Marvel’s vampire scuttles himself in a completely unfinished movie

Repeatedly postponed, Morbius, adaptation of Marvel’s vampiric anti-hero in a new feature film carried by Sony, has finally been in theaters since March 30. Three months after the cardboard Spider-Man: No Way Home and four weeks before the highly anticipated Doctor Strange 2the film directed by Daniel Espinosa finds itself caught between two behemoths against whom it seems very difficult to find a place in the sun.

Michael Morbiusportrayed by Jared Leto (Requiem for a Dream, House of Gucci) is a character on the border of good and evil. He first appeared in Marvel comics as an enemy of Spider-Man. This genius doctor suffers from a serious blood disease, he puts ethics aside to find a cure. During his experiments, he ends up curing himself by mixing his DNA with that of a bat. A double-edged sword: Michael is now transformed into a vampire endowed with superhuman abilities, torn between his thirst for blood and his morality.

If the synopsis and trailer looked promising, Morbius struggles to convince as the film seems unfinished. From the first minutes, we cringe at one of its major flaws: its catastrophic editing. However, the feature film begins with a rather successful scene in Costa Rica, we discover a doctor Morbius with long dark hair, emaciated and pale. He attempts to capture vampire bats for his experiments at the entrance to a remote cave. Then suddenly, the viewer is briefly immersed in the childhood of the hero and his meeting with his friend whom he considers his brother: Milo (Matt Smith). Then the spectator is again taken without any real transition to the present, to the awarding of the Nobel Prize for Medicine to Michael.

A phenomenon that we find throughout the 105 minutes of Morbius, with very short scenes that give the impression of a cropped film, made with the foot on the accelerator. But even more annoying, many sequences present in the trailer to tie Morbius to the universe of Spiderman were cut and are ultimately not present in the film. Only two frankly underwhelming post-credits scenes bridge the universes.

With such a fast narration, it’s impossible to really get attached to the characters despite a nice cast. Jared Leto (Requiem for a Dream
Panic Room, Suicide Squad) briefly makes Michael’s personality shine, when he dissects his new abilities like a scientist. But the doctor’s tug of war between good and evil is completely overlooked. The viewer has to make do with a few scenes where the vampire regrets having siphoned off humans.

The brotherly relationship between Michael and his friend Milo, central to the film, falls flat. Despite the performance of Matt Smith in the role of a sassy and show-off “brother”, the opposite of the doctor. The duality between these two characters is not exploited enough and the betrayal scene is so poorly constructed that we completely miss it. The secondary characters could have balanced the whole thing if they had managed to make a place for themselves in the film. But the role of Martine (Adria Arjona), doctor and assistant to Morbius, lacks consistency, just like Emil (Jared Harris), paternal friend of the duo.

As for the conversion of Morbius as a vampire, film key moment, lhe director has tried hard to be faithful to the description of the comics: a nose turned up like a bat, high cheekbones, white skin, red eyes or even sharp claws to shred its prey. Only, visually, the special effects of the metamorphoses turn out to be of very uneven quality. As soon as the camera lingers on the face of the vampire, it is impossible not to notice the digital work carried out on this transformation.

However, when Morbius uses its power of echolocation in the manner of bats, the special effects are put to good use. Under this radar, the city is deformed according to the sound waves for an original and aesthetic result. Other good ideas are scattered throughout the film, like the vampire’s movements accompanied by streaks of smoke or sequences “bullet time” with the scent of Matrix.

In summary, Morbius disappointing as its potential has been wasted. The film fails to define its identity halfway between action, horror and drama. The feature film does not sufficiently reflect the complexity and darkness of the anti-hero described in the comics. An adaptation that appears to be sloppy by Sony. The studio, already at the origin of the disappointing saga Venom, will now turn to his next project: a film about the character Kraven the hunterscheduled for 2023.

Gender: action, fantasy
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Country : United States
Duration : 1h45
Exit in France : March 30, 2022
Distributer : Sony Pictures

Synopsis : Seriously affected by a rare blood disease, and determined to save all the victims of this pathology, Dr. Morbius makes a desperate bet. While her experiment appears to be a success, the cure triggers a sinister effect. Will good overcome evil or will Morbius succumb to his new impulses?