Blade: Trinity is a picture I was sort of looking forward to. I thought the first film was moderately enjoyable, but was really impressed by Guillermo del Toro's relentless follow-up. I suppose the big draw for me this time around was the idea that the writer of all three installments - comic book aficionado David S. Goyer -- would be taking the helm.

Blade: Trinity finds the sunglass wearing, vampire-slaying, bad-ass taking on the most legendary of all bloodsuckers, Dracula himself. The big D. The head honcho. The vampire to end all vampires. This time, Blade has more than a grizzled Abraham Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) by his side. Also along for the ride are Whistler's daughter Abigail (Jessica Biel), and a wisecracking tough guy (played by Ryan Reynolds) who used to be a bloodsucker himself.

Blade: Trinity has a host of interesting ideas. I like the notion that vampires just sort of live among us without the majority of the public knowing about their existence. They work alongside us, they live next to us, and they feed when necessary, but somehow, they are able to move around freely without their identities being revealed.

David S. Goyer has opted to up the funny-factor and it nearly ruins the movie. The dialogue is more horrific than any of the ghouls on screen, and most of the supporting performances (particularly a sultry Parker Posey) are laughably bad. And what's most puzzling about the entire experience, is that I couldn't get a handle on whether or not Goyer intended the film to be this silly or if it just happened by accident.

Wesley Snipes really appears bored this time around. He's tough, to be sure, and he works hard at what surely must have been a physically demanding role, but there's nothing particularly interesting about him in this film. In fact, with the introduction of new characters - known as Nightstalkers - Blade almost appears to be a background character in this installment.

Kriss Kristofferson is...well...Kriss Kristofferson. I suppose I wasn't as annoyed by him in this one as much as I was in the first two pictures, but it should be noted that he doesn't get as much screen time in Blade: Trinity.

Jessica Biel is stunningly attractive and she looks good running around kicking ass, but this isn't what you'd call a well drawn character. I know this is just a standard action movie, but it would have been nice if I cared about her cause, and I really didn't.

Ryan Reynolds, whom I'm convinced has cribbed most of his persona from Jason Lee, definitely has the most fun time here as smartass tough guy Hannibal King, and while I did tire a bit of his constant (and somewhat labored) wisecracking, I applaud that he lends endless energy to the role. I also have to give him props for beefing up in a way that would make Fight Club's Tyler Durden proud.

Independent film darling Parker Posey (whom I usually quite enjoy) shows up as a vampire vixen who unleashes Dracula from his slumber so that he might aid the entire vampire race in ridding the world of Blade - once and for all. I enjoyed Posey's body movement, but once she opens her mouth, the role is nearly spoiled.

Dominic Purcell is completely boring as the lord of all vampires. That sort of sensual mystique that one might associate with Dracula is nowhere to be found. But at least he doesn't play the role as a flamboyant sissy boy like Richard Roxburgh did in Van Helsing. Still, I yearn for a Dracula of Bela Lugosi or Gary Oldman's caliber. Those fine actors played truly memorable Draculas.

I wouldn't say that Goyer has a distinct visual style in terms of his direction. Not as much as Stephen Norrington or Guillermo del Toro. His Blade universe seems to be assembled of parts from the first two movies. His choice of villain is a good one on paper, but it doesn't translate to the screen. The big D in Blade: Trinity is a lumbering blank and doesn't really come alive until he reveals his true form. At that point, however, it's an effects show.

The visual effects are fine, but again, there isn't anything here that we didn't see in the first two movies. Vampires disintegrating and turning to ash, bloodsuckers with a lower jaw structure that resembles that of a Predator etc. The usual stuff.

Goyer's action scenes flow nicely, but the rest of the picture is fairly sloppy. There are a couple of dorky training montage scenes, pointless and intrusive slow motion shots and a lot of really poor editing.

I really wanted to love this movie. Particularly after seeing David S. Goyer speak at Comic-Con earlier this year. He's a really engaging guy and it's clear that he has great passion for comic books, but perhaps he got in over his head when taking on Blade as a directing gig. He just didn't bring anything new to the table, but worse, his latest entry in the series plays like high camp, and not in good way. It lacks the apocalyptic approach of the original, and the relentlessness and surprising dramatic touch of part 2. What's left is a sub-standard action movie with cheesy dialogue and mediocre performances. Still, I have all the faith in the world that Goyer will rebound with Batman Begins, which he wrote. The Christopher Nolan directed super hero film opens in about six months. June can't come soon enough.