Once again following on from Venom and Venom 2, Sony presents another addition to its evolving Spider-Man universe with Morbius. Jared Leto plays Michael Morbius – an ex-biochemist turned blood-hungry vampire!
He’s an unimpressive CGI monster who never really wows or scares us, with its teeth-baring ghoulishness appearing less cartoony than other roles but remaining dull and lifeless.
Jared Leto is a badass
Jared Leto returns after playing Joker in Suicide Squad and founding Thirty Seconds to Mars to play another key role as vampire Morbius. This film tells the story of a biochemist trying to treat himself of blood disease who accidentally contracts vampirism; becoming one grants strength and speed but craves blood. Leto proves to be a compelling protagonist Michael Morbius while the movie itself falls flat.
Morbius is an underwhelming attempt by Sony to remind audiences that they now own the rights to Spider-Man villains like Morbius, and are determined to use them. Unfortunately, it lacks real stakes or characters worth caring about; and attempts at adding some form of post-credit scene aimed at connecting it into Marvel universe fail miserably.
Given its promising start, it’s disappointing that this story ends up so disjointed and confusing. Without all of the world-building and family-friendly tentpole-dom, this could have been an exciting sci-fi demon thriller!
Instead, it attempts to be an action flick with some striking visuals and decent jump scares, though its credibility often gets stretched in regards to science and motivation leaps as well as Leto and Martine’s romance being rather dull. Special effects were also disappointingly lacking with vampire prosthetics looking like poor copies from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Even with stellar performances by Leto and Smith, this film remains disappointingly disappointing; failing to deliver on its promise of dark and gritty reinvention of genre films. Furthermore, its derivative nature only compounds this issue further.
Leto is an accomplished actor, so it’s disheartening to see him waste his talents on such uninspiring vampire flicks. We hope that this is his last appearance in such a role and that he can return to what made him popular – giving depth and complexity to complex characters.
The visuals are great
Morbius stands out with its striking dark lighting and stylized action scenes, as well as its stylish cinematography and striking soundtrack, all adding up to create its unique style. Furthermore, Jared Leto stands out as a surprising leading actor. However, while it features some shocking bloodshed scenes, its pace may be fast while plot becomes repetitive over time.
Morbius tells the tale of a scientist suffering from an incurable blood disease who finds a solution by injecting himself with bat DNA. Unfortunately, his “cure” transforms him into an insatiable vampire who must fight back to gain control of his life before it’s too late. Unfortunately, its primary weakness lies in its clumsy script filled with predictable beats and two-dimensional characters; additionally its excessive use of shaky camerawork and close-ups is disorienting and distracting.
While Morbius boasts impressive visuals, they’re not enough to save this disappointing movie. Though there are some exciting ideas here that could potentially work well, they remain underdeveloped despite having such an esteemed cast and bearing the Marvel name. It is hard to see anyone enjoying such an uninspiring production as much as one could hope they might.
Sony and Marvel’s attempts to maximize the characters they still own has been mixed thus far, with some films (Venom) faring better than others (Elektra). Unfortunately, this toothless and spineless comic book adaptation may be their weakest effort yet; Jared Leto may lead a charismatic cast but the film remains so dull and disinteresting that viewers will likely abandon it before the credits roll.
The story is a mess
Morbius offers promise as an unconventional take on the vampire/superhero genre; unfortunately it falls victim to its genre’s traps. There’s a predictable plot, no character development or risk-taking and its attempts at introducing its villain into an expansive universe are awkward and ineffective; even trying something as basic as mid-credits scenes (something Marvel has masterfully executed) isn’t enough to save this soul-crushing mess from itself.
Jared Leto excels as the protagonist, an eccentric scientist attempting to cure an uncommon blood disorder; unfortunately, director Daniel Espinosa’s script and direction do not allow for much of his talent to shine through; unfortunately the film attempts to blend horror elements with tragic melodrama; there are a few jump scares but otherwise nothing of note occurs here.
This film suffers from an uninteresting protagonist and late villain introduction; an uncertain unironic tone to its screenplay; shrill soundtrack; and subpar CGI. Still, the movie does have some memorable fight scenes which don’t compensate for subpar performances and an uneven pace.
Morbius is ultimately a paint-by-numbers attempt by Sony to remind audiences that they own the rights to these Spider-Man villains – and are intending to use them. No surprise then that Rotten Tomatoes has given it such an dismal score with only 50% of reviewers giving positive ratings for it.
The story of a biochemist accidentally infected by vampirism has become overdone in film, starting with Wesley Snipes in Blade. Unfortunately, Blade suffers from too many characters who simply talk and fight – making it hard for viewers to care about any individual character.
The acting is mediocre
Morbius only accomplishes one thing worth noting, which is to confirm Jared Leto as an accomplished actor – however even this talented performer cannot save this soul-crushing project. Morbius is an overlong and tediously paced thriller without purpose or energy, featuring sleepwalking actors delivering dry lines while the plot exposition occurs with no sense of excitement.
The script appears to have been produced by an automated machine which just scanned through comic book source material, with Leto’s one-note character arc making no sense and Milo and Leto never really gelling together as characters – something more than simply coin flips should have happened that caused them to become bitter enemies; there must have been something deeper that demonstrated an everlasting love between two friends who have always known one another.
It is unfortunate that this movie provides such little insight into the nature of evil or good and bad; yet its plot demands deeper consideration of these issues, but instead is mostly ignored for action sequences with only mild entertainment value; effects are disappointing; one exception being where Morbius flies through a city leaving behind him a trail of smoke which was quite dramatic.
This movie is an absolute flop, yet not as entertainingly bad as Venom films. Instead, it is more depressing, serving as a reminder that comic book genre has become so oversaturated that its characters no longer deserve the creative exploration they deserve. We hope the studio realizes they must inject some zest and vitality back into superhero films so as not to make them generic and forgettable.