After much delay and deliberation, Morbius is finally here for die-hard comic book fans to feast on. But does the troubled villain flick live up to expectations? In a word, no.
Originally scheduled for release in the summer of 2020, fans of the titular Marvel Comics anti-hero would have to wait nearly two years for his big-screen debut. The initial hype for the film came about due to the rumoured connectivity to the MCU Spider-Man films, with Morbius the Living Vampire being a well-known adversary of the web-slinger. With the first trailers hinting at a connection, the interest in seeing where this film could take audiences was palpable. That idea, coupled with the ‘multiverse’ concept introduced in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), is what this movie seemed to be built upon, and now that it’s here, that is, unfortunately, the case.
It is unfortunate because that is the only thing this film has going for it; its future potential to be interconnected with a much better film universe. Other than that, Morbius has no redeeming qualities. From the beginning of the film, it is clear that director Daniel Espinosa had absolutely no clear vision of what he wanted to do with the character. The character of Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) is as bland and derivative as they come. He is a dying scientist with a brilliant clinical mind who uses bizarre methods to cure himself but ultimately becomes a terrifying creature. Have we not seen this a thousand times before and done much better than this?
Jared Leto clearly has no interest in the character, which shows in his listless performance. He brings absolutely no charm or exciting qualities to the role, and after a while, it makes one yearn for a lead who actually cares about the character they are portraying. For as dull and cliche as this movie may be, it could have been somewhat saved by an actor who really goes for it. If for nothing else, it would have made for more interesting viewing during the non-action scenes.
Speaking of which, the CGI here is half baked at best. The effects of Leto as the living vampire range from slightly impressive to, at times, laughable, especially when he talks. The action feels pedestrian and somewhat akin to another Sony Spider-Villain project, Venom (2018). You can never really get a sense of what is happening as the camera whizzes around in a dizzying fashion showing us a clear view of the spectacle on display.
The plot almost feels like it isn’t worth mentioning; it’s that bad. Bad in the sense that it only propels the character into another action scene or to the underwhelming climactic fight at the end. The characters never really have anything to do, especially the incredibly boring villain. Nothing about the story is gripping or intriguing, except for some scientific jargon that explains vampirism in this universe. Some fun elements made it seem like it was going in a more tongue in cheek direction, but unfortunately, it plays it far too serious.
Morbius reminds us that while comic book movies are undoubtedly in their golden age, that doesn’t mean we don’t get a stinker now and then. It is an uneventful, lifeless bore that offers nothing new and takes itself way too seriously to be entertaining. If you’re a die-hard fan, you may find enjoyment, but for the rest of us, we will long for the day a director with a vision takes hold of a project like this and makes it something a lot easier to digest.
Fun Fact:
The name of the cargo ship in the beginning of the movie is Murnau (as in F.W. Murnau, the director of the classic vampire movie Nosferatu).
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