Movie: “Morbius”
Release Date: April 1, 2022
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes
Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror
Rating: D
Editor's note: The following review contains spoilers for "Morbius".
In a saturated superhero industry of immediate classics, “Morbius” is generally a bad movie, leaving the audience with more questions than answers.
Because the film faced multiple production issues, it was delayed six times before making its theatrical debut last Friday. As a result, the plot felt lifeless and uninteresting.
The plot centers around Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) – a Nobel Prize-winning doctor suffering from an unnamed rare blood disease. Right away, Morbius’ motivations are made clear, as he tries to find a cure that would not only help him, but his childhood friend Milo (Matt Smith) as well.
With his time running out, Morbius takes a chance and transforms into a blood-thirsty vampire. When he wants to shut down the experiment, Milo shows interest in it, forcing Morbius to face the consequences of what he has created.
This felt like a film that didn’t know what it wanted to be. The screenplay from Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless teetered between being an adventure story with an anti-hero origin story or a complete horror film.
With less than a two-hour runtime, there was a lot left to be desired, as many plot points were rushed. It’s a predictable storyline with little drama and leads up to an uninspiring friends-turned-enemies battle, making the ending feel unsatisfying.
As the final fight between Morbius and Milo progresses, the reliance on lackluster CGI becomes more apparent. It’s hard to follow what’s going on as the battle consists of purely blurred movements. It’s a shame the special effects weren’t good because they overshadowed what could’ve been a memorable fight.
In a pair of post-credits scene, Morbius comes face-to-face with Adrian Toomes, otherwise known as Vulture (Michael Keaton). After being released from prison, Toomes tells Morbius they should gather “a bunch of guys like us” to team up and “do some good.” Even though he doesn’t blatantly say it, Toomes is referring to the Sinister Six eventually joining forces.
The Sinister Six are a group of villains that first appeared in Marvel Comics’ “The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1” in 1964. The group primarily consists of Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Electro, Mysterio, Sandman and Kraven the Hunter.
While this could be an interesting storyline for future films, there’s one issue: Toomes magically appearing in the Sony-verse doesn’t make any sense.
Toomes, who at the end of 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” had chosen to protect Spider-Man’s secret identity as Peter Parker, is now trying to build a team to take him down.
There’s no clear explanation for how this is happening, as even Toomes himself says “I’m not sure how I got here.” Unfortunately, Keaton’s last-minute appearance in this film only takes away from his phenomenal portrayal of the character in Homecoming.
Additionally, Morbius has shown no inclination of becoming a villain, as throughout the entire film, he emphasized using synthetic blood rather than harming a single person. The doctor even goes to the lengths of creating a poison to use on himself once he handles Milo to prevent the further hunting of humans.
Because of this, it’s hard to believe he would take Toomes’ side and join this villainous group.
Regardless, this won’t be the last time we see Leto’s character, as Sony is heading towards a future Sinister Six project.