“Morbius” (2022) Review
A Film Review by Victor DeBonis
“Morbius” while not being the worst Marvel movie ever as some people are making it out to be, still doesn’t work well as a whole. It just feels rushed and could’ve used several elements to help it transform into a legitimately good Marvel monster movie. I love the horror genre, and I would love to see a studio as big as Marvel give a shot to creating a legitimate monster or thriller movie. I can say that a few scenes in this film try to point in that direction, such as the scene where Jared Leto’s character experiments with his newfound abilities in the way that seems pretty spot-on with how a scientist might do it. Unfortunately, there are elements, such as the weak script and the subpar action scenes, that stall this movie in its tracks and keep it from being something strong.
Although solid actors play these characters, none of their roles are that interesting, and their connections with each other feel almost non-existent. Morbius has a best friend who grows up to be played by Matt Smith, and there are a couple of scenes showing them bonding with each other as kids. Yet, we get only two scenes that show them talking with one another about sharing the same blood disorder before one of them automatically leaves the other’s life.
We also see Leto share a romance with another scientist played by Adria Arjona, but it is never believable. Part of it comes from how these two have practically no chemistry with each other. They share a few insights about their research with each other, but they never have any conversations that are funny or sweet. The other factor is that Arjona’s character is not memorable. The audience knows nothing about her interests or her past or who she is outside of her working with Leto. Quite frankly, none of these characters are truly explored, and they don’t have much relevance other than to be things that try to help the plot move forward.
Morbius himself doesn’t have much to talk about when it comes to his character. I’m honestly not a huge fan of Jared Leto. While I have admired some of his work, such as his solid performance in “Panic Room” I don’t admire some of what he’s done in other projects for his performances, especially his antics in 2016’s “Suicide Squad.”
In the titular role for this movie, it’s a complicated scenario because I can tell that Leto tries. He works well as the vampiric monster. He snarls and whips his head and body around like the crazed creature that one might expect him to be. However, when he’s playing the human scientist, he wants to create a mysterious vibe with his quiet voice and how he records his insights from his research, but, instead, he comes across as flat and dull. His monologues sound tired, and there is not a bunch of passion when he talks to his romantic lover or much believable joy when he talks to his best friend. The plot moves forward at such an absurd speed that there is little chance to explore who these characters are, so the film feels more boring, as a result.
Tyrese Gibson plays an FBI agent trying to arrest Leto, but, while I admire the charisma that he tries to add to the role, his character could easily be written out of the film altogether. The poor agent doesn’t add much other than to show a moment that demonstrates how powerful the titular anti-hero is.
One should take into consideration that, when exploring a character’s origin story, it makes for a more interesting journey when a story fully explores the meaningful connections that come from others surrounding that character. Take, for example, “Batman Begins.” The audience knows that Wayne has a great connection with his parents, early on, because the movie shows the parents helping the boy after he’s fallen and giving him meaningful advice and taking him to events, such as an operatic performance. There are scenes from early in the movie in which Michael Caine’s version of Alfred and Gary Oldman’s version of Lieutenant Gordon show their connection with Wayne through their generous actions and comfort to young Wayne after his parents died, and their assistance and cautious advice to Wayne or Batman continues and illustrates how they have their concerns for why Wayne does what he does, but they’re also always there for him. While dialogue and actions from all of these characters in “Batman Begins” firmly show the strong relationships happening between the hero and who surrounds him, “Morbius” mostly focuses on just a handful of scenes briefly tapping into the protagonist’s connections and doesn’t do much else.
Of course, it doesn’t help that, visually speaking, the movie is ugly to look at with all of these sickly turquoise-blue filters that surround these labs and rooms. It honestly reminded me a little of the “Twilight” movies in this aspect, which is never a good sign.
I will say that Matt Smith as the aforementioned best friend and eventual adversary is a blast to watch. His character doesn’t serve much of a purpose other than to be the villain that wants to use the powers of the “anti-hero” for wickedness, but he is fascinatingly over-the-top with how much he loves his newfound vampiric abilities and thirst. Smith spins around and makes his cliched lines sound a little less painful because he relishes the darkness within himself from his powers. He’s easily the best part of the movie, and he makes every scene feel a tad more interesting when he’s around.
The action itself is far from stellar. Much of it suffers, due to the blurry, unconvincing CGI effects that swarm around the vampires as they engage in a battle, and most of it is edited so quickly with some distracting slow-motion shots. Since these fights occur in such a rapid fashion, they make it difficult to see when a fierce blow is delivered or how hard the impact of the fighting move is. The audience doesn’t even see a vast amount of blood, and that should never be a complaint for a vampire movie. And, yes, going beyond the fights themselves, the CGI is rather dated in other places. The inky effects of the vampires flying around look as though they belong in an older PS3 game, and the contortions of Leto and Smith’s face as their monstrous selves look awkward and have a texture that doesn’t look quite right.
People, I’m sorry, but I didn’t find much to admire in “Morbius.” The characters don’t have much substance to them. Their connections with each other don’t feel fully fleshed out. And, the effects and action didn’t come together well enough to create a fully engaging horror or action flick. Some scenes show interesting ideas, such as Leto using a stop watch to find out when he needs to drink blood again, and, again, Smith is plenty of fun to watch with how over-the-top he is. Yet, the story doesn’t give enough time to absorb more about who these characters truly are, and it could’ve spent more time seeing how Morbius feels about his abilities and whether the monster or the human within him holds greater power or pain.
While I’m not a huge fan of the “Venom” movies, I can appreciate the “buddy/ dark comedy” aspect that those films tapped into, and I had a little more entertainment and joy with them (particularly, the first one) than I did with this film. I would love to see Marvel (even if it’s associated with the movie and doesn’t completely control the property) tackle a horror story or character, similar to this, in the future because I love seeing this studio take new chances and truly go all the way with them. This film felt as though it merely wanted to attempt to get a new character or franchise off the ground without much thought to character or unique storytelling. It’s not the worst film to come with Marvel’s name attached to it by any means. Heck, there are DC movies that were considerably worse than this. I’ll definitely watch this movie over “Batman vs. Superman” any day of the week. It still doesn’t skate over the fact that “Morbius” is still underwhelming and doesn’t stand as tall with the neat idea that it has of itself being a Marvel monster flick.
I appreciate the chances that were taken and having gotten a chance to view this movie, and I’m glad for those who had a good time viewing it, but, for me, “Morbius” just doesn’t have much bite to it.
Grade: C-