‘Morbius’ Review: Spider-Man Spin-Off Bad

It’s never a good sign when a critic says your movie might be “better suited to a two-minute trailer” but, alas, it happens in Sony’s latest Marvel movie “Morbius”.

Adam Graham of the Detroit News noted in his review of the film that the studio’s desire to expand Spider-Man education was understandable. However, without Disney’s steady hand, Sony seems to be struggling to lift its villains from the comic page to the big screen.

Graham is not alone in evaluating the film directed by Jared Leto. The film, which premiered on Friday, received bad reviews across the board and has recently risen to 16% on Rotten Tomatoes from 134 reviews.

“Morbius is an irrational, sloping, paint-by-number attempt to remind the audience that these Spider-Man villains of Sony have rights and are going to use them,” Kyle Anderson wrote in a review of his film The Nerdist.

Although the two Venom films were theatrical success stories for Sony, Rotten Tomatoes were not considered “fresh”, meaning their scores on the site were not 60% or higher.

In the photo, Leto depicts biochemist Michael Morbius, who is trying to cure himself of a rare blood disorder. However, when a test goes wrong, he accidentally infects himself with a kind of vampirism. Although he is apparently recovering from his illness, gaining strength and speed, he also desires blood.

He is reluctant to give in to his new urge, but his friend Milo, who had the same blood disease and received the same “cure”, rejoices in his new strength and has no hesitation about what it takes to maintain his new form.

“Morbius is not good,” Anderson wrote. “There are no two ways about it. It just feels lazy and unfinished.”

To be sure, some critics have seen the qualities in the movie. Richard Lawson writes for Vanity Fair, “Morbius has a sense of place – and an interest in interesting places – which sets it apart from the bright, anonymous Atlanta pop of many more superhero movies.” The New York Times’ Manohala Dargis praised Leto’s performance for “restraint, sensitivity and expression.”

Other than that, though, there aren’t many voices to speak for “Morbius”. Here is what critics said about the movie before its debut on Friday:

“Morbius” is completely avoidable, “Christie Puchko wrote in a review of her film for Mashable, describing the film as” tiring “and so fast-paced.

“Perhaps the fast-paced job is to fill the void left by the cast, many of whom speak in tired voices as if they had been pulled out of bed just before the shooting – or perhaps expect that if the plot moves fast enough, each beat is painfully predictable.” And you won’t have time to notice how two-dimensional each character is, “he wrote.

Similarly, he called the costumes “memorable” and the animal designs “irresistible”, calling computer-made prosthetics “not fresh or scary.”

According to Puchko, “Morbius”, which itself seemed to be a horror film with thriller Undertone, has very little in common with both. He further warned that listeners should be tempered by their expectations for any major connection with other Marvel entities.

“Venom, don’t be fooled by the trailers that hit Spider-Man street art in the background and tease Michael Keaton’s return as an eagle,” he wrote. “Eddie Brock and his symbiotic besties are only referred to as ‘the thing that happened in San Francisco’ and as an indescribable joke, where Morbius identifies himself as ‘Venom.’

Read the full review from Mashable.

“In 2004, ‘Morbius’ could be a pretty good movie,” Emily Gemler wrote in a review of her film for the Observer. “Today, the comic book spin-off … dates and seems pointless.”

“If it’s owned by Disney Marvel Studios, not under the Sony umbrella, you’ll see ‘Morbius’ on Disney + this weekend as part of a limited six-part series that traces the origins of painful, vampire villains, meaning a big screen experience.” Instead of feeling compelled to pay which a big screen is not needed, “he added.

Gemler points to the faint special effect, with many saying that it looks like a poorly done version of the vampire prosthetics first seen on the show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”.

He also mentioned the lack of bets. Gemler writes, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” a pin prick from The Leto Flick’s literally curved events in the universe.

“Unless your ticket is free, don’t bother,” he wrote. “This movie is as lifeless as Morbius’ corpse and throws it on the floor.”

Read the full review from the observer.

“It’s really ironic,” Charlotte O’Sullivan wrote in a review of “Morbius” for The Evening Standard. “There were rumors that Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield would be seen in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, but the cast and crew denied this.”

“No, no, no, they said. Fans shouldn’t expect extra treats. Then – that’s it! – There were lots of treats,” O’Sullivan continued. “With this Sony production, the third feature of SSU (Sony’s Spider-Man Universe), director Daniel Espinosa suggests there could be a treat. And – that’s it! – We get the jellies. Get applause. ‘Morbius’ had a real wife. “

For O’Sullivan, the script got “second by stupid”, with little to no logic to match the science-inspired film. There is no character or even imminent danger here and the romance between Morbius and his girlfriend Martin fails to unravel.

O’Sullivan writes, “Although Morbius is uninterrupted, it also seems to be missing a large part.” “My jaw broke when I realized it was a particularly debilitating Carroll Last Battle. A mid-credit scene involving Michael Keaton as Adrian Tooms / Vulcher (last seen in Sony / MCU collaboration, Spider-Man: Homecoming), the ultimate insult. It does. It doesn’t. Sense. “

Read the full review from The Evening Standard.

“Somewhere in the middle of Morbius, a film about a Spider-Man villain that doesn’t feature Spider-Man, I was ready to tap,” Clarice Laghari wrote in a review of the film for The Independent. “Get up and go. Go to an alpine cottage in Switzerland and never get involved with Sony’s Spider-Man-less Spider-Man Universe. It’s too much effort, too little reward.”

Like many critics, Lagarde noted that “Morbius” serves more as a post-credit scene role than a fully functional film. He called the film “tasteless” and explained “Morbius” that “Morbius” has no real ending, only a kind of ending.

“All in all, ‘Morbius’ is a film that is more depressing than pleasantly unworthy,” he wrote. “And if superhero movies are really going to dominate modern cinema for the next decade or so, we should at least allow a little healthy competition between studios. I hope, in the future, Sony will be able to fight better than that.”

Read the full review from Independent.