---
title: "Morbius: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/morbius/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/morbius"
critics_score: 36
critics_reviews: 23
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Morbius (2022): what the critics said

Critics' score 36 from 23 reviews: 2 positive, 3 mixed, 18 negative.

Most critics find Morbius a dull, derivative vampire origin story, with thin characters and action that offers little excitement. The limited praise clusters around the performances: several reviews credit Jared Leto’s commitment, while Matt Smith supplies energy that they find lacking elsewhere. Some also see promise in the mad-scientist premise and find moments of atmosphere or visual interest, though few consider these enough to compensate for the script.

The reservations centre on predictable plotting, confusing effects and poorly staged or repetitive combat. Performances divide opinion too, with Leto judged committed by some and lifeless by others. The spread is wide despite the strongly negative consensus: Vulture finds a brisk, atmospheric thriller with effective scares and heartfelt acting, while Screen Daily enjoys the spirited cast and assured direction. These favourable reviews find modest genre pleasures where most critics see an underdeveloped franchise exercise.

## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 April 2022. 

Despite seeming unnecessary, the film works as a tight, brisk mad-scientist thriller with strong atmosphere, effective scares, and heartfelt performances from Leto and Matt Smith. Espinosa brings an engaging dreamy style to its nocturnal world.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-review-marvels-morbius-starring-jared-leto.html)

## Screen Daily

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2022. 

The critic finds it a consistently enjoyable franchise start-up elevated by spirited performances and the director’s sure hand, offering modest genre pleasures and a spooky vibe.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/morbius-review/5168975.article)

## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2022. 

The critic finds that Morbius does not suck as a movie and provides a diverting neo-vampiric tale despite the odds. The first half is better shaped, with coherent characters and visuals that sometimes allow light to shine through the gloom.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/31/movies/morbius-review.html)

## The AV Club — Todd Gilchrist

Rating C-. 30 March 2022. 

A run-of-the-mill, capably acted origin story that is professionally mounted but mostly lifeless and disappointing after years of anticipation. It leans on familiar vampire clichés and horror visuals without delivering excitement or depth.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/morbius-review-jared-leto-matt-smith-adria-arjona-spide-1848729603)

## Empire — Sophie Butcher

Rating 2/5. 31 March 2022. 

The core concept of two friends bonded by suffering has promise but is undermined by messy action, wafer-thin characters and a slight plot. Solid performances and flashes of visual interest cannot save the flat, forgettable result.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/morbius/)

## Radio Times — Sabastian Astley

Rating 2/5. 31 March 2022. 

The critic finds the film disappointing overall, with a dated plot, visually confusing CGI and predictable storytelling that reaches new depths.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/morbius-review-jared-leto/)

## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 30 March 2022. 

The film starts promisingly but fails to sustain intensity, becoming thin on story and repetitive in its action. Leto's committed performance stands out amid a script that makes the movie feel like another boilerplate Venom-like entry without the humor.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/morbius-jared-leto-1235122778/)

## Financial Times — Leslie Felperin

Rating ★☆☆☆☆. 31 March 2022. 

The vampiric Marvel movie is a bloody mess and diabolical shambles suggesting carnage in the edit suite. It singles out the inexplicable stumps of discarded subplots and hollowness of performances for complaint.

[Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/f73de176-f3a6-44c3-84fe-28904ab31e67)

## Sight and Sound — Kim Newman

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2022. 

The critic calls it a sketchy mess with thin, disposable secondary characters and a lack of laughs or oddness that partially redeems the Venom films.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/morbius-has-all-signs-troubled-film-production)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2022. 

The film is an amazingly pointless and dumb vampire superhero yarn with a muddled good/bad setup and silly demonic transformations. It singles out the bafflingly dull story and post-credit stings for complaint.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/31/morbius-review-ludicrously-pointless-jekyll-and-hyde-vampire-monster-yarn)

## The Telegraph

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 

The film is a hopeless, thuddingly generic Marvel venture where CGI effects undermine the lead performance. It singles out the lengthy, unengaging runtime and generic plot for complaint.

[Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/morbius-review-jared-letos-living-vampire-cant-save-dead-silly/)

## Total Film

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2022. 

This dull, derivative origin story is dead on arrival and a shameless exercise in comic-book universe expansion. Slick direction and committed performances are let down by sub-par effects, underpowered action and a character never adequately sketched.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/moribus-review-marvel/)

## Variety — Owen Gleiberman

Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2022. 

The critic finds Morbius generic and jarringly so, a flimsy time-killer and early-April placeholder that is neither original nor a good story. The lead character lacks flavor, the FX are creaky, and the script shows no signs of meaningful revision or added spice.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/morbius-review-jared-leto-1235217960/)

## Los Angeles Times — Robert Daniels

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2022. 

The critic calls Morbius a misbegotten, artistically bankrupt bid that is the nadir of comic book cinema and a colossal snore. The film suffers from dreadful special effects, a lack of heart in the lead performance, and an over-reliance on generic VFX instead of sturdy storytelling or effective scares.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-03-31/review-morbius-jared-leto-marvel)

## The Times

Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2022. 

The film is an appalling vampire snooze-fest without jeopardy, originality, coherence or compelling characters. It singles out Jared Leto's dead-eyed performance and poor writing/direction for complaint.

[Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/morbius-review-appalling-vampire-snooze-fest-deserves-a-stake-through-its-heart-hxhdzk8zv)

## Time Out — Cathy Brennan

Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2022. 

The critic finds it a super-sized disaster and a chore to sit through, with bland action, thin characterisation and a leaden performance from Leto.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/morbius-2022)

## Deadline — Anna Smith

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 30 March 2022. 

The critic finds the film isn’t terrible, with good work from Leto and slick VFX providing modest entertainment, but notes it’s unlikely to please crowds like recent Spider-Man films and criticizes the script for favoring exposition.

[Read the review](https://deadline.com/2022/03/morbius-review-jared-leto-marvel-movie-1234990314/)

## Collider — Emma Kiely

Rating D+. 30 March 2022. 

The film is stale, unoriginal, and forgettable due to a lazy script that rushes through backstory and lacks character depth or arcs. Leto brings some comfort to the role despite the weak material.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/morbius-review-jared-leto-sony-marvel/)

## Den of Geek — David Crow

Rating 2/5. 30 March 2022. 

The critic finds the film a lifeless, mechanical mash-up of better movies that fails to deliver on its vampire premise or as a Spider-Man spin-off. They single out its rote storytelling and lack of visual flair or engaging performances for complaint.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/morbius-review-marvel-vampire-movie/)

## Polygon — Joshua Rivera

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2022. 

The film makes Jared Leto boring and lacks imagination or energy, feeling algorithmically calibrated with unimaginative action. It only briefly comes to life through Matt Smith's more dynamic villain performance.

[Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/23004796/morbius-review-jared-leto-matt-smith-venom)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 30 March 2022. 

The review calls it an underwhelming Marvel horror where the mad-scientist setup is fun but drags into a usual big battle with little character investment; praises Adria Arjona’s performance as the standout.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/morbius-film-review-jared-leto-matt-smith-marvel-spider-man/)

## The Playlist — Jason Bailey

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 30 March 2022. 

The film is a dull, depressing comic-book/horror hybrid that fails to deliver any thrills or surprises. The critic singles out the poorly staged and choppily edited action scenes for particular complaint.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/morbius-review-dull-depressing-comic-book-horror-hybrid-20220330/)

## The Ringer — Miles Surrey

Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 1 April 2022. 

The film is breathtakingly terrible and excruciating to watch, with a rote script and lack of personality or tone. Leto is surprisingly muted and devoid of charisma in the lead role.

[Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2022/04/01/marvel/morbius-movie-review-sony-superhero)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/morbius.md