Film view: Comic book capers hit the mark in Spider-Man spin off

Based on the bloodsucking DC Comic character created by Roy Thomas, director Daniel Espinosa’s film introduces audiences to enigmatic antihero Dr Michael Morbius (Jared Leto).

Afflicted with a rare blood disorder, Michael has dedicated his life to saving others from suffering the same fate like his good friend Milo (Matt Smith).

In pursuit of a medical breakthrough, he ignores the advice of his mentor (Jared Harris) and takes a dangerous gamble that revitalises his ravaged body.

Michael’s fiancee, Dr Martine Bancroft, is astounded by the physical transformation but his newfound strength and superhuman abilities come at a terrifying price.

Michael must hunt and drink human blood to feed the darkness that has been unleashed inside him.

Succumbing to horrific new urges, Michael rampages across the city, placing him squarely in the sights of FBI agents Rodriguez (Al Madrigal) and Stroud (Tyrese Gibson).

7/10

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 (PG)

The turbo-charged blue hedgehog from the Sega video game franchise lives to spin another day in a rambunctious sequel, helmed by returning director Jeff Fowler, which delivers comparable thrills and spills to its 2020 predecessor.

Calibrated to appeal to young audiences with breathless action sequences, broad physical humour and the rubber-faced tomfoolery of Jim Carrey as deranged arch-villain Dr Ivo Robotnik, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 follows the Marvel Cinematic Universe template with the introduction of the shadowy Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N.), which protects Earth from extra-terrestrial threats, and a big reveal nestled in the end credits.

A third film is already in development along with a spin-off feature for Knuckles, the red echidna assassin voiced with growling intent by Idris Elba, who is determined to honour the memory of his late father – a pleasing parallel to Sonic’s loss of a mother-figure in the first film.

Ben Schwartz continues to infuse the title character with childlike exuberance but Carrey inevitably steals every scene with his outlandish theatrics, aided by voluminous face fur.

After 243 days in “portobello purgatory” on the Mushroom Planet, Dr Robotnik successfully harnesses the power of a discarded blue hedgehog quill to send a distress signal across the universe.

Knuckles answers that plea and join forces with Robotnik to locate the Master Emerald – an ancient power source once guarded by Sonic’s owl mentor, Longclaw (Donna Jay Fulk).

Owls and echidnas have been at war for centuries. The quest for the gem leads to Earth where Sonic (Ben Schwartz) lives in Green Hills with sheriff Tom Wachowski and his wife Maddie.

While his surrogate parents are away in Hawaii for the wedding of Maddie’s sister, Robotnik and Knuckles decimate the Wachowskis’ home searching for the fabled emerald. Sonic vows to defeat the echidna assassin and Robotnik’s mechanised army aided by a new ally: flying fox Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), teased briefly at the conclusion of the first film.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 ups the action ante with a snowboarding sequence that pokes fun at the MCU and a final showdown against a gargantuan version of an automaton from the video games. A flimsy plot cannot sustain the two-hour running time but Carrey is an endless power source of unbridled impish delight.

6/10

THE BAD GUYS (U)

Leopards can change their spots – or at least apply make-up to cleverly conceal them – in a madcap computer-animated creature feature directed by Pierre Perifel.

Based on a series of graphic novels for younger readers penned by Aaron Blabey, The Bad Guys unfolds in a heavily stylised world where humans and anthropomorphic critters co-exist in uneasy harmony.

The wise-cracking anti-heroes of this concrete jungle are five bank robbers led by a debonair wolf, whose hare-brained heists nod reverentially to Ocean’s Eleven to the point that when the lupine leader sweet-talks one clued-up target, she pithily counters, “don’t Clooney me!”

Scriptwriter Etan Cohen atones for the deplorable 2018 comedy Holmes & Watson with snappy dialogue, colourful characterisation and brisk pacing, including at least one rug-pulling plot twist and the loopy liberation of thousands of helpless guinea pigs from an animal laboratory. A running gag involving noxious flatulence whiffs well before the 100 minutes are up but gags hit more often than they miss and a distinctive aesthetic melds traditional 2D hand-drawn artistry with digital wizardry to eye-popping effect.

6/10