Sony’s Morbius is rumored to be a Spider-Man spin-off, but in many ways the Marvel film has more in common with DC’s celebratory The Batman. Michael Morbius is a moody Byronic scientist living in New York with rich sponsors to fund his research into the rare blood disorder he suffers from. The answer could potentially be lurking in the DNA of which animal? You guessed it, the bat.
After mixing bat DNA with human DNA, Morbius essentially becomes a man-made vampire and must contend with his newfound lust for blood while protecting those he loves. It’s a fairly simple setup, pulled from the pages of the comics, which in turn are clearly influenced from Dracula to Jekyll and Hyde, with the usual references to addiction. Leto brings enough intensity and humanity to the role to be engaging, but the script by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, which prioritizes performance over character development, doesn’t help.
Morbius Trailer: Jared Leto Goes Full Vampire, Name Drops Venom In New Clip
Adria Arjona is played by her character Dr. Martine Bancroft particularly badly served — all we know is she’s smart and has a cat: superhero movie shortcuts to comfortably being single. Her main task seems to be to get Morbius to explain his science in a language that the audience will understand. Tyrese Gibson plays a superficial role as a detective, while Al Madrigal as his colleague provides the film’s first laugh about 50 minutes later.
Every Actor Who Played Batman on the Big Screen: Photo Gallery
Most fun here is with Matt Smith’s Milo, Michael’s best friend who has the same disorder and has amassed considerable wealth and a taste for the good life. Smith plunges into this entertaining role. It’s good to have characters with chronic illnesses at the heart of the story, and an opening flashback to their youth sets the scene well enough. But one envisions a possible backlash from the disability community regarding the way their storylines unfold.
This movie isn’t terrible. Leto is good, the VFX work is skillful and there is modest entertainment here and there. But it seems unlikely it’ll please masses like Spider-Man: No Way Home – and the mid-credit scenes are more confusing than exciting.
Watch an exclusive scene from Morbius below.