After viewing the trailer over the last few months, I honestly wasn’t anticipating very much from the film Morbius, a movie based on a Marvel Comics character. Directed by Daniel Espinosa (Safe House, 2012) based on the screenplay from Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless and Roy Thomas (Marvel comics), the film does provide more to the story than seen in the trailer but has similarity to the Venom stories without the humor. If you read online somewhere that Michael Keaton “stars” in the film, I find that is a bit misleading based on the limited amount of screen time he has in this film. Keaton fans will be disappointed if they expect to see him throughout the film. That is not the case – it is just a tease. Jared Leto and Matt Smith have the most screen time, given the story that they are best friends since childhood when they bond in the institution they reside in due to their medical condition. There are other great actors in supporting roles, but the writers seemed to have left them with weak dialogue and things to do. I am not trashing the film completely but watch it on the discount day at the theater.
Dr. Michael Morbius (Leto) has a rare blood disease and becomes educated to work at finding a cure. He achieves an invention that is considered acceptable, but he chooses a new experiment to test on himself, without knowing what the results will be or how to handle any potential downside to his actions. Michael’s friend Milo (Smith) wants what Michael appears to have and disregards any warnings. Soon after multiple victims across town are found all drained of blood, Michael is blamed by a pair of officers investigating, Simon Stroud (Tyrese Gibson) and Agent Rodriguez (Al Madrigal, Bob’s Burgers TV Series). Gibson and Madrigal are paired well as agents and there should have been more thought given to the dialogue for these actors. I can think of one scene that would have worked fabulously for them if they expanded on the idea, but the writers or maybe the editors dropped the ball.
Adria Arjona (Pacific Rim: Uprising) stars as Dr. Martine Bancroft and works alongside Morbius to help him reach his goals. The writers didn’t give her the dialogue for a doctor and instead her role appears to be that of a lesser medical professional and a “go for” this/that. If there is another follow up to this film, the writers need to step up their game and give her respect as a doctor – not an assistant.
There are plenty of action scenes in the film, but I am not impressed with how dark the lighting is for some scenes as the characters leap (or are thrown) across buildings, alleys, subways -you name it. Fans of action films may be satisfied with those scenes, but in my opinion not for a Marvel Comics film.
If parents decide to take minors to see the film, there is violence as the character’s change – biting, slashing with claws, and fighting to kill for blood.
The “surprise” as the credits roll fail in that respect, but more “Morbius” seems to be in the works.
PG-13 108 minutes and arrives in theaters April 1, 2022
Source: Columbia Pictures