Superhero movie Madame Web, a spinoff set in the Spider-Man cinematic universe, has been utterly destroyed in its first critic reviews ahead of its release in cinemas.
The film, which stars Fifty Shades of Grey's Dakota Johnson as a paramedic who gains psychic abilities and must protect three people who are in danger, has been declared a "genuine Chernobyl-level disaster" and a "new low for superheroes".
It comes just two months after The Marvels became the lowest-grossing Marvel Cinematic Universe title of all time, only managing US$200 million worldwide.
The Hollywood Reporter said the film was "an airless and stilted endeavour driven by a mechanical screenplay. Its lack of imagination would be astounding if it wasn't so expected. It operates on a need-to-know basis, forcing people to explain themselves through inelegantly breathless exposition."
The Daily Beast said it was a "torturous saga", "full of bad dialogue delivered badly by talented men and women stuck with crummy material and equally lousy stewardship". It also warned "Sony's Spider-Man Universe is now completely lifeless".
Rolling Stone did not hold back in its savagery, branding the movie, which also stars Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney, as "a genuine Chernobyl-level disaster that seems to get exponentially more radioactive as it goes along".
It also stated it was the "Showgirls of comic-book cinema".
USA Today simply said the new film was the "worst superhero movie since Morbius". Sony - which releases Madame Web - also released Morbius in 2022, which starred Jared Leto and was widely slated for its plot and execution.
Madame Web opens in New Zealand cinemas on Valentine's Day.
