The next superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is neither "super" nor "hero" in the traditional sense, but he does have an unusual disease and a strange skill set that set him apart from regular humans. Morbius is his name, and while watching his genesis narrative, you could get the impression that wires were crossed somewhere in the cinematic world.
The picture opens with a helicopter delivering a cage to a mist-shrouded isle where you half expect King Kong to be. However, as he approaches the cave's opening, Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) is walking with difficulty on two crutch-like canes, hunting for smaller wildlife.
As a roar of batwings resonates from inside the cave, he positions himself behind the cage's wires and slashes open the palm of his hand, murmuring to the copter pilot, "if you're going to run, do it now."
A rare blood disease treated with a bit o' bat
It's tempting to say "be forewarned," yet the first hour or so of the film, while ordinary, is well-made.
Michael Morbius, who was born with a rare blood disorder, has dedicated his life to two goals: finding a cure and learning how to fold origami paper. Natch, it occurs to him to fold bat and human DNA together.
Because the FDA is unlikely to approve human trials, he and his lovely co-researcher Martine (Adria Arjona) board a cargo ship bound for international waters off the coast of Long Island with eight thuggish mercenaries — think blood bags — and it's only a matter of time before Morbius is injected with bat DNA.
Let it be mentioned that some of the negative effects of "chiropter-y" are less dreadful than others. Bat DNA clearly results in beautiful cheekbones and abs, as well as enhanced power and quickness.
New teeth sprouting from his gums with decades of rot baked in, and claws erupting from his pre-filthed fingers are less beneficial results. Sure...the what's the harm in that? Except this is a man with the gloss that only comes from combing his hair three times a day.
Another problem is that he now needs human blood every six hours. Dr. Morbius devised "manufactured blood" on his way to refusing a Nobel Prize, however, it only fools his system for a short time.
color-coded smoke effects for a Jekyll and his Hyde
If you're anticipating a traditional Marvel film, keep in mind that what Director Daniel Espinoza and his writers have created is more of a horror film with Marvel flourishes.
That means Leto's Morbius gets purple smoke effects to go with his fang-baring snarls as he rides subway air currents, while the equally afflicted Hyde to his Jekyll – a boyhood pal played as an adult by an amusingly hopped-up Matt Smith – gets blue-ish vapor trails and snappier lines.
Their plot, however, is lacking in intensity. Or logic, for that matter. Morbius overhears some counterfeiters exchanging phony $100 notes and seizes their printing press to create what seems to be an artificial blood machine – because the technology for false dollars and fake blood are similar? Perhaps that would work better as a comic book.
Bat guys everywhere you look
When the DC Extended Universe originally revealed that Twilight actor Robert Pattinson will portray Batman in their part of the superhero cosmos, it looked like a wonderful inside joke – from Vampire-teen to Bat-man. However, now that Leto has gone full Dracula in the Marvelverse, it appears that the casting could've gone the other way.
Leto is as convincingly tormented by the evil side of vigilantism as Pattinson was, and maybe more eager to avoid being a villain as a result of corporate posturing. Morbius, like Venom, was a nasty person in the 1970s when he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man comics. If a series is to be constructed around him, he ought to be at least an anti-hero now.
But who's to determine who's the evil guy/bat guy? Another DC bat guy, Michael Keaton, appears in his non-batty baddie Marvel guise Adrian Toomes, as shown in the trailers, purely to confuse anyone attempting to keep their movie worlds straight.
However, additional robust "Morbius" episodes will be required to clarify bloodlines, as this origin tale is just sufficient, and by Marvel standards, a little anemic.
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