Marvel has been shooting out one movie after the other lately. Snuggled sweetly between box office success Spider-Man: No Way Home and the highly-anticipated Doctor Strange 2, a new character has burst onto the scene in Morbius.
Unfortunately, this new IP has not been the success Marvel were hoping for. Despite hiring Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto for the role of the titular Morbius, his performance failed to impress critics. The latest Marvel movie has a current score of 16% approval on aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, putting it in line with other movie misadventures such as Catwoman and Batman And Robin.
If you’re still interested in seeing what Morbius is all about you can watch the trailer below.
The reviewers have been savage in their critiques of Marvel’s anti-hero adventure. Emily Zemler of The Observer writes “Unless your ticket is free, don’t bother. This movie is as lifeless as the bodies Morbius drains and throws on the floor.” Jake Wilson of The Sydney Morning Herald held a similar view saying “Over the years, there have been plenty of mediocre movies associated with the Marvel brand, but I can’t recall one so blatantly willing to leave viewers shortchanged.”
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Even the positive reviews weren’t free from criticism. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote “While most of it is as predictably familiar as expected, it does something unusual for a movie like this: It entertains you, rather than bludgeons you into submission.” Bilge Ebiri from Vulture liked the film but failed to see its purpose. “Morbius has no reason to exist as an actual movie, but maybe that’s why it worked for me.”
Given the timing of the release, quite a few reviews questioned whether Marvel was indeed pranking us. Esther Zuckerman of Thrillist states “Like most April Fools' Day jokes, Morbius is not actually funny. It’s not bad in the ‘ha ha you have to see this it’s so ridiculous’ kind of way. It just feels underbaked and lame - and, sadly, not weird enough to be any kind of fun.” While Matt Singer from ScreenCrush questions “Are we sure this isn’t some kind of elaborate April Fools Day prank?”
Catwoman can move aside. These critics have their claws out.
Topics: Marvel, TV And Film