Nosferatu? It’s not even him… – review of the movie “Morbius”

“Better late than never”, they say. However, sometimes it’s better not to do it at all…

 

Vegetarian vampire

The title character, Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto), is a brilliant biochemist. He spent his youth struggling with a destructive ailment that wreaked havoc on the organisms of his and his best friend Milo (Matt Smith), and his adult life searching for a remedy for this disease. Years of research are by no means wasted – the serum, which he prepares on the basis of genetic material that feeds on the blood of bats, finally begins to give promising results after many unsuccessful attempts. Under the pressure of time, a terminally ill scientist decides to make a morally, legally and methodologically questionable test – he becomes his own guinea pig on a shadowy ship and international waters. At first glance, the symptoms of the disease seem to disappear quickly, but it quickly turns out there are terrible side effects associated with a miraculous transformation. One of them is the constant hunger for blood …

Anachronistic vampire

It is an open secret that Morbius was ready before the unlucky March 2020. At that time, the studio, apparently aware of the treasure it had in its portfolio, refrained from publishing it before the plague had raged for good in the world. After many shifts and lockdowns, the new film by Daniel Espinoza entered the screens without much pump – at the same time giving the impression of a production that was not two, but twenty years late. In many ways, Morbius resembles early attempts to adapt Marvel’s stories – from a time when today’s superhero juggernaut was on the verge of bankruptcy and desperately sold outside studios the rights to adapt the adventures of new characters. The result was celluloid nightmares like Daredevil (2003),Elektry (2005) or Ghost Rider (2007) – from today’s perspective, a bit campy and charming in its awkwardness. In the film landscape of Morbius at that time – with its ubiquitous darkness, intrusive CGI and general atmosphere aiming somewhere between the rebel’s emo sensitivity and the aesthetics of home-grown nu-metal clips – he would not stand out, perhaps even die somewhere in a crowd of similarly stylistically similar productions. Currently, it only reminds that superhero cinema is not made in this way anymore – and that it is quite a good reason for it.

Anemic vampire

Perhaps it would be possible to turn a blind eye to questionable, in many respects anachronistic stylistic choices, if Espinoza and co. Could prove themselves in other fields. Propose an engaging story, fast-paced action, acting shows, and maybe even a substitute for (pop) philosophical, quasi-ethical considerations, which in confrontation with the perspective of eternal (non) life come to mind spontaneously… Whatever. Meanwhile, Morbius remains so asexual, so boring and expressionless that it is difficult to indicate even one advantage. The cinema has probably not seen such an anemic vampire since the times of the Twilight saga– supposedly undead, but still a goat a corpse. The screening, apart from the feeling of irretrievably and mercilessly wasted time, leaves only one question: why exactly this film (and, as the scenes after the credits suggest, potential sequels) was made? Well, the answer is trivial in its simplicity: Sony has a license and will not hesitate to use it.

We invite you to see the movie Morbius in the Cinema City cinema network !