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Morbius Director Finally Responds To All Those Brutal Reviews

In case you missed it, Sony's "Morbius" has gotten a giant stake through the heart from movie critics, with the film holding a 16% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Knowing it's his first big-budget blockbuster to date, it's easy to place blame on director Daniel Espinosa for things going sour with "Morbius." But what does the "Safe House" and "Life" filmmaker actually have to say about it? 

Up until now, Espinosa had remained relatively quiet about the "Morbius" critical backlash, which was nearly unanimous across the board. Mark Kennedy with the Associated Press called the movie a "forgettable, often laughable, entry in Sony's attempt to fill its own Spider-Man-adjacent cinematic universe." Bob Mondello with NPR thought it was "merely adequate, and by Marvel standards, slightly anemic." The Observer's Emily Zemler bluntly stated in her review, "Unless your ticket is free, don't bother. This movie is as lifeless as the bodies Morbius drains and throws on the floor."

When it comes to his work, Espinosa has told reporters he is very self-aware and honest with himself — something he learned early on in his career. Speaking to Insider in a new interview, the filmmaker finally opened up about the public drubbing his Sony/Marvel flick has received and explained how his past experiences ultimately help him deal with the "Morbius" haters. 

Espinosa isn't bothered by Morbius bashers, says he has enough 'self-hatred' as it is

According to Daniel Espinosa, the negative reviews surrounding "Morbius" can't be any worse than the criticism he already gives himself in regards to his work. Speaking to Insider, Espinosa said: "Look, I have a lot of self-hatred ... 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." 

Espinosa recalled how a moment that happened to him when he was younger — following the release of his first feature, "Babylon Disease," in 2004 — shaped his entire view on critics and moviegoers in general. He told Insider, "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.'" To Espinosa, the experience of making a film and putting his work out there so publicly is "strange," but people are bound to have opinions on it.

Since its release, many have wondered if "Morbius" had gotten hit with numerous edits and story changes in post-production that Espinosa had no control over. Asked by UPROXX in a recent interview about possible edits, Espinosa simply stated: "These movies, they're big movies that have a lot of people's interest." He stopped short of saying post-production changes were specifically to blame.