Morbius

I watched it out of compulsion because I'm sick of comic book movies, and how can I say this, somehow I survived unscathed. Mostly surprisingly intimate, holding back, taking place mostly between interior walls in the space of a few rooms. It doesn't have any eye-candy moments that make it memorable, it's just the whole inoffensive definition of mediocrity. Jared Leto was okay, as long as he didn't just make himself look like a vampire thanks to the ugly CGI, he acted artfully and wasn't the weakest link. It just that unfortunately it has a ridiculously cringing Matt Smith, and it has Tyrese Gibson looking like he's expecting diarrhea at any moment the whole time. The final CGI fight, drowned in darkness, is forgotten within five minutes. Like the whole film, actually. (25/10/2023)

I am not disappointed, I got exactly what I expected. A typical Sony film, bland and uninspired, without a hint of creativity or successful action, shot in the most sterile way just to exist and feed on the ongoing comic book fever, with the unconvincing Jared Leto and incredibly overacting Matt Smith (and completely off Michael Keaton, I still don't understand why they threw away the originally announced scenes in the trailers). Don't go see it. Although Venom is constantly criticized, I really enjoyed it a lot a few years ago in the cinema (and less at home) and the sequel disappointed me, but still better than this. A pointless film that just repeats the same old cliches, pure mediocrity. PS: Due to the schedule at our local cinema, we unexpectedly ended up watching the dubbed version and surprisingly, the dubbing was of higher quality than the film itself. (04/04/2022)

I am Manbat! Jared Leto in a strange variation on a dime-a-dozen Spiderman baddie & unknown Batman baddie is seriously bad. The senseless decisions, unclear motives and questionable rules for the functioning of this entire newly created universe are pitiful. The idiotic screenplay manages even to kill any potentially intriguing storylines and the nicely set up hero/baddie relationship is destroyed unexpectedly amateurishly. The obviously heavily cut ending with the footage of Keaton indicates that Morbius is for teenagers and movie consumers who don’t like to use their minds. (03/09/2022)

Dallas Buyers Club, Marvel edition. The treatment of the moribund Doctor Morbius tries to be dark and intimate in some respects, but what could be worse than an anemic vampire film where the characters take steps you can see in the mirror minutes ahead? On top of that, the confused action at the end, thanks to the editing, is downright catastrophic, leaving you with the impression that the Toasted Bun from Ren & Stimpy is flying through the streets while the computer graphics crew lazily mimics the handiwork of the makeup artists from The Lost Boys. (31/10/2024)

Morbius in the end is not as bad as everyone originally announced, but at the same time it is definitely not as good as we hoped. In the context of the Marvel franchise, it's clearly one of the worse pieces and actually has very little to do with it (see below), but as a standalone film, it's a digestible actioner that doesn't dazzle too much, but doesn't bore either. The problem is that Morbius doesn't stand out for much of anything, and so it will likely be a forgettable affair for several reasons. The acting is average, the vampire make-up doesn’t impress, the story is clichéd, the humour is completely absent, there is no connection with other characters, the action isn't groundbreaking and the CGI is awful – I didn't mind it at first, but as time went on more and more of it was added until the finale turned into a giant digital mess. The slow-motion scenes get overwhelming after a while and start to annoy you as well, the villain is boring, bland and without a proper motivation. Simply a terribly superficial affair that didn’t bore me, but I wouldn't recommend a cinema visit. A huge misstep by the standards of superhero movies, but I liked the post-credit scene, and quite a lot, so we'll see what interesting things Morbius brings us in the future. Either way, the film is further proof that the Marvel brand is not a guarantee of quality, but it's about the person sitting in the director's chair. I was originally leaning towards three star, but the botched finale and the idea of how good this anti-hero could potentially be made me stick with two. (31/03/2022)