'Just bad all round' - Was this the worst Super Bowl Halftime show yet?

Whoever said Maroon 5 were shaping up to perform one of the worst Super Bowl Halftime shows yet might have been on to something.

Fronted by a mostly shirtless and heavily tattooed Adam Levine, the band moved through the motions as they fronted the high-profile slot during the half-time break between the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots.

Controversy had surrounded Maroon 5's performance following calls by big name celebrities to boycott the performance over the NFL's treatment of players who spoke out against police brutality.

Maroon 5 cancelled a scheduled press conference leading up to their performance, and didn't address any of the controversy during their incredibly safe performance that seemed a world away from the rooftop stunt of 2017's headliner, Lady Gaga.

They made occasional nods to the occasion, including a full gospel band and marching drums for last year's mega-single Girls Like You, as well as a tonne of pyro backing Moves Like Jagger.

But it was the big-name rap guests that made the most of the occasion as Travis Scott performed Sicko Mode from a meteor crash site before jumping into the crowd, while Big Boi arrived via a Cadillac and worked through his smash The Way You Move.

Twitter quickly became a pile-on led by faux news site The Onion, who ran the headline: "Super Bowl Halftime show marred by functioning sound system."

Others said the show had come a long way since it was headlined by proper legends, like Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Katy Perry and Beyonce.

The Associated Press went one step further, slating it as, "Empty. Boring. Basic. Sleepy. Skippable. Unfulfilling. Unnecessary."

The best response was over Levine's removal of his tank top.

Although, as several commentators pointed out, Janet Jackson had at least one big reason to be upset.