Luke McWilliams gives his review of the 2022 superhero film, Morbius, starring Jared Leto.
In the jungles of Costa Rica, Dr Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) sets about capturing a sample of vampire bats to aid in his quest to find a cure to his deadly blood disease. Flashing back 25 years to a hospital in Greece, a 10-year-old Morbius befriends a new young patient who shares the same illness. Flashing forward, Morbius splices vampire bat genes together into a solution!
Venom, the second entry into Sony Studio’s Spider-Man universe, enjoyed success in part due to the unexpectedly bizarre and zany performance from lead Tom Hardy. Morbius’ Leto plays the part extremely straight to the point of confusion: is he an altruistic humanitarian struggling with the monster bursting to come out, or a self-interested narcissist on a journey of discovering his inner anti-hero?
Alternatively, Dr. Who’s Matt Smith has a great time as the shoe-horned antagonist. Straight from the Marvel Cinematic Universe template, Smith’s foil shares the same ailment as our lead, but presents as a moral antithesis, lapping up the perceived advantages of being a vampire that also provides the means to unleash his pent-up frustrations onto a society that isolated him for his entire life.
Verdict: While there is some fun to be had, the movie consciously feels like a cold, cynical corporate exercise to push a by-the-numbers commercial product down the assembly line with more to follow. 2.5 stars.
Viewed at Dendy Cinemas.
- Luke McWilliams | themovieclub.net
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