Although its filming took place in 2019 with its release scheduled for 2020, Sony Pictures’ latest Marvel flick “Morbius” was delayed several times due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. After the latest postponement on Jan. 3, 2022, the movie was finally released on April 1. Before you rush to buy the tickets for the movie, let me warn you that after watching it you may find yourself wishing it had never arrived.
With the transformation of Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto into an enigmatic anti-hero, “Morbius” tells the story of Dr. Michael Morbius, who is in a critical health condition due to a rare blood disease and tries to find a cure to save himself and others who share the same fate with him. In a desperate gamble, Dr. Morbius pushes the limits during his experiments, making decisions beyond the limits of medical ethics. The genius of Morbius, however, manages to discover a cure thanks to some mutated vampire bats.
The treatment of Morbius not only cures the disease but also gives him unimaginable strength and special powers, including echolocation, the process that helps bats determine the location of objects using reflected sound. While everything seems fine thus far, keep in mind that everything comes with a price, and it costs Dr. Morbius dearly. He starts having an uncontrollable thirst for human blood.
I should confess that I got excited when I saw the trailer of the movie, which made me think that the emotional side of the production will be strong. Besides, I was expecting an original story as Morbius is a character that becomes scared of his powers. Superhero movies generally have a classic scene where the hero discovers his newfound powers. Morbius, instead, constantly struggles with his supernatural vampiric persona after finding out about the abilities of the beast hidden inside him.
However, the trailer was highly deceptive and misled viewers about not only the originality and emotionality of the movie but also Michael Keaton’s cameo. It was not surprising to see Leto in such a role as he is known for his transformations. From his role as an AIDS patient with a drug problem in “Dallas Buyers Club” to his recent Paolo Gucci character in “House of Gucci,” Leto brings his characters to life in poignant or mysterious ways that are always unforgettable. Matt Smith, who is best known for his role as the 11th incarnation of the "Doctor" in the BBC series “Doctor Who,” in the role of Milo – the surrogate brother of Morbius who has the same blood disease as him but turns into a primary villain choosing a darker path – was also a good choice. Although the cast of the two characters was pretty appropriate, there was an apparent lack of chemistry between them. When Adria Arjona’s undeveloped character of Martine Bancroft – the fellow scientist and love interest of Morbius – is added to the duo, the already stale dialogue between characters becomes worse. This took away all my hopes of originality and emotionality. It just felt like some events were happening in order without any aspect of depth. Moreover, Keaton and his Vulture are not even in the movie, he just shows up in the post-credits.
Speaking of the movie’s lack of originality, the editing of the movie surely deserves a mention. Although a production offers an ordinary story of a supernatural character, it may be turned into a gripping and suspenseful one with good editing. But “Morbius” misses that train as well. The editing is so disorienting that you get easily baffled while following the quick flow of events and cannot even make sense of them at all sometimes. Anyhow, you then easily predict every single beat of the movie due to its cut-and-dry plot.
The scenes after the transformation of Morbius into a vampire-like creature added to the confusion and disappointment that I was feeling because it did not match up to the excitement created by the trailer. Later I realized that the horror parts of the movie totally relied on visual effects, making it even more cliche. What’s worse, the super monster face of Leto and his powers also depend on computer-generated imagery (CGI). It is like the CGI animation, which is used to tell more fantastical yet believable stories, is misemployed on purpose in “Morbius” to perplex the viewers more. Far from offering a realistic depiction that will draw viewers into its imaginary world, the movie creates a feeling that Morbius is a kind of dark creature – like Death Eaters from the universe of the "Harry Potter" series – with a smoke-like effect applied on Leto apparent in every move. But let me remind you that Morbius is not a character captured by bad mystical forces, he is a doctor who is imbued with vampiric superhuman abilities and physical traits after a failed biochemical experiment.
With all its weaker aspects, “Morbius” finds itself a place as an easily-forgettable movie in the Sony Pictures universe of Marvel characters, although it offers the very first Morbius character on screen. Thanks to my admiration for Leto, the only thing I will remember about the movie is that the actor was the first one to play the role of Dr. Morbius on screen.
