Morbius

Starring: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Al Madrigal, Michael Keaton, Zaris-Angel Hator
Directed by: Daniel Espinosa
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror
2022

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) tries to find a cure for his rare blood condition, but instead inadvertently turns himself into a powerful vampire.

Review:

Tim: I have to admit, like much of the internet, I laughed and celebrated at Morbius' failure. I'm not usually gleeful at things like this, but Sony continues to move forward with their awful Spider-Man Universe, making not-good movies and decreasing the overall quality of the Marvel brand. This is the latest poorly written, unsatisfying film, and they seem unable or unwilling to learn from it. So, the fact that this movie was a notorious box office failure and another mark against Sony here made me happy. No one was asking for a Morbius movie.

Now, here's the funny thing- this horrible box office failure isn't actually a bad movie. Sure, it's lackluster, but it's actually a decent film. "Decent" isn't good enough, especially with what the MCU has put out for over a decade. This movie felt like a throwback to twenty years ago, a throwaway comic movie made by people who don't understand or appreciate the source material. But, this notorious failure isn't as bad as people made it out to be.

Morbius is a fairly cool character. Vampires are always fascinating and I appreciated the scientific origin of this character. Morbius is definitely an antihero in the comics and this movie works to walk that line. The use of his powers, the opposing antagonist, none of it is really bad. It's just average. Morbius' tragic story makes for a compelling narrative. You think about a brilliant but broken man, whose intelligence and ambition lead him to the very thing that destroys his life. In search of a cure, he transforms into a monster. That's a compelling narrative. Unfortunately, the movie feels uninspired, predictable. The visual effects are decent, but there's no standout action sequences. It's the kind of film that never fully explains why we should care or become invested in anything. It's okay, occasionally entertaining, but ultimately, a disappointment.

Jared Leto is fine as Michael Morbius, although I have to admit, I was annoyed by some of the stories from the film. His "method" acting required him to stay in character, and slowed production down. It felt absurd to read these stories about the lengths Leto went to for a decent performance in a decent movie. It made me like Leto even less. I don't have a lot of complaints about his actual performance, though. It's perfectly fine. I did like Matt Smith as the film's main antagonist. He does feel a bit typecast these days, although a role like this definitely plays to his strengths. I've seen Smith appear much better than here- the script limits his ability to deliver, undoubtedly. But it was fun to see Leto and Smith together. Their pairing is a good one. I also loved seeing Adria Arjona. She's impressive here, in a small role. Her chemistry with Leto, the energy she brings to the role- they are definitely big plusses for this film. Arjona certainly makes this movie better. I also loved seeing Jared Harris here. Harris is a great actor and I'm always happy to see him. I wish the movie around him was better, but he does good work. Tyrese Gibson felt out-of-place, although I'm not sure what kind of movie actually fits him. He was fine, but unremarkable. Al Madrigal has a few nice moments. Seeing Michael Keaton felt forced and further evidence that Sony doesn't quite know what they are doing here.

The story of Morbius is fine, but a bit bland. It's an origin story and mostly moves through the motions. The visuals are occasionally interesting, but the entire effort feels B-level. Director Daniel Espinosa does an average job, likely hampered by a bad script. He keeps the action moving and the 1 hour, 44 minute runtime doesn't feel too long. This film made $73 million at the domestic box office, a very bad result. Marvel's The Marvels was another box office bomb, and that clocked in at $84 million and was significantly better than this film.

Shockingly, I didn't hate Morbius. It feels about on par with Sony's Venom movies- they aren't exactly bad, but they are so uninspiring and forgettable. It feels like Sony put so much effort into something that is far worse than every single MCU movie. That's still quite bad and the MCU's success lays out a terrific blueprint for delivering effective movies. Even with 30+ examples, Sony can't figure it out. I'm glad this movie bombed and while it won't usher in the end of the Sony Spider-Man Universe, it's further proof they have no idea how to build a compelling series.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Madame Web