Morbius First Reactions: Critics Respond to Jared Leto’s Marvel Movie

The reviews for Marvel’s “Morbius,” starring Jared Leto, are rolling in and they’re looking for blood.

When the social media and review embargo on the film was lifted Wednesday night, critics took to Twitter to elaborate on what some are calling the “worst Marvel superhero movie in a long, long time.”

“Morbius is a reminder of what many comic book movies before the MCU were: sloppy, poorly executed and sure to disappoint fans of the comics,” tweeted critic Dan Murrell. “It also contains the worst attempt in modern times to build a universe. Full review later tonight but… it’s bad.”

#morbius is a reminder of what many comic book movies before the MCU were: sloppy, poorly executed, and sure to disappoint fans of the comics. It also contains modern times’ worst attempt at building a universe. Full review later tonight but… it’s bad. pic.twitter.com/lng4YWH5Gg

— Dan Murrell (@MurrellDan) March 31, 2022

Critic William Bibbiani called it “the worst Marvel superhero movie in a long, long time.” Mostly sluggish, sometimes ridiculous.” He also mentioned a moment in the film that involved a cat: “The scene where someone tries to summon a cat by shaking its litter box, only to assume the Cat gone when that doesn’t work is the weirdest thing I’ve seen in years.”

#morbius is the worst Marvel superhero movie in a long, long time. Mostly sluggish, sometimes ridiculous. And the scene where someone tries to summon a cat by shaking its litter box only to assume the cat is gone when that doesn’t work is the weirdest thing I’ve seen in years. pic.twitter.com/tNHmN63Ug3

— William Bibbiani (@WilliamBibbiani) March 31, 2022

But Matt Smith, who plays Morbius’ backup brother Milo, received some praise for his performance. Entertainment Weekly’s Devan Coggan wrote: “Look, #Morbius is an absolutely ridiculous movie, but it made me want to rewatch Matt Smith’s entire Doctor Who film. So there is.”

Look, #morbius is an absolutely ridiculous movie, but it made me want to rewatch Matt Smith’s entire Doctor Who run. So there is. pic.twitter.com/CKWShjCuZY

— Devan Coggan (@devancoggan) March 31, 2022

Early reviews were also unforgiving, with diversity‘s Owen Gleiberman writes, “‘Morbius’ is a film where it’s clear that no one has ever sent the script back with the instruction ‘please add a script’ to be rewritten.” As in: Spice it up, add dialogue, add something to make the movie sound like more than a barely-colored chart.”

IndieWire’s Kate Erbland wrote on Twitter that the film “sucks more than blood,” adding in the review that it “occupies an odd no-man’s-land of sprawling Spider-Verse, not charming like the ‘Spider-Man’ movies , not funny like the ‘Venom’ movies and certainly not technically impressive like the animated ‘Into the Spider-Verse’.”

Fresh Fiction’s Courtney Howard dubbed the film “Snorebius” and wrote that it “lacks much of the connective tissue to make sense of its shenanigans. This titular anti-hero gets a vehicle that doesn’t take its foot off the gas far enough to drive.”

However, Vanity Fair’s review was less harsh, saying that while the film eventually “becomes an over-the-top slugfest … for much of its run it’s a stylish, intriguingly-toned tale of a man trying to thwart mortality.”

Morbius hits theaters on April 1st.