Biochemist Michael Morbius tries to cure himself of a rare blood disease, but he inadvertently infects himself with a form of vampirism instead.
You know the real term for a science-fiction film is just “science” being the center of attention. In rare times, the world sees how characters got their superpowers with a logical explanation shown in this superhero film. “Morbius” serves as another of Sony’s cinematic adventures after 2018’s “Venom,” following in the footsteps of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Director Daniel Espinosa is standing right in front to helm his first-time superhero film, the “Spider-Man” and “Venom” fans will never forget, featuring Oscar-winner Jared Leto in the titular role.
“Morbius” focuses on Dr. Michael Morbius (Leto), the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who, after suffering from a rare blood disease, finds the most dangerous cure to medically cure him after years of searching. The biggest conflict about this cure is that it turns him into a living-fighting monster with a strong form of transgenic vampirism, leading him to become a vicious vampire with unique super abilities.
Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”) receives the protagonist role as Dr. Michael Morbius, while Matt Smith receives his villainous role as Michael Morbius’ brother-turned-enemy Milo, who plans to use Michael’s dangerous cure to cure himself as well. The Michael Morbius character is an anti-hero in the film, harboring a similar personality to Tom Hardy in “Venom,” respectively. Leto did a good job in the film, though the problem is that the role itself is not very well written, based on the screenwriting duty from Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. They pushed the character too hard with no character development being studied. On the other hand, Matt Smith is the one who had the most fun with his role as he looks like he is having the time of his life.
Director Daniel Espinosa is calling all the shots in this movie. He encourages Jared Leto to take the role, whether he plays a hero or a villain, and advises Leto to go with the flow. For his direction, the story starts nicely and is well done. Still, later on, it becomes increasingly dry and empty as Espinosa has a bigger fish to fry on the focused Morbius character. He can amp his commitments in his direction, his ways of guiding Jared Leto, and both the CGI and the visual effects departments. However, he does a great job of showcasing who Morbius is and what his powers are going to be, reminding me of that 2005 film “Batman Begins.” According to both Espinosa and Leto, they knew that Morbius was another interesting character to be presented properly. Unfortunately, Sony again has surpassed themselves since they squandered so many opportunities with the Venom films.
Like the “Venom” movies, the visual effects and the CGI are great and all from the start but lazy in the second half of the film, most notably the final battle between Michael and Milo. However, the action sequences are fantastic and contributive enough to provide some decent amusement to viewers. My main reason someone is interested in this action-packed film is to understand how everything connects, given all the easter eggs and references from the trailers. Hard to say, don’t ever expect too much from those trailers because, by the time you watch this film, you will be highly disappointed. Even the ending is not worth the effort to understand anything on my honesty level, letting the post-credits scenes do all the work, which you need to stick around for that as they provide some minor cliffhangers for the next (possible) “Moribus” film and some future Marvel films, connecting the dots to MCU.
Also starring in the film is actress Adria Adjona who aids Jared Leto’s side as Michael Morbius’ girlfriend, Martine. She’s amazing at her job as she guides Michael, telling him what needs to be done and understanding what is right for him and his choices. The next supporting actor appearing is Jared Harris (“Mad Men”), who walks into the scene as Nicholas, a mentor and father figure for Morbius, and Milo, who runs a medical facility that looks after people with incurable diseases. And lastly, we have actors Al Madrigal (“The Way Back”) and Tyrese Gibson (“Fast & Furious” franchise) running around the set as Alberto Rodriguez and Simon Stroud, the two FBI agents who are hunting for Dr. Michael Morbius.
In a surprising ironic twist, actor Michael Keaton stands and delivers in this film, reprising his role as Adrian Toomes/The Vulture from MCU’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” Despite little screen time, his performance is just the anticipation of the inevitable for anybody who has seen the MCU’s Spider-Man films to see his plans in future films. This similar stint also happened to actor J.K. Simmons. He appeared as J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s trilogy and the MCU after making a cameo appearance in “Spider-Man: Far From Home” before getting his role extended in “No Way Home.”
Although “Morbius” is neither a bad nor a good movie, it just sits in the “mixed-to-average” section. Though I must admit, it’s a fun movie thanks to the performances from Jared Leto and the rest of the cast. It falls short on everything else as if this is another “Venom” movie that Espinosa wants to do in his whole career when it comes to crafting a subtle comic-book movie just like the MCU films. I respect the director’s ambition to make a simple superhero film as he has some good tastes in them. Running up to at least 104 minutes, I must caution you to think about this film before you decide to watch it.
In Theaters Friday, April 1st
