Morbius

[Excerpt from our 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review]

"The MCU is certainly having fun injecting different styles into their movies these days. With Sam Raimi's horror-comedy Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the MCU stepped into a much larger realm of different genres instead of sticking with the same formulaic product that everyone has come to love and respect from Marvel. This is also the case with Morbius but in different ways. On the one hand, Marvel and Sony have made perhaps one of the worst movies in recent memory about a fan-favorite comic-book character. On the other hand, their creative vision might have been a stroke of genius where Morbius is so bad, it has become an instant cult classic where everyone can enjoy it on a silly level. Nevertheless, Morbius is here to Morb and he's going to keep Morbin' until he can't Morb no more.

Morbius is one of the side off-shoot films of the MCU, similar to the Venom franchise where both Morbius and Venom are indeed part of the MCU now but they are strictly here to serve Spider-Man movies and nothing else. This Marvel character has wanted to jump onto the big-screen since the '90s after the success of Blade but never got off the ground until now. Unfortunately, Sony and Marvel decided on the director of Life (Daniel Espinosa) and more regrettably the writers of Dracula Untold, The Last Witch Hunter, and Gods Of Egypt (Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless) to make Morbius. The result is not a good time on the surface, but deep below their serious take and on-the-nose approach is something so otherworldly funny and absurd that the film Morbs into a ridiculous extravaganza that is perfectly made for midnight showings for years to come."

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Morbius bites its way to Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy via Sony. The discs are housed inside a hard, blue plastic case with a cardboard sleeve. The artwork features Jared Leto where half his face is of the vampire and the other half is his human side. There is an insert for a digital code.  

Morbius enters the 1080p HD realm with a great look video image that captures all the supernatural elements of vampirism well. The use of blues, silvers, and greys look amazing here in the darker sequences that go well with the brighter colors of orange and red in blood and fire. Earthy tones show up in flashbacks and when in exotic locations with green trees and brown mountains. But most of the time, the film utilizes those colder color palettes to promote its cold-blood style. The red blood outshines everything else on screen as well with the nice contrast of blue in the background.

The black levels are inky but can be a tiny bit murky at times, especially in low-lit situations. The detail is always sharp and vivid, but when the CGI comes to play in the darker sequences, the detail in those special effects can be a little soft. Other than that, closeups reveal excellent textures and facial features every time. There are also no major instances of aliasing or banding here.

This release comes with a fantastic DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio mix and while it doesn't offer the Dolby Atmos track, it can satisfy the most discerning viewer. Sound effects are big and boastful, with a wide dynamic range. Action sounds that consist of guns shooting, bullets flying by, supernatural vampire sounds, cars driving by, and other fight choreography all sound wonderful. There is some good directionality in the action sequences and in the quieter scenes, there are wonderful atmospheric sounds of people talking, screaming, and walking by.

The low end of bass comes in nicely with a good rumble that never sounds rocky or over-the-top either. There is some fluid transition from speaker to speaker as well. The score and music all add to the dramatic tones of the film and the dialogue is always clearly presented. The Dolby Atmos track is certainly an upgrade from this option, but this DTS-HD 5.1 mix sounds very good.

• Outtakes (HD, 3 Mins.) - This is more of an on-set look of the cast and crew having fun behind the camera.
• Lights, Camera, Action (HD, 6 Mins.) - A decent EPK extra with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.
• Defining The Anti-Hero (HD, 5 Mins.) - Another set of interviews that focus on Jared Leto's character.
• Doing The Stunt Work (HD, 5 Mins.) - The stuntwork is given a few minutes of airtime here with some rehearsal and interviews.
• The Good, The Bad & Ugly: Supporting Cast (HD, 4 Mins.) - The co-stars of the movie are given some time to explain their characters and work.
• Nocturnal Easter Eggs (HD, 3 Mins.) - Like each Marvel movie now, there is someone that goes over the MCU easter eggs in the movie and points them out.
• From Human to Vampire: Visual Effects (HD, 5 Mins.) - A brief look at how some of the visual effects were created in the movie.
• Trailers (HD, 5 Mins.) - There are four promotional spots for the movie.

Morbius did not end up being the movie the filmmakers wanted to make. That being said, what the end result came to be was something even better than anyone could imagine - a premiere epic cult film that will live on in midnight showings for a long time. And now one of two vampires have made their debut in the MCU and that's a good thing. The 1080p HD image and the DTS-HD 5.1 audio track are both good and the bonus features are decent enough but short. Recommended!