It's too bad Dakota Johnson has already filmed all of the 50 Shades of Grey movies, because good preparation for the sadomasochism scenes could have been reading the reviews of Madame Web. The superhero flick starring Johnson in the eponymous role is, as of Tuesday morning, spinning an abysmally low Rotten Tomatoes score of 23%.

The cold streak for Marvel continues, though at least for this one the blame can be pinned on Sony, not Disney's Marvel Studios. That's because the Madame Web property, and most other web-slinger-related-other-than-Spider-Man-himself comic book characters fall under the domain of the SSU, or Sony Spider-Man Universe, not Disney's more lucrative Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Did you follow all that? Perhaps it's not just the era of superhero fatigue we're living in at the moment but universe fatigue as well. Critics seem to be asking are we really expected to care about the villains and side characters of the Spider-Man comics, without letting our mind wander to what Spider-Man is up to in his own struggling superhero universe across the street? And the answer is a resounding “NO”.

Maybe if the writing, directing, acting and all-around overall quality of Madame Web was better that answer would be different, but the reviews from top critics are certainly leaving the impression that this is not at all the case.

Rolling Stone barbed, “It is the Cats: The Movie of superhero movies. Not a single decision seems of sound mind. Not a single performance feels in sync with the material.”

USA Today lamented, “Instead of being a breath of fresh air akin to the Tom Holland Spider-flicks, Madame Web is instead a reminder of the Worst Superhero Times (aka the mid-2000s).”

Variety pointed out, “Madame Web was never going to touch the relatively high-concept, Disney-made Avengers movies… But guess what? Tickets still cost just as much as they would for a more canonical Marvel movie.” The Hollywood trade then questioned, “So why settle for the knock-off?”

And the Hollywood Reporter dug the hole even deeper by proclaiming Madame Web, “an airless and stilted endeavor driven by a mechanical screenplay. Its lack of imagination would be astounding if it wasn’t so expected.”

Even Dakota Johnson has been rather self-deprecating and biting in her publicity interviews “promoting” the film. This might just be part of her personality, but it also could be her trying to save face having seen how the film turned out and doing some last-minute career damage control.

Sounds like Dakota Johnson‘s candor and critiques in interviews about the film are far more entertaining than anything in Madame Web itself, if Rotten Tomatoes scores are any indication. Perhaps couples will opt to save some money this Valentine's Day and just watch those interviews instead. Or if that's not romantic enough, there's still always Fifty Shades.