By: Cade Sullivan & Joey Briseno

★★★★☆

‘The Karate Kid’ film from 2010 is a modern-day remake of the classic 1984 film, seeking to introduce a new generation to the timeless story of mentorship, self-discovery, and martial arts. Directed by Harald Zwart, this iteration takes the narrative from the familiar streets of Los Angeles to the bustling metropolis of Beijing, China. While some may look down on remakes as a whole, this adaptation manages to recapture the essence of the original while adding all-new cultural aspects and contemporary twists.

Jaden Smith takes on the lead role of Dre Parker, a young teenager forced to relocate to China due to his mother’s job. Smith brings a fresh energy to the character, and he is very believable as a character who is trying to find his way in life. His chemistry with Mr. Han (played by Jackie Chan), the maintenance man with a mysterious past, is the emotional heartbeat of the film. Chan’s portrayal offers a very different experience compared to Mr. Miyagi, but he is still able to have a positive impact nevertheless.

One of the strengths of this version lies in its breathtaking cinematography, which manages to capture the beauty and vibrancy of China. The scenic landscapes are a great backdrop to the martial arts sequences, which are well-choreographed and intense. The film embraces its setting, incorporating Chinese culture into the narrative. This pays homage to the roots of martial arts and enhances the visual appeal of the film.

The narrative progresses at a measured pace, allowing for the development of characters and relationships. Dre’s journey from an outsider facing bullying to a determined martial artist is a great show of resilience and makes it a journey worth cheering for. The film doesn’t shy away from addressing issues of cultural adaptation and the challenges of fitting in, giving it a more mature feel that it’s predecessor.

The mentor-student dynamic between Dre and Mr. Han is the emotional core of the movie. Chan’s stoic performance adds depth to the character, revealing layers of grief and wisdom beneath his tough exterior. The training sequences, which are reminiscent of the iconic scenes from the original, manage to have a balance between rigid instruction and softer moments. The emotional weight of the story is heightened by the addition of Mr. Han’s own struggles, helping the audience further emphasize with the character.

‘The Karate Kid’ incorporates modern elements, such as the use of technology and social media, without forgetting about the traditional values at its core. This fusion of the old and the new extends the movie’s reach to all generations. Dre’s journey becomes not just a personal quest for self improvement but a reflection of the theme of adapting to a modern world.

Despite its many strengths, ‘The Karate Kid’ is not without its flaws. The film occasionally leans too far into clichés, and some moments may feel overly familiar to the original that it takes its name from. The runtime, surprisingly over two hours, could have been lessened for a more fluid and better-paced experience.

The 2010 adaptation of ‘The Karate Kid’ successfully pays homage to its predecessor while carving out its own identity. With engaging performances, stunning visuals, and a timeless story of mentorship, this film proves that even in a different cultural setting, in a different time, the values of discipline, perseverance, and self-discovery remain. Dre is a great lead, and his underdog story is one that we were involved in throughout the runtime. We would recommend checking this film out.

You can watch this on the following:

Netflix: subscription

Amazon prime video: $3.59

YouTube: $3.89

Google play movies & tv: $3.89

Apple TV: $3.99

Vudu: $3.99

By: Joey Briseno & Cade Sullivan

Rating: 3⁄5 stars

*Warning: This review contains some spoilers

An interesting perspective on the future, ‘The Creator’ is set in a world on the brink of total annihilation. Former soldier Joshua, determined to find his wife, embarks on an adventure that spans multiple visually impressive locations, with well-worked action sprinkled throughout the film. However, the film doesn’t take full advantage of its potential and ultimately left us wanting more.

Starring in this thought-provoking journey are, to name a few: John David Washington as Joshua, Gemma Chan as Joshua’s wife Maya, Madeline Yuna Voyles as Alphie, and Ken Watanabe as Harun. This roster proves itself as seasoned and well-cast, and the actors fill their roles very nicely.

The villain of this film is General Andrews, a ruthless man who commands the U.S. Military and wants to wipe out all AI. He recruits Joshua to destroy the AI Supermind Nirmatas new weapon, known simply as Alpha-O. Andrews is an emotionally cold character who feels embarrassment for AI’s nuclear attack on Los Angeles. This motivates him to want to rid the world of AI so that his country can feel safe again. Andrews, while being the main antagonist, doesn’t feature much in the film and isn’t given any development; his character remains the same until the end of the runtime. Andrews meets his end at the climax following the explosion of the space station NOMAD. While he is a serviceable antagonist, we feel like his character was a missed opportunity to have a more memorable villain, which would have helped elevate the film as a whole.

‘The Creator’ boasts strong special effects and quality cinematography, which helps to hide some of the film’s weaker aspects (plot, side characters). The film uses CGI where it is necessary, but it isn’t overbearing, as real-life locations and sets are utilized to help give the movie a better sense of realism. We especially liked the scenes shot in the made-up country of New Asia, as practical effects and green screen effects were used very well for the environment

As for music, ‘The Creator’ brought in an accomplished composer in Hans Zimmer to do the soundtrack, and it shows. Zimmer seems to always have the right tune for a situation, whether it be slower moments of character development and context or faster moments of action and spectacle. Traditional Asian music is incorporated into the score as well, making it seem all the more authentic.

‘The Creator’ is a thought provoking study on both the usefulness of AI and the negatives it can bring. As shown in the movie, one of the main characters, Alphie, is a powerful AI being who can wipe out humanity if she wishes but instead teams up with Joshua and uses her gift for good. The negative effects of AI shown here is most notably the nuclear attack on Los Angeles, which is the cause for most of the conflict that happens in the film.

However, there are a few aspects that negatively affect the viewing experience. One negative thing about this movie is while it’s an original story, it takes a lot of elements from more popular sci-fi works.

Another negative is the somewhat sluggish pacing; there are points in the film where the characters don’t do anything and are just waiting for something to happen. The plot is also underdeveloped and often unoriginal, as quite a few plot elements feel recycled from better movies like “Star Wars” and “Blade Runner”.

‘The Creator’ is a decent blockbuster movie, but frustratingly falls short of its potential, and it’ great cinematography and interesting ideas are undercut by the derivative plot and slow pacing. The antagonist and side characters here are underutilized, as most of the runtime is spent with Joshua and Alphie. The score impresses, as do the action sequences, but unfortunately the film isn’t able to establish itself as something worth a rewatch.

We would recommend the movie for “Star Wars” fans or science fiction fans in general, as it offers redeeming qualities for those interested in the genre. For those who aren’t as interested in the sci-fi genre, this movie may not be for you.

(‘The Creator’ is streaming now on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video)

By: Natalia Gercheva

As many of you may know, there are some popular movies that are going to be released at the end of 2023, and in 2024. In this article I will be going over what I think are some of the most significant movies coming out soon, and their release dates so you can mark your calendars and see them in theaters! Also, a link to the trailers will be attached under every movie! (All the release dates in the article are for the United States)

‘Wonka’ (December 15, 2023)

I wanted to start off by mentioning the movie ‘Wonka’ starring Timothée Chalamet which was released very recently! It is playing in many theaters around Minnesota, but the Highland Mann Theater is also playing it if you live in St. Paul, and want to watch it locally. The cast for this movie is extensive, featuring many famous celebrities. The movie is a prequel to Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. It follows the young Willy Wonka and his dream to make it big in the chocolate industry.

‘Wonka’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otNh9bTjXWg

‘Mean Girls’ (January 12, 2024)

As some of you may know, there is yet another ‘Mean Girls’ movie that will be released in 2024. It features some actors from the original movie such as Tina Fey and Tim Meadows. A couple of the new actors are Jenna Fischer and Christopher Briney. The plot also stays similar to the original movie, but it has more modern twists and new jokes. I think it will be interesting to see how it compares to the original movie, because it has such a big name to live up to.

‘Mean Girls’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFtdbEgnUOk

Kung Fu Panda 4′ (March 8, 2024)

‘Kung Fu Panda’ is one of my favorite childhood collections of movies, so I am actually really looking forward to this coming out, and watching it. I have never disliked one of the movies, and based on the trailer it seems to have an interesting storyline. It is great to watch with your family, and with people of all ages.

‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_inKs4eeHiI

‘Inside Out 2’ (June 14, 2024)

It has recently been announced that there will be an ‘Inside Out’ sequel, which also seems to have a good plot. The last movie came out in 2015, so I remember being just a kid when first watching it. The sequel explores Riley’s mind as she grows up as a teenager. It will feature new emotions, including Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment. I am excited to see the movie since it has been many years since the first, and I hope it does well.

‘Inside Out 2’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWavstJydZU

‘Despicable Me 4’ (July 3, 2024)

Adding to the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise, the fourth movie will continue the story of Gru, his wife Lucy, and their adopted kids. It is still not super clear what the plot will be about, but based on the trailer it looks like there is a new villain to take down, and Gru’s twin brother is still there to help. I love ‘Despicable Me’ because it was also one of my main childhood movies, although it seems that the quality of the plot has been going down after each new movie they release. I really hope that’s not the case for this movie, and for now I am looking forward to seeing it.

‘Despicable Me 4’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74RIFFCiQDk

There are a couple more honorable mentions that haven’t all been completely confirmed, but may come out in 2024 that I just didn’t write about in this article. Some examples are ‘Paddington in Peru’, ‘Rush Hour 4’, ‘Deadpool 3’, and ‘Wicked’. I hope this article gave you some things to look forward to in the new year!

By: Samson Belihu

Are you into fairy tales? Are you into a story you only could dream of or “wish” for? If you are, I recommend the movie called ‘Wish’.

If you still want to learn more about the movie, read the article, but Warning: spoilers ahead.

Disney had an idea of celebrating their 100th anniversary, and putting some reference to other Disney stories in the movie ‘Wish’.

The movie introduced our main character, Asha, who is a female protagonist with a fierce will, strong determination, and a desire to control of her own destiny.

One fateful night, she looks upon the stars when she catches a glimpse of a falling star and decides to take her chance by making a “wish”: a wish upon a star.

The wish she made was to reunite with her mother, her biggest supporter, and her 100-year-old grandfather, putting as much passion as she could into the wish.

But the wish was so big that it couldn’t be granted immediately and she had to go through a process. The process led her to meet the king of wishes “King Magnifico”.

She also meets his wife “Queen Amaya”. Amaya was kind and welcoming so Asha got close to her quickly.

That’s when she starts to see some shifts in King Magnifico who aspires to get more power.

Slowly, even his wife saw it, and she saw how corrupt he was becoming. That’s when we start to realize that King Magnifico is the villain of the story, and that’s when the story takes a twist for the worse.

A girl who wishes to get her loved one back still needs a king who “wishes” for more power, as he is her only chance. He is the only one that could grant her “wish”.

At the end, who shall get their wish truly granted?

Do you like Disney movies? If you do, ‘Wish’ is one you should go see. As Disney’s 100 anniversary movie, the graphics are good, but songs were a bit disappointing. I would give it 3.5/5 overall. You can see it in theaters. It is rated PG.

By: Joey Briseno & Cade Sullivan

Rating: 4⁄5 stars

‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I’ is the seventh addition to the long-running ‘Mission Impossible’ movie franchise. ‘Dead Reckoning’ is led by a capable cast, a familiar yet engaging plot and a powerful soundtrack. The film is a strong addition to the ‘Mission Impossible’ movie franchise and proves that solely action-centered films can succeed in modern cinema. While we haven’t seen any of the ‘Mission Impossible’ movies before, we were still able to follow along and be fully engaged in the franchise’s seventh entry.

Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt, who once again occupies the starring role. Hunt undergoes an earth-spanning search for an apocalyptic weapon known as “The Entity”, meeting friends and foes along the way. Other characters include Ethan’s partner agent Grace (Hayley Atwell), Ethan’s best friend Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Gabriel (Esai Morales) a terrorist who serves as the antagonist of the film, and Paris (Pom Klementieff) a French assassin who works with Gabriel.

The antagonist of the film, Gabriel, is a mysterious figure whose aim is to find the key to “The Entity”. Interestingly, Gabriel also has history with Ethan Hunt, although his actions against the lead are not revealed. “The Entity”, which evolves to become a sentient mind, orders Gabriel to find its key and to eliminate Ethan Hunt. Gabriel is a ruthless terrorist who keeps a calm head and doesn’t let his emotions get the best of him. He seems to have no empathy and no regret for anyone he eliminates, to the extent that Ethan Hunt states that he seems to enjoy suffering. Gabriel survives to the end of the movie and will return in part 2.

‘Dead Reckoning’ is directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who has taken over as the director for Mission Impossible movies since MI4. McQuarrie is known for being one of the most proficient action directors in Hollywood, and this movie does not disappoint. Action is plentiful and well-choreographed and is up to par with the high intensity battles that the franchise is known for. The cinematography is quietly one of the better parts of the film, as the CGI is realistic and the beautiful locations are show off with wide shots.

‘Dead Reckoning’ is a fun spectacle to watch, especially during the globe-trotting action sequences. The villain is interesting and not one dimensional and the characters are, for the most part, fleshed out. Locations look great and the pacing is fast and engaging.

The soundtrack impresses as well, using the right melodies for every situation whether it be a heart-pumping action sequence or a somber, emotional break.

However, there were some things we didn’t like as much. The acting was inconsistent, but this may be the writer’s fault as the dialogue was sometimes wooden and boring. Furthermore, side characters like Luther Stickell were mostly lost in the rush, and some characters were given nothing to do.

‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I’ came out as a strong addition to the renowned ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise showing off a capable cast, interesting plot, and an amazing soundtrack. The movie delivers as a thrilling experience, offering gripping globe-trotting escapades and a calculating antagonist in Gabriel who remains a continuous threat to Ethan Hunt throughout the runtime. However amidst its strengths Dead Reckoning faces some drawbacks.

By: Beverly Stinson

I struggle a lot with finding good shows or movies to watch. I usually find one show, watch the entirety of it, and then rewatch it over and over instead of finding something new because I know it’ll take me a while to actually find something good. I know other people struggle with this, so I want to help and recommend 3 shows that are some of my favorites.

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Show 1: ‘The Vampire Diaries’

‘The Vampire Diaries’ (TVD) is a supernatural-drama series following the lives of mainly supernatural creatures. It is based off of the book series by L.J. Smith with the same title. The show is actually supposed to be telling the story of Stefan Salvatore as written in his diaries, but the show makes it seem like it’s everyone’s story.

It has 8 seasons from 2009-2016 and has 2 spin-offs ‘The Originals’ and ‘Legacies’. ‘The Originals’ going from 2013-2018 and ‘Legacies’ going from 2018-2022. Although the spinoffs do not continue the storyline of the books, I want to mention them because they are also good shows to watch.

I want to recommend this show because it’s my second favorite show. I’ve been watching it since I was a little kid. It’s a perfect show for if you like supernatural content as well as romance and drama. Although I’ve liked it since I was a kid it’s technically not meant for them. It has a rating of TV-14; it contains a good amount of gore, violence, romance, suggestive language/scenes and some drug use.

TVD is already a popular show and it has been since its release, but even so, I feel like not a lot of people give it the recognition it deserves.

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Show 2: ‘I Am Not Okay With This’

‘I Am Not Okay With This’ is a Netflix original show about a teenage girl in the 80s named Syd learning how to deal with puberty along with her father’s death. Soon after her father dies she realizes that she has a “Gift” which is the same “Gift” her father apparently had. Throughout the show, she tries to control this gift but it becomes increasingly harder.

There is only 1 season (sadly) since it was canceled after its release. But luckily it’s based off of the comic books by Chuck Foresman with the same title, so you can still learn the rest of the story.

I want to recommend this because it’s an extremely underrated show; not many people watched it and that’s partly why it was canceled. The storyline is unique and so are the characters. It’s also queer representation as Syd is a lesbian (that’s really debated because of a past hookup, but she’s a lesbian).

The rating for this show is mature teens and older; it contains profanity, minor drug use, suggestive scenes (or scene), and gore.

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Show 3: ‘Paper Girls’

‘Paper Girls’ is a sci-fi drama show about 4 teenage girls working as paper delivery girls in the 80s, who get caught in between the crossfire of time-travelers, which sends them on a journey where they all learn things about themselves.

This show also only has one season as it was also canceled after its release. But just like ‘I Am Not Okay With This’, ‘Paper Girls’ started off as a comic series by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang with the same title.

I’m recommending this show because it’s also extremely underrated, and because I love shows based in the 80s like ‘I Am Not Okay With This’ and ‘Stranger Things’. ‘Paper Girls’ was actually said to be similar to ‘Stranger Things’ but I’m pretty sure that was just to get people to watch it because other than being based in the 80s, there’s nothing really similar about them.

The age rating for this show is PG-13 but the books are 16+ and up. The show contains violence and some small gore as well as profanity and homophobia. The book also contains profanity, heavy gore, and homophobia.

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These shows really do deserve more recognition and I really hope my small recommendation inspires some people to watch them.

Thank you for reading!

• Beverly

By: Beverly Stinson

‘Helluva Boss’ is a comedy series on YouTube made by the artist, animator and YouTube creator VivziePop. The first episode aired on October 31st, 2020, and the most recent episode aired October 29th, 2023. There are currently 2 seasons.

The show follows the main characters Blitzo (Brandon Rodgers), Moxie (Richard Horvitz), Luna & Millie (Erica Lindbeck), as well as side character Stolas (Bryce Pinkham). Throughout the show they encounter problems and enemies as Blitzo (the O is silent btw) owns an assassin business where he and his partners get paid to assassinate people in the human world.

This series is rated M for mature audiences and could also maybe be considered rated R. It contains a lot of violence, gore, and profanity as well as suggestive language and sexual content. On every episode Viv starts with a warning for what the episode contains so you can be wary of the content you’re gonna see.

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I’ve been watching ‘Helluva Boss’ since the release of its first episode, and even as a 11/12 year old I absolutely loved it. I’ve been so obsessed with it since it came out and a good lot of my friends are too. I had actually been a fan of Viv before she even announced ‘Helluva Boss’ and I watched her animations, including her other original series ‘Hazbin Hotel’, which even though it’s good, I still love ‘Helluva Boss’ more.

Every time I see a new episode drop it’s like an early birthday present as I really do enjoy watching it. It’s also a show extremely worthy of rewatching dozens of times.

The characters in it are so unique and all of them are voiced by very talented actors and singers like Kesha (Beelzebub) and Fizzarolli (Alex Brightman). I was actually surprised hearing Fizzarolli’s voice for the first time because I thought it sounded exactly like Beetlejuice from the original Broadway musical and it turned out it was Alex who did actually play the original Beetlejuice on Broadway.

I love that Viv is able to get all these amazing artists to be in her own show and that she’s getting more recognition for it.

‘Helluva Boss’ is one of my favorite shows literally ever and although it is pretty popular with each episode gaining over a million views in less than a day sometimes, I do feel like it should get more recognition and views because Viv works so hard on it and it’s such a good show. That’s why I want to recommend it.

Her other show ‘Hazbin Hotel’ has actually gotten so popular that it will soon be streaming on Prime Video and I really hope this means that ‘Helluva Boss’ will get to stream on more sites so more people can watch it too.

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I hope more people watch ‘Helluva Boss’ and give it more popularity. I would love to be able to talk about it to more people, and I would just love it if more people knew about Viv and her amazing art.

I hope you watch it!

• Beverly

By: Stephanie Caballero Benitez

*Warning: This article contains spoilers

Today, I will be reviewing and summarizing one of the most awaited movies of this year, ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’. ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’, also known as ,FNAF’, was originally a game. This game came out during 2014 and gained a large amount of attention from a young audience. Ever since, the game has been rising in popularity. The popularity allowed for this game to continue to make 9 more games starting from 2014 all the way to 2021. The creators of this game also made some books in addition to the games; the books explain some of the lore behind the game.

In this movie, we start with a scene of the main character, Micheal Schmidt, also known as Mike. Micheal Schmidt is an adult that has custody over his sister, with no other family to care for her he takes the responsibility to do so. Mike struggles to keep a job and suffers from the same nightmare every night. His nightmare every night is about the day that his younger brother Garret was taken. He allows these nightmares to happen and continue because he feels as if he pays more attention to every detail that he will somehow figure out who took his younger brother.

After consulting a work counselor, Mike gets offered a night job as security at a place that shut down. He isn’t told a lot of information about this place besides having to keep people out at night.

At first he refuses it as he has his younger sister to take care of during the night, but later on he accepts. He leaves his sister with one of his neighbors and takes the job.

This job is more unusual than the other jobs he has had; there are animatronics that give off a sinister vibe. During the night he falls asleep and has the same repeated nightmare but this time 5 different children appear; they stare at him and run away when he tries to approach them. During these nightmares he tries to stop the children, and each time he tries he gets hurt in the dream but also out of the dream. Soon he finds out the animatronics aren’t just animatronics, they also have the souls of children trapped in them making these animatronics aggressive.

We also find out later that Mike’s younger sister has been talking to the souls of those children. In  return for information on who was responsible for his younger brother’s disappearance, the souls ask him to give them Abby, his younger sister. He agrees but later on regrets it. The animatronics try to get Abby into a suit that would kill her and turn her into one of them.

Mike and Vanessa stop them. Vanessa is a town sheriff that meets Mike on his first night of the job. While all this happens, another person shows up, a person in an animatronic suit. This person turns out to be the job counselor, also known as William Aston, also known as Vanessa’s father. William controls the children with fear and makes them attack everyone who enters the place. William gets upset at the fact his own daughter is helping Mike, so he stabs her, leaving her in a coma.

Abby communicates with the animatronics on what the truth is behind their deaths through drawings. She draws them a picture of William killing them which makes them turn on him. When they turn on him the spring locks on his suit go off causing him to be in extreme pain. As the animatronics attack William, Abby, Vanessa, and Mike get out of the pizzeria.

The movie overall is a really good movie, although I feel disappointed in the horror theme. Their animatronics weren’t as off putting as they are in the video games and they didn’t have many scenes where I would call them scary. As a fan of many years, I also think that the lore they chose to follow is a bit confusing as William is supposed to have a son named Micheal but in the movie instead he has a daughter. Some theorize that the movie followed the books more instead of the games, which is a bit disappointing as most of their audience follows the game lore. Overall, this movie gets a 8/10.  You can see ‘FNAF’ in theaters and on Peacock.

By: Joey Briseno & Cade Sullivan

Rating: 3/5

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR ‘MORBIUS’ AHEAD

‘Morbius’, directed by Daniel Espinosa, is the latest addition to the ever-expanding Sony Cinematic Universe, which began with ‘Venom’ in 2018. The story is centered around a lesser-known character named Micheal Morbius from the Spider-Man comic books. While it may not be the most groundbreaking or memorable entry into the superhero genre, the film manages to be an entertaining and visually interesting experience for fans of the Marvel franchise.

Jared Leto stars as Dr. Michael Morbius, a brilliant but tormented scientist who suffers from a rare blood disorder. Driven by a desire to find a cure for his disease, he captures dozens of vampire bats, hoping to splice their DNA with his. However, his cure backfires and transforms him into a living vampire. Leto’s performance is convincing if a bit wooden, and his portrayal of Morbius is a bright spot in such a subpar film.

One interesting character dynamic in this movie is the one shared between Morbius himself and the movie’s antagonist, Milo. Morbius and Milo are lifelong friends who met in the same hospital as kids, both suffering from the same blood disease. The two also shared a surrogate father named Emil Nicholas, but Milo feels that Morbius was always the favorite of the two. Morbius grows up to be an intelligent doctor nominated for a Nobel prize, while Milo establishes himself as the rich benefactor to Morbius’ research of vampire bats.

The two take drastically different paths, however, when they both gain vampiric powers from their cure. Milo leans into his new abilities, feeling powerful for the first time in his life, while Morbius is wary and tries to convince Milo to take an antibody. Eventually, Morbius is forced to eliminate his surrogate brother, as he becomes too corrupted and begins to lash out at the human race.

The film’s visual effects are undoubtedly one of its strongest aspects. The transformation sequences, flight scenes, and battles look realistic and add a layer of thrill to the film. The dark, gothic aesthetic of the film is convincing and captures the tone of Morbius’ character and situation very well.

While Leto’s performance is the standout, the supporting cast, including Adria Arjona as Martine Bancroft and Matt Smith as Lucien Crown/Milo, offer support, although some performances are much better than others. Unfortunately, the character development outside of Morbius himself is lacking, leaving the supporting characters feeling ignored by the plot and one-dimensional.

The plot of ‘Morbius’ skims familiar ground, taking some elements from other superhero origin stories. This copy of other stories may disappoint some viewers seeking a more innovative and unique kind of story. Additionally, in some parts, the pacing can be irregular/bumpy at times, with the film struggling to find the right balance between character development and action in most scenes.

Unfortunately though, another one of ‘Morbius’s’ biggest weaknesses is its connection to the bigger Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even though it attempts to tie into the Sony Spider Verse and the broader Marvel Universe, it feels forced and is somewhat lacking the spotless integration we’ve come to expect from the Marvel Universe.

‘Morbius’ is a somewhat mediocre addition to the Marvel Universe, with Jared Leto’s performance and the stunning visual effects being its most outstanding features. However, we feel the film falls short in terms of originality and its character development, and its connection to the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe may leave some fans wanting more. It’s worth a watch for the superhero enthusiasts, but it may not leave a lasting impression beyond the initial viewing.

(‘Morbius’ is streaming now on Amazon Video, Apple TV and Netflix)