Released on Apr. 1, Sony’s “Morbius” is the perfect movie to be released on April Fool’s Day. This film is a disaster from start to finish, leaving me with many questions that I honestly did not care to have answered. The strange pacing, stolen ideas and overall inconsistency of the film justifies its Rotten Tomato score of a dismal 16%. Upon finishing the movie, I can confidently say that I have officially watched a vampire movie worse than Twilight. 

Sony has spent years attempting to build their own Spider-Man universe, a superhero world consisting only of the movies that Sony still holds the rights to. Aside from Spider-Man, and arguably Venom, most of this universe’s lineup is lackluster. Enter Morbius, played by Jared Leto. Morbius is one of the more complex and interesting characters in the realm of comic book design. His character, Dr. Michael Morbius, suffers from a rare blood condition and is attempting to find a cure. He experiments by combining his DNA with that of a vampire bat, leaving him with heightened senses, a thirst for blood and apparently abs. It is evident throughout the film that Sony wanted this movie to launch the character into popularity, in hopes of garnering the similar love and support other successful superheros are surrounded by (just a suggestion). I do feel as if the character himself had promise, presenting the opportunity for an anti-hero story in which the doctor battles between his newfound impulses and his oath to do no harm. Unfortunately, Sony chose not to focus on this complex aspect of his character, leaving the portrayal of Morbius very underdeveloped.

Speaking of portrayal, the acting in this movie cannot go unnoticed. Leto is known for somewhat exaggerated performances, but this film is the opposite. He gives an uninspired performance, leaving co-star Matt Smith, playing Morbius’s friend Loxias Crown, to outshine him. Every other performance in the movie can be summarized into one word: fine. 

The pacing of this movie also left me confused. It seemed as if every type of scene received the same amount of screen time. This made slow parts of the movie seem excruciatingly long, and important moments rushed. Superhero movies typically have roughly a two and a half hour runtime, but Morbius ended an hour earlier. This unusual shortness would not have been an issue for me, but unfortunately it ruined the depth of the movie by not allowing emotional moments to resonate with the audience. 

One of the more obvious issues with the movie is the overwhelming sense that it has been done before. Almost every aspect of the movie can be found in something else. Human monster hybrid with evil impulses? Sony’s “Venom” tells a shockingly similar story. Scientist experiments on himself and turns himself into a monster? Try “The Incredible Hulk,” although that one is not quite a fun watch either. Not only are components of the plot seemingly stolen, but shots from the movie as well. The scene with Morbius in a tube with bats encircling him is a spitting image of Christian Bale in the 2012 film “The Dark Knight Rises”. 

Overall, this movie was unimpressive in just about every way. Visual effects, acting, directing and scoring could not save this film from its unfortunate but expected failure. The sheer amount of wasted potential in this movie makes it anything but worthwhile. And while I do not think the entirety of the Sony Spider-Man universe will be this unsuccessful, “Morbius” definitely set them a few steps back.