Morbius Movie Review

Sony Pictures made the smart business move, by keeping the rights to the Spider-Man characters. There are so many villains, anti heroes and fantastic characters in the Spider-Man comics universe, that the potential for adaptations is near endless. In 2018, Sony tested the waters by releasing 'Venom' starring Tom Hardy as the titular anti hero. The film garnered a positive reaction from audiences, grossing over $850 million worldwide.. In 2021, they followed up 'Venom', with the anticipated sequel 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage', which also conjured up nearly $500 million worldwide, one of the highest grossing films since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2020. Now in 2022, Marvel & Sony have teamed up once again for yet another anti-hero origin story, with Morbius, this time starring Jared Leto as the title character Michael morbius, who is in fact the living vampire. The film also stars the likes of Matt Smith, Jared Harris, Tyrese Gibson and a brief appearance by Michael Keaton, returning as the Vulture in a mid-credits sequence. 

'Morbius' is a hell of a lot of fun. The film showcases Michael Morbius, as a likeale doctor who is trying to do good, by advancing the medical industry, but falls victim to his hubris. This is a character arc we have seen many times before, but due to Jared Leto's likeability in the role and director Daniel Espinosa's ability of showcasing this on-screen, the film feels fresh and different to what we have seen before. Jared Lato is excellent in the role of Morbius, showcasing his humanity, but also the trials and tribulations that come with his now enhanced, bat-like abilities. We get a few fun sequences in the film that showcase Morbius learning how to use his abilities and harness his strengths. These sequences are fun and rank among some of the best in the entire film.

The films supporting cast are all great as well, with one of the standouts being the films villain Milo played by the energetic and charismatic Matt Smith. Smith steals a lot of the scenes in the film with his likeability. He is clearly having a lot of fun in his villainous turn as Milo, Morbius's lifelong friend. The sequences where the two go toe-to-toe are also riveting, showcasing the acting range of both performers. I particularly enjoyed the sequence where Milo visits Morius in prison. There's a great bit of back and forth between both characters which leads to an exciting action set piece in the subway. 

Morbius also possesses some of the best action sequences Marvel has put to film, outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We get a lot of tense moments here, including the previously mentioned subway fight sequence, a great sequence on a cargo ship, where Morbius first transforms into the living vampire and of course the action-packed third act, which sees Milo and Morbius go head-to-head once again, in the thrilling climax of the film. Director Daniel Espinosa is no stranger to action films, directing the highly underrated Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds action film 'Safe House'. He steadies the camera and lets the action breathe. 

Overall, I had a great time with 'Morbius', whilst it doesn't live up to the sandrd of some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, the suspense and grand performances add to the overall enjoyment I had with the film It is a must watch for superhero film fans and those wanting something a little different. Pick up your copy of 'Morbius' today on DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K UHD from your local Sanity or online, you won't want to miss it.

Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here