Morbius

Image credit: ACX Cinemas

While good cinema is always a treat, it’s not necessarily what you want all the time. In the wonderful world of movies, where there is an ever-replenishing reservoir of content, sometimes you just want to curl up with a movie that is dumb, fun, mindless, and decidedly not amazing. Here in Australia, we recently had a long weekend and, for me, that weekend was spent in bed with partner watching dumb movies. And you know what? It was the perfect way to spend it!

Biochemist, Dr. Michael Morbius, has spent his life trying to find a cure for a rare blood disease that threatens his life and the life of his best friend Milo. While his other triumphs in the medical field have been incredible, a cure remains out of reach, and he resorts to unorthodox experimenting in the hope of finding one. When he finally does, it comes with a dangerous side effect: vampirism.

I remember seeing the trailers for this film and instantly knowing that it was going to be a dumb, fun, popcorn flick in the same vein as Venom. Thanks to Disney’s Marvel cinematic universe, the Spiderman villains are getting a string of anti-hero movies that are proving to be entertaining and refreshing fillers between the anticipated Marvel blockbusters. Various stingers have already hinted that these characters are about to make an appearance in the Marvel-movieverse and I’m rather excited about it.

Morbius, while being wholly predictable and relatively short, doesn’t disappoint. A textbook action movie with a dark and gritty palette; annoying for the most part but saved a little bit by the interesting pops of colour found in the cool special effects, it’s a film that you go into knowing that you’re not going to love it and then having that expectation completely satisfied. Aside from the aforementioned special effects, which are a bit of a throwback to The Matrix spliced with the wizard fight in Harry Potter 5, there is nothing particularly thrilling or engaging about this movie. It’s just a fun one to curl up with in the hope of killing some cold, winter hours.

Image credit: Tvovermind

Jared Leto delivers a fine performance as the anti-hero himself, definitely keeping us on our toes regarding his moral alignment (for want of a better word). And Matt Smith as the villain is stable and unoffending.

It’s most certainly not a movie to rave about, just a fun way to fill time, and if you’re a fan of the Marvel-movieverse and the movies that make it up, then it’s worth giving it a watch.

Director: Daniel Espinosa, 2022

Cast: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Tyrese Gibson, Al Madrigal & Jared Harris.