MorbiusThe latest Marvel film megafranchise addition, ”, isn’t sure if the movie’s about a vampire flick or dark super hero movie. It’s clear, though, that the movie favors vampires. Sucks.
Since I don’t believe in “quasi-addition”, MorbiusIt exists within an intellectual property netherrealm. This awkward zone is where it neither has its own distinct franchise nor a Marvel film.
Historically, Morbius is a Marvel Comics character—originally a Spider-Man nemesis who rode the wave of trippy, horror-shlock comics in the 1970s. Sony owns the rights to Morbius, just like Venom who has been the star of two solo movies. The studio also holds the rights through its deal to make Spider-Man films. The Spider-Man movies are produced with Marvel, which is owned by Disney. This secondary agreement allows Marvel to include Spider-Man in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. In a multiverse event presupposed by Marvel, Morbius finally connects with a Spider-Man from the MCU. Spider-Man has no way home.
That’s it?
It doesn’t matter if you have or not. All of the comic book movie deals-making lore seems to make more sense than actually watching the movie.
Similar to the Venom films. MorbiusThis is an unorganized and messy looking mess that should be avoided while browsing Twitter. Poorly paced, with no story to follow, it has the hallmarks of a post-production movie.
It is not like the Venom films. MorbiusIt doesn’t make even a small effort to be fun with the character or its concept. I I didn’t like VenomOder its sequel in any wayBoth films had a crude energy, particularly the second. Although they weren’t great by any standard, the films occasionally tried to get to grips with their audience.
MorbiusThe other, however, is grudgingly content to continue on with his predictable pace, barely having any idea of a plot that centers on a scientist who has a rare blood condition and gains vampiric power after performing some experiments. How do these powers work? They are not really defined in the movie, but Dr. Michael Morbius, a lethargic and unusually boring Jared Leto, is seen swinging about his lab, sometimes moving at such a speed that it turns him into an aeroborne purple goo. Wear an N95 if you are in the same room as him.
Milo is played by Matt Smith, a former Doctor Who. Milo, who is about half an hour in the movie becomes the villain because the movie ultimately needs one. The movie sometimes seems to compare the experiences of its two leads to those of homosexual men in the early days of AIDS. It has nothing more to say than a vague gesture. As everything else. MorbiusThe metaphor at the center is inert. The movie is $75 million in budget and has not one interesting idea.
It seems that the film will be a hit regardless of its connections to Marvel. Some of the posters explicitly play on this connection, advertising the film as the dawn of “a new Marvel legend”—true in the sense that Morbius is an old Marvel Comics character, but false in the sense that the producers and creative forces behind the MCU had nothing to do with making the movie Morbius.
It is possible to see the Marvel brand in action through an unbranded, not-quite Marvel film like this. Even the most horrible Actual Marvel movie—and I’m specifically talking about EternalsThe other was Three hours of cosmic dreck—displays more ingenuity and delivers more genuine spectacle than a rote cash-in like Morbius.
Marvel’s works have been excellent on the smaller screen with a modest budget and a large audience.
Take, for instance, the pilot episode Moon KnightThe official MCU TV Series, which debuted this week on Disney+. Like Morbius, Moon KnightThis is an updated riff of a comic book character who has been cursed with demons and given supernatural powers. It’s smart and entertaining, filled with clever gags and action. The center of the story is a pair high-powered performances by Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke. The film breathes new life into an obscure character. Morbius, whose nickname is “the living Vampire”, is actually utterly unliveable upon his arrival.