Jared Leto’s ‘Morbius’ is not the epic disaster we expected

Launched almost two years after the original scheduled release date, Morbius is the beneficiary of a fortuitous moment that unfolds after Sony’s hugely successful superheroes Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: There’s no way home. Alas, at least some of the goodwill generated from those Marvel efforts was squandered by Daniel Espinosa’s origin story for vampire Michael Morbius, another reconfigured Spider-Man nemesis. become a cursed anti-hero. Designed to expand on the studio’s web-slinging cinematic universe, this generic monster combo follows a formula so memorized that every movement feels lethargic. Jared Leto’s Batman Isn’t The Dark Knight, And His Movie Definitely Isn’t Batman–although it is not the failure suggested by its enticing advertising.

If one thing remains true about the Oscar-winning Leto, it’s that he rarely appears on screen safely or boringly. However, Morbius see him dodging the affected gimmick he recently brought up Gucci house and WeCrashed. Leto is Dr. Michael Morbius, a renowned scientist with a rare blood disorder that requires frequent blood transfusions. Michael doesn’t play by the rules, as evidenced by his initial decision to collect a few of the millions of dangerous vampire bats lurking in a cave in Costa Rica, and he later refused. received his Nobel Prize. Michael’s sole concern is curing his own fatal illness, as well as saving people like him, be it a young girl who is a patient at his clinic, or Milo (Matt Smith), his childhood friend and present-day financial philanthropist.

With sunken eyes, pale skin, and a gaunt, gaunt face, Michael looks like a skeleton ghost, but his efforts pay off when experiments blend human DNA and Vampire bats reap incredible rewards. Because such work is ethically questionable and completely illegal, he and his colleague/last love Dr. Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona) head out into international waters on a tanker to see if Michael’s bartender did the trick and spared him an early grave. It has, albeit with a hitch: Michael gains superhuman speed, strength, and echolocation, a supernatural villain that must feed on blood. After a mutiny in which he killed the (not very nice) mercenaries of the vessel, Michael conducted his own tests and determined that his revolutionary artificial blood would not sustain him for a long time; at a certain point he will have to release his inner beast and consume the “red”.

As Michael goes wild, his face transforms into a ghastly image that, without the uneven CGI work aside, would be completely at home in a classic Universal monster movie. On the other hand, the scene where he jumps and spins through the air, the faint blue smoke trails as he wakes him up while the camera goes from super speed to super slow motion in an instant (the better. for a glimpse of him in action), is right inside a modern-day Marvel business venture. Meanwhile, in his non-violent episodes, Michael looks like Leto in Peter Steele cosplay, his long black hair, matching beard, and long collared coat with a permanently upturned collar—no just a little bit reminiscent of a cape — giving him the air of a goth metal negative Type O model fashionista.

Written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, Morbius establishes its impressive background with minimal fuss, as well as sophistication. The film’s early sequences are of excellent quality, including a flashback to Michael and Milo’s youth, where the latter is picked up by creeps in the schoolyard. That breakdown is all we get when it comes to Milo’s motivation to both crave Michael’s miraculous cure—despite the terrible side effects—and, once he gets it, , seize the opportunity to be the bully of the weak. Smith isn’t given much to do, especially since Milo can’t seem to decide whether he wants to convince Michael to accept his bloodlust or simply kill him for the murder. However, with a devilish twinkle in his eye, he made the most of his opportunity, in many cases, to instinctively break in to dance as an expression of joy at his new-found strength. his.

Espinosa drowns everything in darkness and icy colors, and while he can’t come up with an aesthetic approach to distinguish the film from any of its vampire or Batman predecessors, the direction goes. His is still as secure as it should be, save for those sporadic cases when everything turns into a CGI splash. Sure, Morbius wearing helmets as sturdy as both Venom and its digital anarchy is more discerning, if not quite impressive. Competence is often what Marvel businesses value most, and in that respect it accomplishes its modest goals. Morbius presents Michael as a tortured spirit who doesn’t want to slaughter his own kind but may not be able to resist his urges, and stabs him against a reflective enemy who shares his gifts. his great gift and none of his moral qualms.

There are other characters in Morbius, such as character scientist Jared Harris’ father Nicholas (who raised and cared for both Michael and Milo), and Tyrese Gibson and Al Madrigal’s FBI agents, who took on a serious narrative function. is to pursue Michael and in the process, throw a temporary roadblock in his way. However, those three characters play a small role in the final outcome of this story, which takes place at a fleet of 104 minutes, its business with a bit of originality but just gifted enough to post. Signing is not difficult. Furthermore, it underscores its story with the usual winks and nods to its franchise brethren, from a shot of The Daily Bugle and an additional subway for Thomas & Kane (i.e. Morbius creators Roy Thomas and Gil Kane), to two mid-credits scenes involving Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes, aka Vulture, whose appearance will be an even bigger surprise if it’s not spoiled by project trailers.

All the while, Leto engages in acceptable brooding and pulls off some less hilarious sarcasm, determined to play his anti-hero as straight as possible. That prevents his latest work from becoming a showcase for vibrant stages. However, it also keeps Morbius from boasting anything like a pointed personality.