Morbius

Starring: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Al Madrigal

Director: Daniel Espinosa

Dr Michael Morbius (Leto) has been searching his entire life for a cure to the rare blood disorder he has had since birth. His best friend Milo (Smith), who also suffers from the same disease, bankrolls Morbius' experiments. With the help of Dr. Bancroft (Arjona), Morbius tries his latest experiment creating a serum that combines human DNA with a bat’s. The serum is a success and Morbius administers the serum to himself with unforeseen consequences. While his disorder is cured, he finds he needs blood to survive and soon becomes a vampire. As he tries to adjust to his new situation, Morbius discovers the line between good and evil as he must keep the serum safe and try to escape the clutches of two detectives (Gibson, Madrigal) who want to arrest the good doctor for murder.

I'm amazed this movie finally saw the light of day. Originally set for release in July of 2020, the film was pushed until March of 2021 due to the pandemic. With the pandemic still present, the film was pushed until January of this year before being moved a final time to April of this year. Many were speculating this final release date shuffle was for reshoots to add in characters from Spider-Man: No Way Home. While there is a cameo from that universe, it’s not the one anyone is really hoping for (and was spoiled in the trailers). I have a far simpler reason: the movie is bad and Sony didn't want it to affect the success they were having from Spider-Man: No Way Home.

I don't even know where to begin with this movie. It's disappointing on many levels but the first that I want to mention is that this should have been rated R. There are many shots that lead me to believe it was shot for it to be Rated R and everyone changed their mind in post. This is most obvious when the sound effects don't match with what is happening on screen, like when someone is slashed and you hear the effect but there is no blood. Also, the blood Morbius drinks is a weird blue color due to it being synthetic. There is no other reason for this other than to secure the rating.

The movie also feels incredibly rushed. I appreciate a movie not wanting to bloat its length but I could have used a lot more set up. Nothing feels set up properly, especially the villain’s motivation. Morbius' whole transformation happens quite quickly, from his success to his understanding of his new abilities. His relationship with Dr. Bancroft is confusing and a decision her character makes towards the end doesn't make a lick of sense. It just jumps from scene to scene with no rhyme or reason and doesn't do enough to draw you into the events happening on screen.

While these elements aren't necessarily a death knell to my enjoyment of a movie, the action scenes should be entertaining enough, right? Unfortunately, the action is blanketed in a darkness that makes it very hard to see what is happening in a lot of scenes. When we are treated to action in daylight, such as one where Morbius fights the villain in a train station, we are unfortunately graced to poor special effects and generic and uninspired action.

I am not the biggest Jared Leto fan and I can't get into his over the top method acting. However, he is surprisingly very subdued here and is honestly the least of the movie's issues. Matt Smith honestly looks like he is having the time of his life and gets a surprisingly funny scene dancing in front of some mirrors. At least he knows what type of movie he is in. I actually liked Arjona in the movie but she is underused and underdeveloped.

Delays aren't necessarily a death sentence for a movie but Morbius fails on multiple levels. Even without the delays I didn't have high hopes but I love it when a movie surprises me. Unfortunately, the big screen debut of Dr. Michael Morbius can only be labeled a disappointment.

Grade: D