Morbius
Directed by Daniel Espinosa
I’d rate this movie 3 Stars
Based on the Marvel Comic books, this movie stars Jared Leto as Dr Michael Morbius. He is a biochemist with a rare blood disease he has had since a boy.
Michael is trying to find a cure for both himself and his patients by experimenting with treatments assisted by his longtime colleague Dr Martine Bancroft. These experiments are funded by his childhood friend Milo, played by Matt Smith, who suffers from the same medical condition. Milo has inherited his family’s wealth and provides a laboratory at sea floating in international waters.
After a dangerous experiment onboard involving genetic samples of vampire bats, Dr Morbius is turned into a living vampire. Externally he looks healthy and healed but along with the recovery comes super strength, speed, bat echolocation (the use of sound waves), and a thirst for blood. Sickened by this dependency Dr Morbius uses synthetic blood, although he starts to need larger quantities to satiate himself. When Milo sees his friend’s health return he becomes jealous and steals the serum immediately using it upon himself.
Milo becomes a vampire but makes no effort to control his thirst for human blood. Death and carnage follow, and Milo develops superhuman strength and speed. The rest of the movie is about Morbius trying to prove himself innocent of Milos crimes, keep Martine safe, and catch and control Milo.
I rate this movie 3 stars. I expected a bit more from a Marvel movie. I liked the CGI and the acting was good, however I felt the storyline fell a bit flat in the second half of the movie. I would recommend this movie for teenagers familiar with the Michael Morbius comic book character.