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The Dark Hero
Tuesday, October 6, 1998 6:56 PM

Wesley Snipes has taken a lot of flak from critics recently for his performance in Blade. He's accused of being a zombie, being stone-faced, not acting, etc. Apparently, these critics are so wrapped up in their personal opinion of how a character should be played, they don't bother to think about whether it's the actor or the character. Wesley Snipes is a fairly good actor, which you can see in many of his other films. The problem is that some people don't understand the concept of the "Dark Hero", which Blade personifies.

The Dark Hero is a popular comic book concept... in fact, sometimes a little too popular. They're found occasionally in movies, but as is the case with Blade, "movie critics" don't seem too fond of the character type. Batman is a well-known example of a Dark Hero; his role in the movies was considerably softened. The cartoon series is truer to the character. The Dark Hero should not be confused with the Antihero... In fact, I'm not sure if the Antihero even exists distinct from the Supervillain. The only difference I can see is that the Antihero is the main character, while the Supervillain is nothing without a hero to define him.

The Supervillain's (or Antihero's) actions are fueled by personal gain, with no regard for morality. The Dark Hero performs deeds that are almost exclusively beneficial in nature, but born of the darker emotions of power: hatred, vengeance. While he knows the difference between good and evil, his character is Machiavellian in nature... the ends justify the means. As long as the outcome leads to the greater good in the end (in the Dark Hero's opinion, anyway). Fueled by hatred or vengeance, there is no time or place for the more pleasant feelings. You can't expect Dark Heroes to act like normal people... because they don't. And so you can't judge their portrayal according to normal standards, because they don't apply.

Speaking of movies, I saw Ronin last night. I'd like to send a message to Hollywood: Get a clue. You guys need to stop thinking that you can just throw computer effects around and we won't know. In Ronin, we get treated to computer generated smoke from squealing tires... at least, I think they were computer generated. They may have been drawn in white crayon based on the quality. Also, we get to see the wall through a bullet hole in some guy's head. The wall. Straight through his head, right between the eyes. That's right, the wall. I mean, come on. It's not that it was a bad movie, I'm just sick of producers who think the audience is brain dead. Well, that's not fair, because Ronin was hardly a simplistic movie, but these people need to realize that, yes, we do notice these things, and they detract from the whole experience. (As an aside, try not to miss the first several minutes of the movie, like we did.)

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