The cinematic world is advancing, but the industry seems stuck in place for the second year, often releasing filler movies instead of blockbusters. Last year, Marvel barely scraped by with the disappointing “Eternals” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” This year, Sony is casting its line with “Morbius,” an equally uninspired film where everything feels mediocre, and the clichés are lifted straight from superhero movies of the 2000s.
A Familiar Tale
The plot of “Morbius,” to put it mildly, is reminiscent of Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 3” and Marc Webb’s forgotten “The Amazing Spider-Man” with the Lizard storyline. Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) suffers from a rare disease and invents a “cure” for his ailment. Morbius decides to mix bat and human DNA, transforming himself into a vampire. As if by magic, the plasma of the two creatures merges and works wonders – Morbius is cured, his body bulks up with muscles, but he develops a thirst for blood. His equally sick and insecure brother, Milo (Matt Smith), uses the essence thoughtlessly, even though Uncle Ben told Peter Parker 20 years ago that with great power comes great responsibility.
Jared Leto as Morbius in a still from the movie “Morbius”
The Villain Problem
Genetically, “Morbius” is part of a global trend where villains are either rehabilitated in stories or completely absent. In this case, the villain is presented as a good guy, saving the world from his own invention. The trend of abandoning villains is related to the fact that their image is often associated with a particular social or ethnic group, which may later take offense. Therefore, the bosses of Hollywood decided that it is better to do without antagonists or portray white, privileged cisgender men and women as them.
Matt Smith in a still from the movie “Morbius”
This has complicated the task for screenwriters, as the conflicts for the heroes must now be internal, and the psychology of the characters needs to be developed. Dr. Morbius struggles with himself and his envious brother because he doesn’t want to harm the world. It’s a timeless idea, but one that superhero movies have already reworked long ago. Also, the conflict between the brothers is so shallow, and so little time is devoted to their relationship and past, that the pathos of the action lies at the level of a family squabble where the younger brother envies the older one.
Jared Leto as Morbius in a still from the movie “Morbius”
Missed Opportunities
One would think that a film about vampires should be bloody and violent, but no, it has a PG-13 rating. Sony and Marvel only allow themselves one deep cut in a medium shot, and in all other cases, they hide any violence, although the authors use elements of horror (for example, a corridor with flashing lights). They could have shown sharp fangs sinking into bodies and draining them, but the pacifist vampire Morbius drinks artificial blood invented a few years ago, and his brother Milo prefers to kill off-screen or drag victims into the bushes.
“Morbius” could have had original content, but instead, it’s just clichés. The “damsel in distress” trope is there; a cheap parody of Hans Zimmer is present; stupid and unnecessary police are also in the ranks. Not only is the opportunity to create horror lost, but also the attempt at any social commentary. The brothers are English rich men, so their becoming vampires could have been an allusion to capitalist society, where elites profit from the lower class. This is also absent, as are discussions about the dangers of scientific knowledge and experiments on humans. The love line could have been developed, where Michael worries about his girlfriend and colleague Martine (Adria Arjona), but the film has too much competition in this field – the “Twilight” franchise (2008–2012). Therefore, “Morbius” turned out to be a picture without landmarks, without any significant reason for existence, released because of Sony and Marvel’s desire to suck money from fans. If Morbius turned into a predator, the project of the same name degenerated into a parasite.