Harry Situation Reviews: Morbius
Morbius is the new superhero film by Marvel and Sony as part of their own Spider-Man Cinematic Universe. It stars Jared Leto as the titular vampiric hero, along with Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Tyreese Gibson, and Jared Harris.
The story centers on Dr. Michael Morbius, a brilliant scientist and physician who has been suffering from a rare blood disease since childhood. Desperate for a cure he begins to experiment on himself with the use of vampire bats. The experiment seems successful but not without some side effects. He has gained near supernatural abilities such as superhuman strength, flight, and echo location sense similar to a bat. However he begins to hunger for human blood, morphing him into a vampiric monstrosity. Can Morbius control his darker half or succumb to the monster within?
Morbius is an interesting character in Marvel comics. First starting off as an antagonist in The Amazing Spider-Man comics to gradually becoming an anti-hero later on, teaming up with the Avengers and the Midnight Sons. I was definitely excited for this while also remaining skeptical. I mean did we really need a Morbius movie? Regardless, we got one, and it was super disappointing.
The first—and probably only positive—thing about this movie are the performances. Jared Leto seemed like a good fit as Dr. Morbius. He did a better job in this role than as the Joker in Suicide Squad. At the very least he didn't do much of his standard weird-ass method acting, so that's good.
Rest of the cast do an exceptional job with what they're given. But I think the best out of the bunch was Matt Smith. He seemed to be having the time of his life portraying the villain in this movie. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by stating that. I mean it's pretty obvious that he was going to be the main antagonist.
Sadly a good cast and good performances cannot save a bland story. It's the typical superhero origin story we've witnessed for the past two decades and ultimately does nothing new with it. You know exactly what I'm talking about. The protagonist gets super powers. His rival gets similar powers. There's a big battle. The end. The only difference is there's no sky laser this time.
And you'd be surprised how fast all these cliches happen in this movie because it is so rushed. I think the movie was barely a half hour in and Morbius is already experimenting on himself with the cure to his disease. And then afterwards he goes on a killing spree. Speaking of, there are several elements that the movie seems to gloss over like with Morbius' childhood or that he won a Nobel prize or the fact that he created artificial blood, which that alone raises a number of questions unless you're familiar with the comics.
I also cannot help but notice that there were scenes in the trailers that were cut from the movie. For example, the scene where Morbius is talking to Jared Harris isn't in the final cut. The scene where Morbius is singing that famous Bach composition isn't in the final cut. Also, that scene where Michael Keaton's Vulture from the MCU says "What's up, doc?" isn't in the final cut either.
And let's not forget the CGI. Good god, the CGI. Now I'm not say it's terrible. In fact there are some that holds up pretty well, like Morbius' vampire face. Yet other times it looks very awkward and pretty bad. Like super obvious CGI bad. And it's not helped by the awkward slow motion they also incorporate into the movie too. I thought we were done with that shit in the early 2010s.
Ultimately what does this movie in is that it is boring. The action isn't exciting. The horror elements it incorporates are lackluster. The fights are nothing more than a CGI blur that you cannot make out what is happening.
Overall this movie was a letdown. Delay after delay, followed by a review embargo, was already a red flag that the studio had little faith. I don't know what more to say but don't watch it. It's bad. Not the worst Marvel film I've seen but it's up there.
Positives:
-Performances
-Solid cast
Negatives:
-Basic story
-Awkward CG & slow motion
-Rushed
-Boring
Final Grade: D
So those are my thoughts on Morbius. Have you seen it? What were your thoughts on it? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!
Best Quote:
Michael Morbius: "I've seen this movie before. The stranger in the hoodie kicks everybody's ass. I love that part."
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