THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Marvel made vampires badass with Blade, but I’m not sure if I can say the same with Morbius.
PLOT
The film follows scientist Michael Morbius, whose been trying to figure out a cure for a rare blood disease he carries. Despite being respected for his work with synthetic blood, it has not been enough to cure him. So he goes further into his research by capturing vampire bats from Costa Rica, believing he’ll be cured if he splices their genes with his own. He shares his plan of illegal experimentation to his childhood friend Lucian, who he jokingly nicknames Milo, and he helps by funding him a private mercenary vessel on international waters to further perform the experiment. When he tests the cure on himself, it appears to have worked until he turns into an actual vampire and kills a mercenary crew, consuming their blood. The only one he is able to spare is his colleague Martine Bancroft. When he regains consciousness, he erases evidence of his actions before jumping overboard and returning to New York. Upon return, he discovers the multiple abilities that he has gained: echolocation, enhanced reflexes, super strength and speed. The vampire bats that he captured even treat him like a fellow bat. In the meantime, Detectives Al Rodriguez (Al Madrigal) and Simon Stroud (Tyrese Gibson) are investigating the incident on the ship and deduce Morbius’ involvement. With Bancroft recovering, she doesn’t give away her friend. Milo does discover what he’s done as well, but is livid when he refuses to give him the cure that’ll make him a vampire. When Morbius checks on Bancroft, he soon discovers a fellow nurse drained of her blood. Believing he is responsible, he tries to leave his hospital before getting apprehended by Stroud and Rodriguez. Milo does visit him in prison and promise to get him out by giving him one of the synthetic bloods in his laboratory. But when Morbius escapes, he later deduces that his friend took the cure that made him a vampire as well. When he confronts him, he confesses to his bloodlust induced crime and tries encouraging him to embrace his powers. Refusing to kill him, he leaves his friend after a fight that took them to a subway. Morbius does reach Bancroft once she is released from the hospital, reminding him that he is innocent in his situation. With his lab apparently investigated, he builds another one of his own to make an antibody that’ll help him stop Milo. He also intends to use it on himself to end his own bloodlust. Stroud and Rodriguez find footage of Milo taking another innocent life, but they mistake him to be Morbius, inspiring them to release it to media and label him as a serial killer. When Doctor Emil Nicholas (Jared Harris) discovers this, a father figure to both vampires, he confronts Milo of it and is quickly disappointed of him being so corrupted. The antagonist kills him to lure Morbius out, which gives him the chance to wound Bancroft. As she slowly dies in his arms, he drinks her blood. Little did he know that she would become a vampire as well after ingesting a drop of his blood. He confronts his friend for the last time and after summoning an army of bats, he is able to get the upper hand and kill him with the antibody. Continuing to go on the run from authorities, he chooses to accept his vampire identity. But the film ends in a shocking post credit sequence: A disrupted magical spell from Earth 616 causes Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) from that said universe to unintentionally enter Morbius’. He is let go from authorities as they do not have an official criminal record on him. The villain is then able to convince the vampire to form a group that’ll conspire against Spider-Man, feeling certain that he is the reason behind his situation.
THOUGHTS
The best way to talk about this film is through Pros and Cons.
CONS: Trust me when I say there are a few good things that make the movie interesting, and I’ll get there, but they are significantly outweighed by the many issues I noticed that I surprise myself for not leaving the theater. The biggest problem I had goes to the mid credit cliffhanger that pissed me off the most. I want to dig it that we’re gonna be seeing Vulture again to finally get some kind of iteration of the Sinister Six, but the way he is written into the story makes no sense at all. Why would he be taken to another universe when everyone else returns to theirs? It even gets more infuriating because we don’t know which Spider-Man Morbius is thinking of. Is it either of the three we’ve seen or is it a brand new one? I’m not sure we’re ready for a fourth live action variant of the iconic superhero when the third is far from done with his story. And I do know Morbius is another rival to Spider-Man in the comics, but in this movie, there is no spoken animosity towards him, so I don’t see the point of him joining the Sinister Six when it doesn’t seem like he’s got anything against him. And of course Toomes would not be the Vulture without his suit, but how the hell did he get access to it if he has no connections in the new universe he lives in? I want to be impressed of how advanced it looks, but I keep getting thrown off on how he got it on his own and we don’t even know who made it if not him. It would’ve not hurt if they put this movie in a familiar universe like 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man. Sure it would be tricky because you gotta explain Venom being oblivious to it all (since that film series is connected to this due to its fair share of references), but I’m sure it would’ve worked out if they went that route. If Walt Disney’s Marvel Studios is gonna keep collaborating with Sony for more multiversal crossovers, this shit has to be clear on why it was possible. If that forced connection wasn’t bad enough, they tried to be casual by having a reference of Chameleon on a Daily Bugle newspaper and let me say this, that is far from casual in comparison to the lab files in X2. Going back from the top, I know Morbius is desperate to be cured from his illness, but he is overdoing that by slicing the palm of his hand. It does attract the bats and traps them, but imagine if that wasn’t enough blood. I don’t think it would be a good idea hurting himself if it were to not work. He is bold for turning down the Nobel Prize from the King of Sweden because he knows he is far from success if he’s not cured, but why waste time embarrassing him in public? He could’ve turned him down on the phone and he would’ve gone about his day until the rest of the story kicks in. I really don’t think he had to be rude to someone of royalty to prove a point. I even respect that him jumping off the boat keeps the ball rolling, but that’s another risk he didn’t need to take. He didn’t know what kind of powers he has and barely controls what he knows. And whether or not he is a good swimmer, he is way too lucky to reach land and not get caught by police or fishermen when he was far out into international waters. I do want to think his echolocation is cool because I don’t think other fictional vampires have ever had that, but how the hell did he not hear Milo kill an innocent nurse? That’s more confusing than the fact that she chose to work overtime in an empty wing alone. I also respect that they wrote Detectives Rodriguez & Stroud to be close to Morbius when it comes to pursuing him, because it’s an excuse to prove their intelligence in their line of work when they’re far from as interesting as the lead, but I gotta admit that it was way too quick for them to deduce that the bodies from the boat got the blood drained. You’re trying to make these guys cool like Gerard & Renfro from The Fugitive when I say they’re far from being them. Also, it’s ridiculous that the hospital Morbius breaks into did not have any cameras, which is ironically the same issue The Fugitive had. I know vampire movies can be thrilling, but this movie shouldn’t be copying a better movie. Bancroft should’ve had security 24/7 if she was so valuable to the case. They mess up big time by not pursuing Morbius sooner when they knew he’s close to Bancroft. Even if they couldn’t prove yet he was on the boat, they should’ve checked it out quickly if they bothered acknowledging him. Not only do they guard the lab but on top of that, they let him keep his notebook when that could be evidence to the case. And I know every superhero movie regularly needs a villain for the sake of showing the dynamic of good and bad, but how did Morbius not notice that Milo stole the blood when he last visited the lab? He should’ve moved them and changed passwords if he wanted to protect him so bad. I know I’m supposed to be intimidated of Milo being a vampire because he is choosing to live carefree about it, but he is asking to be caught if he is confessing to killing the nurse in public. And I know we need an emotional rift for Morbius to get lured out when Nicholas gets killed, but it is so on the latter when he chose to visit Milo because he saw the news and still chose to go to him.PROS: Having said what I said with the things that hold this movie back from being a bigger hit in the superhero genre, I honestly wouldn’t call this one terrible. I feel this way because when thinking about worser adaptations for Marvel, I would debate between Elektra and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The visual effects are actually bearable, which make the fight scenes worth witnessing. And that is very integral for this genre. So I don’t feel like I’m lying when I say seeing vampires in action here are still cool. But to me, I choose to have some kind of soft spot for this one is because Director Daniel Espinosa is trying to share an interesting depiction on how we all must take responsibility for our actions, no matter how unexpected the consequences can be. I was able to catch on to this when focusing on the titular lead. I do not want to come off like a bandwagon to Jared Leto, but I liked him as Morbius way more than what he was able to contribute as the Joker in DC’s Suicide Squad. The role of this anti hero is a step up because he is a guy who wanted to heal himself and worked endlessly to get what he desired. Sadly, it is his desperation that takes him to the deep end. Since he never intended for things to get out of hand, his new concern was making it right. He may have had an interest in the powers he gained, he knew he didn’t deserve it, thus making the antibody. Milo, the film’s interpretation of the villain Loxias Crown aka Hunger, was predictably the polar opposite of him. Matt Smith finely portrays him as one who was tired of being ridiculed for being different. He didn’t hesitate becoming a vampire because after seeing what Michael could do, he had the opportunity to make people feel the years of pain he’s felt. He’s in the absolute wrong throughout because he intentionally murders whereas his friend killed the mercs on accident. It honestly felt saddening to see him kill Nicholas because all that man wanted was for them to be the best parts of themselves. Of course you feel bad for Michael even more because no one should have to fight their friends, but their conflict taught him to embrace his powers rather than diminish it. With this decision, he will now try to be cautious on how he chooses to use them. Whatever reason he has to team up with Vulture to go against Spider-Man, it is a given that another world of trouble is around the corner. The only other character I had an interest in was Bancroft. Adria Arjona left a good impression by portraying her as one who is compassionate about her work, but is more concerned of being a loyal friend. She chose to hear Michael out and trust him throughout because she knew that he’s not the kind of guy to cause intentional harm. She didn't intend to drink his blood, but she let him take her life because she knew he needed to be strong enough to take on Milo, which worked. With her being a vampire as well, there is no telling which footsteps she’ll choose to follow. To wrap up, Morbius isn’t anything new to the superhero genre, but it doesn’t mean it ain’t interesting for what it’s trying to do. If you enjoyed the cool combo superheroes and vampires after Blade, then I hope you find some satisfaction through this one as well.
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