‘Morbius’: Entertaining but lacking

The new Marvel movie is entertaining but has many flaws.

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IMDb

Jared Leto as the title character in “Morbius” (2022).

Kai Arellano, Staff Writer

Marvel goes gothic and adds a new face to their ever-growing cast of superheroes with “Morbius.” The character itself has been a prominent member of Spider-Man’s mythos and storylines. This new film makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe seem more expansive, for better or for worse.

Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) himself is a man with a dangerously rare blood disorder that could kill him at any moment. He becomes a scientist with world-renown research in his invention of artificial blood that helps others as much as it helps him, but he’s still not satisfied.

He takes it to another level, inventing a so-called cure for his disorder and with the help of his partner Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona), injects himself with it. The aftereffects are so bad that it transforms him into the living vampire, Morbius.

The film overall won’t make people feel inspired and isn’t an amazing Marvel movie. It’s far from it. The movie feels almost like those old early 2000s superhero movies similar to  Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man ” trilogy. This old-school edgy vibe makes the overall tone feel forced. Yet it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

There are certain fight scenes that are fun and entertaining. Morbius isn’t alone in the film and fights another living vampire Loxias Crown (Matt Smith). Smith makes the movie fun to watch with his playful banter with Leto and the comical fun he has when playing a vampire, making it seem not too bad to be a vampire. Smith wants the viewer to understand that this is a movie based on a comic book vampire and that it is supposed to be campy.

The acting itself isn’t bad in the way you might think. The film mostly wants people to focus on Leto and Smith, with Arjona playing the typical love interest. With the script that these three are given they aren’t doing a bad job. It’s just that the film is very much lacking in the explanation between each scene.

Since the movie was originally going to be released in 2020 but got delayed, the film has had a lot of changes. There are scenes that have been cut and moved around that make the film feel like it’s lost and there are missing pieces with key information. Some scenes come out of nowhere as well, although this doesn’t take away from the fun you can have when watching this film.

If you’re wanting to have fun with a group of friends, or if you’re a fan of the character itself, you can have a lot of fun with this vampiric Marvel movie.