Morbius Review Movie (2022)

Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto), the protagonist of Columbia Pictures' "Morbius" MCU semi-sequel thriller, is a "living vampire". You are probably wondering what this means. A doctor who became a vampire without dying? Why that's right – he tried to cure his life-threatening blood disease by fusing his DNA with vampire bats. (What disease you ask? You sweet and innocent young man.) He now has superhuman speed, strength, resonance, and an appetite for blood. A man-made alternative.

Does that mean that the normal rules of vampirism don't apply? Yes and no. According to Morbius' recipe, his close friend Loxias Crown (Matt Smith) becomes his worst enemy, turning himself into a vampire. But we don't know if he survived the transition.

MORBIUS - Official Trailer (HD)

The most obvious reason for this is that footage was left on the screen, which can be linked to the many reboots and lag issues that hindered "Morpheus" from making it to the big screen. Other characters die and come back to life after drinking Morpheus' blood, an unnatural transformation - as Morbius said. 

All the great metaphorical success goes to Matt Zajama and Burke Sharpless' screenplay and Leto's performance: Is vampirism a disease? Test. Do vampires like drugs? Then you Don't ask too much about actually developing these themes, though, as the film's approach is "Look there!" Whenever things get complicated. 

A superhero presents a complex moral dilemma where murders are a direct result of his efforts to help people. But you wouldn't be able to tell that from this movie, which takes any compelling elements of the hero's story and turns them into clichés about the duty of the privileged few. Protect the unsuspecting.

You can't tell that from this movie, which takes any compelling elements of the hero's story and turns them into clichés about the duty of the privileged few. Protect the unsuspecting. You can't tell that from this movie, which takes any compelling elements of the hero's story and turns them into clichés about the duty of the privileged few. Protect the unsuspecting.

The basic thrust of the plot is that Morbius – a prominent scientist whose lab is funded by the Crown family fortune – is conducting enough ethically questionable experiments for everyone concerned that it's best to follow them into international waters. It didn't matter, given the great wealth of the crown. 

But the aftermath of the first human experiment led to the deaths of eight sailors, and their bodies were quickly discovered in a haunted ship similar to the one containing Count Dracula at the beginning of Bram Stoker's novel. (It's not "Morpheus" but related to other, more coherent vampire stories: the ship is named Murnau, after the "Nosferatu" director.)

From there, Morpheus — who, you guessed it, was turned into a “living vampire” during the trial — appears to be under investigation by the FBI. But agents Rodriguez (Al Madrigal) and Strode (Tyrese Gibson) do a terrific job of tracking him down, only to find him back at his lab with his co-star and favorite doctor (Adria Arjona) within hours of the crime.

It's a front-page story with an ever-growing body count, and the prime suspect is sneaking around unnoticed by doing little more than hiding his sweater. But no problem. To the most important question: Are things about vampires interesting?

Unfortunately, that's not really the case. Like most superhero movies, "Morbius" has a PG-13 rating, which restricts the flow of blood to the original Morbius juice cans, which run smoothly and occasionally rustle around the character's neck. And while pseudo-artists are listed in the film's credits, it's difficult to make out their contributions in the harsh CGI landscape.

"Morpheus" isn't an MCU movie: it belongs to the so-called "Spider-Verse," coming from the same studio as "Spider-Man: No Way Home." But it shares an Achilles' heel with the MCU, which is that you can't tell what's going on in any of the movie's action scenes.

When Morpheus wakes up, conjuring a mix of hallucinogens and sooty creatures from "My Neighbor Totoro," if not for the rippling CGI tracks in front of the screen, they're badass bats. It's clear that the previous action scenes weren't great. But the film's climactic battle is nearly impossible to track, thanks to a horde of vampire bats rushing in at the last minute to save the day.