Morbius – An Overall Fumbled Introduction (Early Review)

Morbius began production in February 2019 and was set for a July 2020 but as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the film faced countless delays and even multiple rounds of reshoots thus causing some fans to give up hope until Sony gave it a January 2022 release before finally settling on an April release. Now with all that being said, does the film live up to expectations after a 3+ year wait?

Directed by Daniel Espinosa, Morbius follows a biochemist named Michael Morbius (Leto) who tries to find the cure to his rare blood disease but instead accidentally infects himself with a disease that led to him developing a vampire-like condition and abilities. While Morbius comes to terms with and adapts to his new condition, he discovers the true extent of his powers in trying to control them, experimenting on himself. However, what seemed to be a success quickly became something potentially worse than his initial disease. Things only got worse for him from there as another party caught on to his discovery and frames him for a series of murders, leaving Morbius on the run from the police. Ultimately, it was up to him to clear his name and save himself and his loved ones before it was too late all while the fate of the world was at stake.

Meanwhile, Leto has been downright cursed with roles recently from his Razzie-winning turn in House of Gucci to getting slammed for his much different interpretation of the infamous Joker in Suicide Squad. Personally speaking, one can’t help but want him to get another good role. While he’s perfect for the role of Morbius, he just wasn’t given the right direction here. Though the future of the character remains to be seen, if he were to return in another film, that film would need a better writer and story in order for it to succeed and be part of Sony’s grand plan to create their own Spider-Man universe.

For a film that has been in the oven for 3+ years, the CGI in Morbius was surprisingly subpar. Though making a film about a vampire is difficult to do practically, it’s unclear as to what’s wrong there. There were still some good visuals to be had, mostly surrounding the design of Morbius himself. His respective transformation was very intimidating to say the least but where the film takes Smith’s Milo was truly something of nightmares and something the film could have handled in a much better way.

In terms of performances, Leto was great as Morbius considering what he was given which is frustrating as he is a great actor who deserves better. Smith was great as Milo as he is clearly trying his very best while certainly carrying his questionable material, making him fun to watch in spite of the film’s issues. In the end, many audiences will surely find themselves simply laughing at how ridiculous everything looks and the serious tone it was going for. Excelling in its horror elements, the film as a whole would have been better served had it remained in that territory.

One would be remissed without mentioning Sony’s fumbled promotion of Morbius and its place within their Spider-Man universe as a whole, removing several key scenes, leaving fans only the trailers to have the chance to see them which is terrible marketing. Though cutting scenes is standard practice, eliminating the only reason why prospective audiences want to see your film, especially if the goal is to create a universe to keep them coming back.

At the end of the day, Morbius is a terrible misfire marred by wonky CGI and a bad script, leading to a squandered introduction of a character that will inevitably be important for the future of Sony’s attempted Spider-Man universe.

*still courtesy of Sony Pictures*

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