Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse.
Morbius is a 2022 horror thriller starring Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Jared Harris, and Tyrese Gibson, directed by Daniel Espinosa. It follows biochemist Michael Morbius who tries to cure himself of a rare blood disease, but he infects himself with a form of vampirism instead and must face not only the monster within but one he inadvertently creates.
UNDER THE LENS: VISUALS & EDITING
Visuals: One of the interesting and cool things about Morbius is the creative way that it showcases the many powers of Michael Morbius, when he is in his vampire form, he has many skills that he can call upon. Such as the ability to glide on the wind, a form of echolocation, super strength, and an affinity with bats that allows him to harness them as a weapon and tool. The picture did a good job using visual effects to showcase these powers while on a limited budget, the echolocation was especially cool to see, as it operates as a sort of pulsing radar that spreads out from Morbius and then bounces back.
Editing: One of the major issues with Morbius was that it was clearly hacked to death in the editing room, it feels at times like whole stories are so truncated as to almost not exist anymore. Tyrese Gibson plays Agent Simon Stroud, and we are shown his cybernetic arm in a lab and hear about cybernetics keeping his arm alive, but nothing ever comes of it, in fact, his role is so small that one might ask what he is even doing in the picture? The first act of the picture also feels very edited, after I finished I judged that anywhere from 20-40mins seemed to have been cut, I can’t help but feel that if we had seen the full director’s cut of this picture, it would have been much better.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Matt Smith delivers a wonderfully hammy performance as the villain, and he seems to be having the time of his life playing him.
- The hallway scene of the nurse running from a creature is scary and creepy
- Jared Leto turns in a good performance as the titular character
QUOTABLE QUOTE
Dr. Michael Morbius: How far are we allowed to fix something that’s broken?
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
How far would you go to cure a terminal disease if you or a family member suffered from it?
CONCLUSION
At the end of the day, Morbius is one of the weaker entries to the Marvel universe but it is far from the “Worst movie of all time” title that many have laid on its head. There is a good and scary film hidden beneath the terrible editing and shortened runtime. Jared Leto gives a good performance as a tortured scientist, and Matt Smith is a terrific villain, add to that some fun visuals, and an intriguing question of medical ethics, and Morbius is a solid abet weak superhero picture.
If you enjoy pictures about vampires that are violent yet not too scary then Morbius is a fun and enjoyable time, just don’t go in expecting a masterpiece and you should leave entertained.
