The latest Marvel movie tried to give an introduction to a new antihero, but sadly, “Morbius" fell flat on its face. For a movie that has been delayed 6 times over the past two years, I was hoping for something great, but ended up getting something lackluster.
Synopsis
Dr. Michael Morbius has a rare blood condition with no cure; When trying to save himself and others with this illness, he finds one. However, it goes terribly wrong, and he instead gives himself vampiric powers.
The film stars Jared Leto as Dr. Michael Morbius and Matt Smith as Loxias Crown.
What I loved
I really enjoyed the CGI used for Morbius’s vampire face. I thought it was super detailed and looked very real, which was visually great on screen. At points, it was downright scary when he bared his teeth and his face shriveled in on itself, making some scenes very captivating.
The fight scenes were amazing too, as Morbius uses this kind of echolocation throughout the movie where you get to see vibrations in the air that almost look like smoke in different colors. The fights are slow-motion in parts and it just reminds me of older superhero shows and comics, which I love.
What I didn't love
I can't put my finger on what exactly bored me about this movie, but for the first 45 minutes of I was barely interested. I felt like I was getting so much information about how this is possible (scientifically), and just a lot of scenes that felt unneeded for the plot. The beginning of the movie was a five-minute introduction set in Costa Rica where there were barely five lines of dialogue spoken at all. I completely understand setting up a movie and a character, especially this being Morbius's intro film, but either make the movie longer or compact the information into easier to understand scenes.
There was also an over-sexualization of the characters in the film. I think the best example is when Morbius goes through this transformation and kills people (which we see in the trailer), he then just stands there and gawks at his glimmering new body. I get that he was sick and now he’s not, but it didn't need to be a slow-motion scene of him sizing up his new hot bod (shirtless I might add). We hear enough throughout this entire film about how alive Morbius feels, so we don't need to be reminded every five minutes by seeing his new body.
Verdict
Overall, I just felt like they truly could have made this movie great and it’s simply so-so. I really wanted to like this movie, but went in with my expectations lowered and I’m glad I did. If you like very long-winded scientific explanations of superhuman powers with some cool fight scenes sprinkled in, then I recommend seeing this movie.
I give "Morbius" a 3 out of 5.
