Morbius

         Marvel Studio's next crack at a superhero franchise comes in collaboration with Sony Studios and those cross studio films are never quite as good as pure Disney/Marvel creations. Case in point, "Morbius", based on the Marvel comic, "Morbius, The Living Vampire" is much darker in tone (and I would think pretty scary for a younger audience) and lacking the  perfect balance of humor and drama found in the other films.

         Jared Leto stars as Dr. Michael Morbius, a scientist with a rare disease who finds a cure mixing human DNA with vampire bat DNA. However, to stay healthy with enhanced strength and skills, he must drink blood every few hours.  Being the hero of the film, he has successfully created artificial blood so he needn't seek out human victims. However, someone else has stolen the cure and doesn't really care where they find a blood source.

       Mr. Leto is a fine actor, usually known for more serious roles but for whatever reason, he has hitched himself to the Marvel bandwagon. He does the best he can, swallowed by tons of CGI and other special effects that are fair at best.  The film co-stars Adria Arjona as a fellow scientist and love interest for Mr. Leto, Jared Harris as a mentor and father figure doctor, and Matt Smith as Lucien/Milo, Morbius's surrogate brother. Tyrese Gibson and Al Madrigal are FBI agents trying to solve the riddle of  multiplying dead bodies drained of blood.

        This is your typical origin story where the stakes are not that high but will set up a definite sequel that ties the character tighter to the Marvel universe. Stay for the mid-credit scenes for a familiar character and important reference to events from a previous Marvel blockbuster.