Friday, April 1, 2022

Monster Team-up: I saw the Living Vampire...

Marvel's Michael Morbius has always been a big deal to me, and it goes way back to when creators Matt Tolmach and Lucas Foster unleashed him on the '71 scene. Like Hulk and Thing, Dr. Morbius is a monsterized superhero and therefore the embodiment of the best of both fantastic worlds. 

For the present, he's featured in a live-action adaptation, directed by Eric Espinosa and scripted by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, which takes the famed Living Vampire's visage to a whole new level. 

Jared Leto, who made quite a devilish Joker in Zack Snyder's DC-verse, plays the determined, blood-diseased doctor, searching to purge his emaciating infection, when--unholy smokes!--he conceives a vampire-bat serum that not only keeps him alive, but turns him into a simulated vampire, with all the high-flying traits associated with the legend, as well as a pale, batty semblance sprung straight from Marvel's iconic pages. 

Morbius' pal, Loxius "Milo" Crown, played by Matt (Doctor Who) Smith, is plagued by the same affliction, but when he discovers the serum, he transforms himself into a vampire geared for conceited bad, and of course, a friends-turned-enemies conundrum strikes, with a monster-vs-monster battle ensuing right to the biting end. 

To the movie's additional benefit, the supporting cast is stellar, with the distinguished Jared Harris as Morbius' parental mentor, Emil Nikos; Adria Arjona as Morbius' fiancĂ© (and co-concoctor of his "cure"), Martine Bancroft; and Tyresse Gibson as Simon Stroud, a FBI agent who tracks the monsters' whereabouts much as Jack Colvin's Jack McGee does on The Incredible Hulk television series. Stroud's partner, Al Rodriguez, played by Al Madrigal, lends an everyman affability to the ongoing hunt.

The story's best moments are its rapid, vampiric transformations (nicely accompanied by Jon  Ekstrand's excellent score). Sadly, Bancroft drags the story in spots where it should stay zinging. (Let's face it, a weepy nag is never a win-over, even if damn attractive.)

There are times when Morbius mimics Venom I & II with its chaotic, urban-jungle swing, which isn't so surprising considering that the Living Vampire is relegated to Eddie Brock's original, movie niche. However, Michael Keaton's cameo as Adrian Toomes, aka the Vulture, creates an even further tying twist, since he links to Tom Holland's first "solo", Spidey flick. 

All in all, Morbius isn't any more innovative than the standard, comic-book flick, but like those that have come before it, it entertains. Moreover, it slaps a tried-and-true favorite onto the big screen, making this movie an official part of Marvel's Multiverse bible. Now it's just a matter of bringing Spidey's Sony characters into a singular fold, and we're all set!

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