By Sienna Thompson, First Year, English Literature
Marvel’s highly anticipated Morbius landed on the big screen this Friday. Many viewers left the cinema feeling disappointed, unfulfilled, and downright angry that their beloved studio associated itself with what some see as, ‘a let-down’ of a Marvel film. However, is Morbius receiving more hate than it deserves?
Morbius follows Doctor Michael Morbius (Jared Leto), a biochemist, who lives with a rare blood disease that he has had his entire life. He attempts to cure himself using the DNA of vampire bats, but his experiment takes a dark turn when he obtains similar abilities to vampirism.
His close friend Lucien (Matt Smith), whom he names Milo, suffers from the same disease also. He ends up taking this ‘cure’ himself, despite Michael’s warnings, in turn making him the suspected villain of the plot.
Jared Leto complements the role of Michael Morbius extremely well, bringing a dry humoured and kind character to the screen, who ultimately becomes one of the universe's most menacing villains.
Matt Smith delivers an excellent performance of a slightly crazy but overall, desperate man who just wishes to live a healthy life and is instead consumed by the powers he gains from this serum.
Milo’s lifelong connection with Michael makes for an intense relationship between the two when their morals on the situation split after they see how powerful they can become.
One of the more memorable scenes would have to be when Michael is testing out his new powers. The CGI to show the echolocation effects on not only his surroundings, but his physical features such as eyes and ears, was a unique demonstration differing from typical representations of vampires.
The horror element of Morbius really brings to light the capabilities Marvel has to offer with darker films in their universe. The boat scene where we see Michael’s first transformation after he takes the serum brings plenty of suspense to any viewer, and the hallway scene in the hospital is enough to get you jumping out of your seat.
The main letdown of this film viewers found were the two post-credit scenes. As a Spider-man fan myself, I personally felt excited at this new link to the multiverse with Vulture (Michael Keaton) interacting with Michael and referencing a potential group being made. Possibly the Sinister Six? However, it was disappointing to not see Keaton throughout the film as the trailer insinuated. It does however create excitement and suspicion over another Spider-man film being produced.
Overall, Morbius received plenty of premeditated hate from critics, but this may be a ‘marmite’ example of films- either you love it, or you hate it. So, head over to your local cinema and decide for yourself!
Featured Image: IMDB
What did you think of Morbius?
