Third “Morb-ing” time’s the charm

LEIA LEHRER
GRAPHIC DESIGNER

WESTON HIRVELA
STAFF WRITER

4/1/2024

Perhaps the greatest upset in Oscars history, is “Morbius” (2022) having a third release. Now I know what you might be thinking, “How could this third release of the movie that everyone agrees is terrible sweep the Oscars?” The answer lies in that this is the six-hour original vision of the movie that was butchered by the producers: the Espinosa Cut.

The Espinosa Cut of “Morbius” is six hours and 23 minutes long and managed to win Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Original Song, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Makeup and Hair and Best Visual Effects. Though every single one of these is an undeniable stomping, “Morbius” was snubbed by not also winning Best Actress and Best Cinematography. 

Because everyone has already talked and complained about these losses, I am instead here to recap the victories of “Morbius” that make us want to “Morb” for years to come.

The visual effects in the film are stunning, and the six-hour run time allows us to see the progression in a less jarring way. Gone are the sudden smoke echolocations that just appear, and instead we see Micheal Morbius’ slow ascent into his powers, the world melting before our eyes to only then solidify one sound at a time in a stunning display.

While the costume is lacking, the hair and makeup in the film win the award solely for – say it with me – the blood shower scene. While this scene is made for the male gaze (I mean look at shirtless Jared Leto), the glamor shots of blood running down his chest simply showcase the talent and skill of the makeup team. This paired with the prosthetics of Morbius and Milo’s vampire forms, the Queen’s zombie outbreak and Venom’s surprise cameo make for a stomp in this category.

While I could talk about Jared Leto’s first Oscars win in 11 years for his portrayal of a broken hero trying to redeem himself, you would probably much rather hear about Matt Smith. Matt Smith portrays the “villain” in “Morbius” through his role of Milo. I place ”villain” in quotes here because the additional four hours of the film help flesh out Milo to be a much more heroic and tragic character compared to the Scooby-Doo-esque villain of the prior version.

In the original film, Matt Smith is only dancing on screen for about two minutes, which is more criminal than his character. This horrible censoring of this scene is undone in the Espinosa Cut, expanding the best part of the original film to 11 glorious minutes (perhaps any more would cause people to swoon too hard). For 11 minutes Matt Smith pours his soul into a dance that illustrates his descent into villainy and the world’s rejection of him, all while in his underpants.

The song “We All Have to ‘Morb’ Sometimes” wrenched at our heartstrings, not unlike how Morbius wrenched the heart out of a zombie researcher. While I thought having Morbius himself sing the song in the movie was a little campy, Daniel Espinosa shows why he won Best Director by making audiences sob at the ballad. Espinosa’s master cut of the film shows his true artistry and commanding presence in creating the Best Picture of perhaps the last century.

With all of this said it is no surprise how “Morbius” (2023) earned all of the awards it did and why many fans are angry it didn’t also win Best Cinematography, Best Actress and Best Animated Picture. I for one will be in the theaters, blood bag drink and Morbius fang popcorn bucket in hand, when Espinosa releases his next masterpiece, “Morbius: Mighty ‘Morbin’ Vampires.”

Happy April Fools’ Day!