“Morbius” Review
Jared Leto stars as Michael Morbius, a scientist affected by vampirism, in “Morbius,” based on the Marvel Comics anti-hero.
I honestly feel bad for Jared Leto. Despite being a great, Academy Award winning actor, he hasn’t had much luck in comic book films. His Joker in “Suicide Squad” was barely in the film and now he’s in a film as bland and uninteresting as “Morbius.” As Sony’s third entry in their Spider-Man Universe, alongside “Venom” and “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” this film proves that this franchise either needs a new direction or needs the plug pulled.
Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) is a scientist suffering from a rare blood disease and who tries to help others with similar conditions. His work has been saving countless lives but not his own. When he undergoes an experimental treatment, splicing human DNA with that of vampire bats, he begins to transform into a living vampire who has all of the hunger for blood but none of the traditional weaknesses. As he’s trying to control his urge to consume blood, his brother Milo (Matt Smith), who’s also suffering from the same disease, takes Micheal’s serum and becomes a murderer that Michael must defeat.
What is so tragic about this film is that its second act is actually well-done. Once Michael gets his powers and studies them, it’s actually fascinating. The internal struggle Michael feels between staying alive and consuming blood is handled well and Jared Leto gives a solid performance. It’s the film’s beginning and ending that are terrible.
There is not a lot of time given to showing Michael before the transformation and the scenes with him and Milo as children are laughable. It’s as if the film is so excited to get to the vampire that it forgets to show us why we’re supposed to care.
As for the ending, the climax is as uneventful as “Venom: Let There Be Carnage.” There’s not a ton of weight to it and, while the performances of Leto and Smith are good, nothing makes it a worthy conclusion to the story.
Director Daniel Espinosa does a good job handling the action sequences and, despite being a dark film with heavy shadows, I can see what’s going on. That may seem like a low bar to clear but 2016’s “Suicide Squad” failed to leap that hurdle. “Morbius” also has some pretty decent effects. I love the way these vampires look and I love how they move with a bright color following them. When Michael is wearing his awesome coat and he flies, there’s elements of purple that follow him which look cool.
Even though it’s trying to market itself as a horror film, “Morbius” does fall flat in that department. The film has one scene that could be really scary. It’s where someone is in a hallway with motion lights and they see that the lights towards the end of the hallway are starting to light up. Eventually you can see a figure moving quickly and it’s a creepy scene that goes for a cheap jump scare way too early.
“Morbius” needed more time to focus on its horror elements and it certainly could have pushed the PG-13 rating a bit more. Like “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” I think this film would have worked better if it was rated R. However, there are ways to keep things in the shadows and be gruesome while also being PG-13.
I actually like the idea for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe: a franchise of films focusing on villains and anti-heroes from Spider-Man comics with a possibility of crossing over to the MCU. However, after a decent opening and two big misses, I have virtually lost all faith in Sony’s handling of this franchise.
“Morbius” feels like a soulless studio film posing as something edgy and new and it wastes the time and energy of a good director, good actors and all the filmmakers.
