Morbius Review

Sony’s Spider-Man universe continues to expand outside of the Spider-Man/Venom/Carnage territory with the addition of another character in the form of Jared Leto’s Morbius. Initially, I wasn’t too excited about this film because I felt that no matter what the movie did to differentiate itself, critics would compare it to Blade. I didn’t think enough people would care about or know the Morbus character enough to be interested in the movie. My fears were realized as Morbius became a movie that took itself too seriously and strung a straightforward story out far too long.

Story

Dr. Michael Morbius is introduced to the audience as a Nobel prize winner with a crippling blood disease that he vows to cure. He and his company, Horizon, developed artificial blood in a breakthrough that saves countless lives. He works alongside his eventual love interest in the film, Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona), to help find a cure for himself and his ailing friend Milo, to whom we’re introduced in a lengthy origin scene. Morbius ends up splicing bat DNA with his own, becoming a modern-day vampire who becomes an unhinged killing machine in his thirst for fresh blood.

Too Much Context

This probably sounds like a decent start to the movie, but the origin story went on for far too long. It felt like it was going through the motions. This was too much for a story that could be told in a few minutes. There are many superheroes and villains like Morbius, and I didn’t feel that the movie did a good job of differentiating Morbius from the others. Instead, we got a bunch of backstories about his friendship with Milo (Matt Smith) and his blood disease that were pretty easy to understand without beating it to death. Conversely, the rest of the movie felt like they sped through any explanation of anything else. This left me feeling apathetic toward the film, as my interest began to wane.

Jared Leto and Matt Smith

Jared Leto did a commendable job portraying Morbius with the material at his disposal. He portrayed a character who was doing everything in his power to not only give himself a chance at an everyday life, but also to help his friend Milo. Morbius had other interactions with Martine and his childhood doctor, but I felt they were very shallow and didn’t explore them as much as I thought they should have. They served as fodder for the eventual conflict between Milo and Morbius. Matt Smith steals the show as the villainous Milo, who has no remorse for the repercussions his newfound vampirism causes to innocent people around him. He’s happy to be in good health despite being a ravenous killer. His transition from one of the most likable characters to the film’s main villain was the movie’s most compelling aspect. He provided a stark contrast to Leto’s dreary personality.

Too Little, Too Late

The big fight scene between these two characters was easily supposed to be the film’s centerpiece, but I couldn’t bring myself to care that much about it. The battle wasn’t awe-inspiring in any way. It was relatively quick and anti-climactic. The effects were decent enough, but it wasn’t anything we hadn’t seen dozens of times. It felt very cookie-cutter, and I couldn’t get past that. The filmmakers could have told the story of this entire film in 10 minutes, resulting in a more engaging narrative, yet we spend an hour and 44 minutes on something with little substance.

Final Thoughts

I have some hope for the Morbius character in the future. It might be easier now that we have the origin story out of the way. This isn’t the first character that has had a lousy origin movie. Things can indeed be salvaged from a character standpoint. If the post-credits scene with The Vulture is any indication, we may see Morbius as part of The Sinister Six in more of a supporting role. This might fit this character better. I don’t think it has the legs to carry standalone movies, and this film proved that.

Overall, Morbius would have been better served as part of a bigger movie than trying to slog through a simple story for almost 2 hours that was predictable and boring for the vast majority. It’s as simple as that. Don’t waste your time. Reading a recap will serve you just as well as sitting in the theater for 2 hours.