It's never a good sign when early word on a comic book movie is negative, and, unfortunately, those initial reactions to Morbius seem to be mostly indicative of its critical reception.
The review embargo for The Living Vampire's big-screen debut lifted earlier tonight (you can check out Josh's take here), and while there are a few positive verdicts, the majority were less than impressed by the long-delayed Sony Pictures movie. Most seem to agree that Jared Leto does a decent job in the lead, but the script is said to be Morbius' biggest detriment.
Vanity Fair actually enjoyed the film, praising the way it "embraces the gothic mythology that inspired it," though they do add that it "does eventually become a cluttered slugfest, as all things must." Nerd Reactor also gave Morbius a positive 3/5 star write-up, concluding with: "Morbius is surprisingly an okay film with Jared Leto delivering a somber performance as the vampiric antihero."
That's... about it, really. /Film tore the movie to pieces with a scathing 4/10 review: "It's abundantly clear that no one involved here — not Leto, director Daniel Espinosa, nor writers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless — has any investment in what they're creating." Indiewire was a little more forgiving, but still felt that Morbius was "mostly unnecessary, oddly unoriginal, and soon quite forgettable indeed."
Basically, it wouldn't even be accurate to call Morbius divisive (it currently sits at 15% on Rotten Tomatoes). The general consensus says this Living Vampire sucks.
I also caught a screening of the movie tonight (review to follow).
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.