Courtesy of Sony Pictures
Morbius was directed by Daniel Espinosa and stars Jared Leto as Doctor Michael Morbius, who is looking for a cure for his blood illness and when he does find one, he becomes a vampire that needs blood. The film also stars Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, and Tyrese Gibson. The film was originally scheduled for 2020, but was delayed many times. This is the third film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and the trailers hinted it could be connected to any Spider-Man universe. Those scenes never made the film’s final cut. Fair warning, I will get into spoilers with the post-credit scenes since they were spoiled before the film even came out.
The best thing about Morbius is the cast. The performances are pretty good. Jared Leto did very well as Morbius. Leto was previously Joker in Suicide Squad and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, so he’s no stranger to comic book films. He is better as Morbius than he is as Joker. Matt Smith as Milo, Doctor Morbius’s friend, was also a really good performance. The only performance I was disappointed in was Tyrese Gibson. It seemed like the energy and charisma he usually carries in his performances were downplayed in this film. He plays one of the FBI agents investigating Doctor Morbius and it feels like the stereotypical agent hunting down the protagonist.
The first half wasn’t all that great, but it was decent and at first, I thought this could be at least better than Venom. I thought they did okay with setting up Michael Morbius and Milo’s friendship, how accomplished Doctor Morbius is, and how he found a cure. The second half is where the film lost me. Once Milo got the same powers as Michael, his character becomes too over the top. The special effects look outdated. The action is some of the worst in the Sony Marvel films. Despite the faults of both Venom movies, the action was at least great. The final battle seemed rushed and was the worst I have seen in a comic book movie in years.
The movie also has the worst post-credit scenes in any comic book movie. The first one was reshot to connect with Spider-Man: No Way Home. It created new rules for Doctor Strange’s spell and brought Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes from the MCU into Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. The second one has Toomes recruit Morbius to form some kind of team, likely the Sinister Six, and blames Spider-Man for landing up in this new universe. He has the Vulture gear, but when he was transported into this universe, he had a prison uniform on. It makes no sense.
The scene leaves so many questions. Why was this a side effect of Strange’s spell? Does Toomes still remember who Peter Parker is because he’s in a new universe or did he forget who Parker was like the other MCU characters? Did any other MCU characters land up in this universe? It also leaves the door open as to what Spider-Man they could face down the road. My fans believe it could be Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man. I hope the 2023 film Madame Web will address these new multiverse rules Sony created.
All in all, Morbius is not the worst comic book movie ever, but still not good. It’s the worst of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. The first half was okay, but the second half ruined it. The finale felt rushed. The post-credit scenes make no sense and felt lazy. Sony still wants to make a Sinister Six film, but still has no idea how to set it up. The performances are solid, but felt wasted with the messy plot. Honestly, this character should have been saved for a Spider-Man film where he teams up with Blade in the MCU.
What did you think of Morbius? Let us know in the comments down below.
Final Grade: C-
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