles of ash.
Since 1998, Snipes hasn’t carved out a hit unless it has Blade in the title. And Snipes has only himself to blame.
True, Snipes fashioned himself a man of action long before Blade. Think U.S. Marshals, Passenger 57 and Rising Sun.
But before Blade, Snipes demonstrated a willingness to dabble in comedy, romance and drama. He seemed just as comfortable adjusting to life in a wheelchair (The Waterdance) as he did prancing around in high heels (To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar). He shined when collaborating with director Spike Lee (Jungle Fever, Mo’ Better Blues).
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Snipes’ Box Office Highs | |
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| 1. Blade II $82.3M | |||
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| 2. White Men Can’t Jump $76.2M |
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| 3. Blade $70M | |||
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| 4. Rising Sun $63.1M | |||
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| 5. Demolition Man $58M | |||
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Unfortunately, Snipes‘ post-Blade choices threaten to derail a once-promising career. With the exception of brief dramatic appearances in Maya Angelou’s Down in the Delta (1998) and ZigZag (2002), and wooing Sanaa Lathan in the HBO romance Disappearing Acts (2000), Snipes now gravitates toward roles in lazy thrillers lacking creative and commercial potential. Perhaps the outright rejection of 1997’s One Night Stand caused Snipes to panic.
The Art of War proved a lost cause, reaping a mediocre $30.2 million during the dog days of summer 2000. Mike Tyson wouldn’t get into the ring for the $12.7 million Undisputed earned in August 2002 after Dimension dumped the prison boxing drama.
Then there are the two busted theatricals that premiered on DVD.
Liberty Stands Still (2002), a Phone Booth-style hostage thriller, starred Snipes as a grieving father taking aim at gun manufacturers.
Unstoppable–filmed as Nine Lives–was produced by Undisputed‘s Avi Lerner, the patron saint of aging, fading action heroes. Lerner’s cornered the market in churning out cheap and shoddy direct-to-DVD disasters for Steven Seagal (Belly of the Beast, Out for a Kill) and Jean-Claude Van Damme (In Hell, Derailed).
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Perhaps Snipes thought he still commanded enough clout that Unstoppable–about an ex-CIA agent on the run after being injected with a hallucinogenic mind-controlling drug–would be just that in the box office. He was wrong: Unstoppable debuted last month on DVD.
Unfortunately, Snipes‘ post-Blade: Trinity projects don’t sound promising. He’s wrapped Chaos, about a bank heist, and Seven Seconds, about an art heist. He’s about to shoot John Doe, a sci-fi drama in which he plays a homeless man with superhuman powers.
Snipes has talked about doing Black Panther for years. He’s perfect to play the prince of a fictional African country who moonlights as a superhero. Comic-book adaptations are all the rage, and if Blade: Trinity rakes in the bucks, Snipes should leap into Black Panther as quickly as possible.
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Snipes’ Box Office Lows | |
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| 1. One Night Stand $2.6M | |||
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| 2. Boiling Point $10M | |||
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| 3. Undisputed $12.7M | |||
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| 4. Sugar Hill $18.2M | |||
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| 5. The Fan $18.6 | |||
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He also should seek out classier material, especially in roles that allow him to stretch. He’s shown he can hold his own against such Oscar winners as Sean Connery (Rising Sun) and Robert De Niro (The Fan). He can do comedy–witness 1992’s White Men Can’t Jump, his first breakout smash. He needs to follow in the footsteps of such contemporaries as Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson, and not pigeonhole himself as just another tough guy.
The Bottom Line
Snipes needs a hit more than ever, and Blade: Trinity is a license to print blood money-to the tune of $70-$80 million. What Snipes chooses to do next will determine whether he can escape Blade’s shadow. A few calculated risks, especially when it comes to drama and comedy, could make all the difference. Sticking to formulaic action films will surely lead straight to the direct-to-DVD hell that Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme cannot escape.
