“Morbius” director Daniel Espinosa remains “proud” of his comic book tentpole despite the movie earning abysmal reviews from film critics. The Jared Leto-starring superhero movie boasts a paltry 17% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the lowest-rated Marvel films ever released. Espinosa confronted the film’s negative reviews in an interview with Insider.
“When I did my first feature it was a small movie called ‘Babylon Disease,'” Espinosa said. “I remember one day going home on the subway and I had a few drinks so I was a bit drunk. Someone nudged me on the train and said, ‘I have to tell you what’s wrong with the second scene in your feature,’ and I was like, ‘Well, okay.'”
“The point I’m making is that it’s a strange thing to make something that is so public,” the director continued. “Look, I have a lot of self-hatred so I have a lot of criticism of my own work. I’m always trying to focus on being better. But I am also proud of what I do. There are parts in all of my movies that I’m really proud of.”
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“Morbius” is based on the comic books created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane in 1971. The movie follows Michael Morbius (Leto), a biochemist in search of a cure for his rare blood disease. When Michael injects himself with the blood from vampire bats, it gives him unintended powers such as echolocation and an insatiable thirst for blood. The film’s supporting cast includes Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris and Tyrese Gibson.
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Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman was one of several film critics who mostly panned “Morbius,” writing in his review, “The entire movie, directed by Daniel Espinosa from a script by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, is generic — naggingly, almost jarringly so. You watch it and think, ‘This is what now passes for a new Marvel chapter?’ The film is nothing more than a flimsy time-killer, an early-April placeholder of a movie.”
Despite these negative reviews, “Morbius” had a so-so box office debut with $39.1 million earned during its opening weekend. This start in the U.S. means it’s not certain the movie crosses the $100 million mark at the box office.