Months after release, cinema showings for Spider-Man: No Way Home were still packed, almost every seat filled. Three days after release, Morbius screenings are populated by a few couples — mostly middle-aged — and a single family with three silent children.
Outside of frequent giggles from those in on the obvious joke of watching Morbius in cinema, the room is completely silent for the entire hour-and-a-half. Halfway through two people walk out; only one returns. As surprising as it may seem, Sony's latest Marvel legend is a massive flop.
Morbius is not good... at all
While Sony's latest will likely perform admirably at the box office, the newest entry in the Sony Spider-Man Universe is horrendous. Not only does 30 Seconds To Mars’ Jared Leto command the movie with the grandiose of a leaky anus, but it’s another Sony movie that somehow manages to be terrible in every single way possible.
For starters, Morbius is an ugly movie decorated in an ugly grey-blue filter that blankets every scene. There's also issues with editing as characters zip around in a way that makes sure you know most of the film is on the cutting room floor. Furthermore, the writing is horrendous; every character is built on a nail bed of clichés that they're never allowed to escape.
There are some saving graces, only very minor ones. As always, Matt Smith puts his all into his performance as Milo, and he’s far more engaging than Leto. Additionally, some visual effects are stylish despite only being set dressing for rather anaemic fight sequences.
However, for every good VFX shot, there's a large number of laughably bad ones. For starters, all of the vampire faces look horrendous, especially ones involving Matt Smith. If Sony wants this to be the face of their supervillain franchise, they better get out the makeup.
But Morbius being one of the worst movies I've seen in years isn't the worst part about the movie. In actuality, it’s Sony's marketing for the film that has cemented the company's Spider-Man Universe as one of the most disingenuous cinematic schemes ever made.
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Sony's Spider-Man Universe is a complete sham
As one of the only movie studios with any Marvel properties at hand, Sony is desperately milking its current IP to compete with Marvel. While Spider-Man is currently safe in the hands of Marvel Studios for the time being, his villains are in the clutches of a studio that consistently makes horrendous live action films.
Sony's Spider-Man Connected Universe started with Venom, a traditionally bad movie with enough heart and fun to make it work. That was followed up with Venom: Let There Be Carnage, in some ways a worse movie that was still fun enough to be enjoyed. Next comes Morbius.
Morbius’ entire marketing run is based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s success. The trailer shows scenes involving Michael Keaton’s Vulture, multiple shots of The Daily Bugle and Spider-Man. All of this is used to convince MCU viewers, even casual ones, that this movie is in the MCU and is an integral part of the story.
Of course, it's not. There are no references to Spider-Man in the movie; The Vulture is delegated to post credits, and Morbius’ world is not in the MCU. Instead, The Vulture is brought over after the movie to kill Spider-Man. For fans of the MCU, this is despite the fact that Vulture does not despise Spidey after his arrest and is actively protecting him in jail.
Sony is desperate to get the same level of success as the MCU, even if it has to trick MCU fans to buy tickets. However, none of this would be a horrible thing if Sony actually made movies to the same level of quality as Marvel, but they don't.
Morbius is a vapid movie, one that doesn't instil hope for Sony's upcoming Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web movies. Of course, I'll probably watch them, because I love Spider-Man and hate myself, but I won't be happy about it.
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