Morbius, although based on a comic book character, lacks B-movie charm or thrilling horror or action elements that could engage audiences. And even with an established actor such as Leto playing his part admirably and Smith giving an impressive performance as both simpering dandy and mysterious Doctor Who villain, the film fails to engage its viewers fully.
Following his iconic turn as Joker in Suicide Squad, Leto struggles to bring Morbius alive as an engaging character; unfortunately the movie lacks enough depth and detail for that to occur effectively.
Synopsis
Jared Leto will find himself challenged in Morbius. The film follows biochemist Michael Morbius (Jared Leto), as he accidentally turns himself into a vampire when injecting himself with a serum created from human and vampire bat DNA in order to treat a rare blood disease – but as an unintended side effect develops an intense thirst for blood!
In movies such as Morbius, the tension between hero and villain should be at the core of its plot – something seen in Blade and more recently the Marvel Cinematic Universe as they have slowly replaced those tropes with more engaging narratives (for instance Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor). Unfortunately in Morbius this struggle to find balance is undermined by one bad decision after another that weaken its narrative impact.
This film feels rushed and disjointed, without a clear sense of stakes or urgency. Furthermore, its special effects (which rely heavily on digital makeup to give characters their grotesque features) are subpar; Morbius even looks similar to some of the early 2000s vampire prosthetics seen on Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
There is little energy in this film, even when trying to be scary. Matt Smith gives his usual Doctor Who bravado, while Adria Arjona gives an excellent stoic performance as Morbius’ colleague with feelings for him; unfortunately there’s no spark between them and their relationship never really progresses beyond being superficially romanticized.
Plot
Jared Leto takes Morbius seriously as a serious action movie character compared to Tom Hardy’s more cartoony Venom persona; unfortunately this results in a bland and forgettable performance that falls flat with audiences.
Morbius’ story begins in a Greek sanitarium where Emil Nikols (Jared Harris), generous director, gives Milo an adjoining bed in which to stay. Emil and Milo soon become close as both suffer from blood disorders; later Morbius goes on to work for Horizon Research Company which specialises in artificial blood production; though its products have saved many lives with devastating side-effects for some patients.
Morbius uses vampire bat DNA to perfect his formula and consumes the serum it produces without warning, turning him into a murderous killing machine with an appetite for human blood. Soon afterwards he becomes embroiled in the war between vampires and humans led by Kingpin (Venom’s Eddie Brock) and X-Man (Spider-Man 2’s Nate Grey).
Unfortunately, none of Morbius’ characters are written well enough to save it; Adria Arjona and Matt Smith are underutilized, while Tyrese Madrigal and Al Madrigal add little beyond some comic relief. Additionally, the movie rushes towards its climax in similar fashion to Venom.
Pietro Scalia’s editing is disjointed and inconsistent, making it hard for viewers to follow the plot. Jon Ekstrand’s score may be uninspiring but does provide some moments of musical tension. Morbius boasts some novel ideas as well as an impressive cast, yet remains disjointed and lackluster overall; viewers may roll their eyes when noting all the films it shamelessly copies from.
Characters
Sony’s Morbius adaptation fails to create any tangible character or connection to its source material, struggling to establish any identity for any of its characters and setting. Director Daniel Espinosa of Safetly Not Guaranteed fame along with writers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless attempts to establish tension between an ostensible hero and his sinister alter ego; unfortunately it’s difficult when their dialogue can barely be understood due to thick, distorted voices that often have difficulty being articulated clearly.
Jared Leto does a stellar job as Dr. Michael Morbius, an individual devoted to finding a cure for a rare blood disease that has taken his own life and the life of Milo (Matt Smith) over many years. When progress is finally made, test subjects become vulnerable against bats infected with the condition, giving them vampire powers; yet Milo transforms into an active villain who delights in going on bloody rampages throughout Manhattan.
Unfortunately, this movie loses its focus as it degenerates into overblown special effects and airborne vampire-on-vampire violence, with its plot featuring mind-boggling logical holes preventing viewers from empathizing with any hero or villain in sight.
Adria Arjona and Jared Harris also star, yet they barely do anything other than stand around and watch their co-stars run amok. Two throwaway police detectives whose character arcs consist of nothing more than dead-end work take up most of the film’s runtime; then there are the bats whose sole function seems to be running around town crashing into things with loud, startling crashes – which I assume are meant to be comical but come off more as sadistic than anything.
Performances
Morbius is an ambitious film that attempts to be many things at once: it’s both a thriller, horror flick and sci-fi sci-fi tale about superheroes gone bad. While its atmospheric setting and effective jump scares are outstanding features of Morbius, its pace can become slow due to plodding dialogue and uninvolved characters; most importantly though it suffers from being set up as the sequel it promises so badly.
Daniel Espinosa doesn’t help matters by shooting in dull grays and sickly greens, creating an uninspiring clinical look to his film. Additionally, creature designs lack imagination reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer prosthetics while action sequences often leave confusing vapor trails behind characters as they leap and swing across buildings or alleyways.
However, there are some positive elements, particularly Leto’s performance as Morbius: from vulnerable dying genius to struggling antihero is truly impressive. Adria Adjona ably supports Leto in playing his colleague while Matt Smith gives a convincing performance as Milo; the Jekyll counterpart to Morbius.
But overall, this film feels like a missed opportunity. Although its ideas are intriguing and its performances fine, its script is stagnant and lacks subtlety or depth; big ideas are explored without much nuance; moral implications go ignored – all hallmarks of quality cinema. Sony appears to have produced this movie to kickstart their Sinister Six franchise; yet its promise of more Morbius movies in future seems empty and disappointingly hollow – it’s such a waste as it had all of the ingredients necessary for greater success.
Final Words
Daniel Espinosa proved his talent at mixing genres in 2017’s sci-fi thriller Life, which boasted frequent nods to Alien. Morbius follows suit by seamlessly fusing science fiction and horror, using an impressive mix of visual effects, an intriguing soundtrack (including Nosferatu’s “Dracula’s Voyage across the Sea”), drab production design and surprising star power including Jared Leto and Matt Smith in its first half before devolving into generic “good guy versus bad guy” CGI action sequences.
Leto does a fine job delivering his lines and has some genuine chemistry with Smith; unfortunately, however, that cannot make up for the film being an overblown CGI mess with no redeeming qualities; although its script does contain some amusing asides.
Morbius fails on multiple fronts: its primary failing lies in its sheer uninterest or unworthiness to watch. While its film tries to grab audiences with tortured heroes, likable good guys, and an intimidating villain who could come straight out of a 1990s horror flick; these tropes have since been improved upon or replaced in other works such as Marvel Cinematic Universe films or even some DC offerings.
So the film never rose above being an entertainingly trashy cash-grab, with Adria Arjona and Tyrese Gibson wasting their considerable talents. Additionally, Sony had to go through multiple delays during COVID-19 so as to release it during a month where Venom 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home would take precedence over it.