When it comes to films, we’re living in the age of the comic book. Marvel has built a billion-dollar empire on the backs of nerds as it continues to roll out ‘Phase Four’ of its master plan to take all of our money.
I’m not complaining. The latest inclusions in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been a breath of fresh air, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Lynn Cupido.
So far it’s introduced a range of obscure characters that mainstream fans have been eating up and Morbius is just the latest film introduced to the Marvel/Sony Cinematic Universe. The character is positioned as an antagonist to Spider-Man and Blade (previously played by Wesley Snipes).
As an avid Marvel fan, I’ll be the first to admit that not everything that pushes out of the Marvel machine is a hit. We need only look back at Captain Marvel and The Eternals, both origin stories, to understand.
Unfortunately, Morbius falls under the category of ‘meh.’
Unlike his butchering of the iconic Joker, Jared Leto does a decent job of playing Dr. Michael Morbius, a scientist who accidentally turns himself into a vampire after attempting to cure a rare blood condition he’s had since childhood.
In terms of plot, the movie has a good foundation to stand on. It’s not a bad story, there’s just something missing.
In the comics, Morbius is a complex and tragically flawed character who struggles to come to terms with his pseudo-vampiric persona and his insatiable lust for human blood. He is by no means meant to be a good guy, eventually going on to become a “nightmarish vigilante” in later comics.
The problem that viewers have found with this film, including myself, is that nothing is done to explore this. Instead, it continuously hits us over the head in convincing us that Dr. Morbius is the good guy who doesn’t want to drink your blood.
That’s all good and well, but what a wonderful springboard to jump off of when digging into the complexities of coming to terms with having turned yourself into a monster all in an attempt to do the right thing.
Unfortunately, the film plays out like every other vampire film out there, with a few brooding scenes reminiscent of Twilight.
Instead of relishing in the opportunity to dive right into the darker aspects of what I can only imagine is pure hell when you’re a ‘newborn’ vampire, the writers decided to take a different route, choosing to deliver a cold and lifeless story to its audience.
The movie takes us on a hollow journey, taking us from one plot point to the next as it simply goes through the motions. There are several fascinating aspects that could have been explored within this film which would have added a touch of excitement.
*Spoiler.
For example, it’s revealed that Morbius has invented synthetic blood, something that has sustained him thus far. However, it’s also revealed that the timespan between each “feeding” is diminishing. The film fails to take advantage of this “race against time” before our main character finds himself completely losing his humanity to an experiment gone wrong and going “full vampire.”
This movie is watchable, but it’s deeply disappointing. The plot is slow and there are plenty of cliches to roll your eyes at. I can’t help but think that this was a missed opportunity by the writers, however, with rumours of Morbius 2 doing the rounds, let’s hope they can redeem themselves.
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Picture: Sony/ Morbius
