David Hoffend

I’m a big fan of the Morbius comics from the 90’s, and (like Venom) I never thought I would get to see a Morbius movie. I went to see this on opening night, because I knew it wasn’t made by Disney- and as such, I knew it would get panned by critics. I also knew I’d love it- and I was not at all disappointed. I thought the story was terrific and it moved along at a good pace; the thing to remember is that this isn’t the Spider-Man nemesis version of Morbius- it’s the 90’s version, where he is trying to cure a disease using DNA from vampire bats. I’m so glad that this was not made by Disney- their Marvel Universe has blown up like a dead animal that should have been buried several films ago. Disney has a great penchant for doing this- just look at the dead horse that they made the Star Wars franchise into. (One of the previews before Morbius was for a movie based on Buzz Lightyear- yet ANOTHER film based on Toy Story, which should have been put to rest a few movies ago!) So many “goth”movies get panned and go on to become cult classics- Venom, the Underworld movies, The Crow. Morbius is cut from same cloth- dark themes with that undercurrent of an anti hero looking for some measure of redemption. The look of this film is perfection, as is the music and the special effects- the way that the air seems to melt and swirl around Morbius when he moves, the radar effects with the glow that seems to bend the air as it ripples outward, the vibrations that Morbius creates to call his horde of bats. It’s sad when people are told by the media that they aren’t going like a movie- and they don’t form their own opinion and just enjoy the entertainment. Morbius was a fun and juicy romp and it was exactly what I thought it was going to be. Part of the problem is that none of the people in the theater with me were familiar with the 90’s comic source material- in fact most of them weren’t even born yet- and they are too used to being spoon fed stories and the frat boy humor that are the hallmarks of Disney era Marvel films. Go and let Morbius entertain you the way a movie should- I dare you. My only criticism would be that I would have liked to see an R rated version; one with more blood and gore and horror- after all, if you aren’t being confined by the Disney/Marvel sanitation and political correctness police, why not let it all hang out and get a little nasty? I’m really, really hoping that a second film is in the works- one with the resurrection of Martine, and perhaps a team up with other “dark” characters.

I’m a huge fan of the original Star Trek and The Next Generation. That said, I always felt like “Deep Space Nine” and “Voyager” where ok, but they always felt like they were desperately trying to recapture the magic of the two latter shows. “Discovery” feels like it is based in the same universe, but it’s not attempting to “piggyback” on what came before. To me it’s akin to the Marvel comics series called “What if…?” It presents stories and characters that are fresh, new, and at times somewhat bizarre. I can see why fanboy types would hate this show- it gives us a bit of an “alternate universe” take on the Star Trek tradition- but to me it feels fresh and new. It takes the time that is needed to develop the characters, who all have more depth and emotional complexity than characters in previous Star Trek shows. At times the characters completely side step their militaristic rules of conduct in order to follow their hearts or what they know to be truly good- which to me only adds even more depth. (To me the military rules of Trek always got a little annoying-for instance, the intellectually superior character Tilly could problem solve and think circles around characters who are higher up on the “chain of command-“ she could probably run the entire ship- but DARN, she’s only an ensign!) The effects and visuals are excellent, as is the action- making each episode feel like a movie and not a tv show. In true Roddenberry fashion, there is an incredible multi racial (and multi species!) cast that FINALLY includes several gay and lesbian characters. Sonequa Martin Greene is fantastic and portrays an emotional depth that is missing from most previous Trek characters. Michelle Yeoh is deliciously duplicitous and keeps us on our toes. Definitely a show for fans of Star Trek who aren’t going to nitpick at what has already been done! You just have to sit back and enjoy without any preconceived notions of what a Trek show SHOULD be.