Posted by Madame Web: A Web of Confusion and Missed Opportunities
In the wake of the superhero movie era’s inevitable decline, marked by an excessive number of releases during the 2010s, Madame Web emerges as a perplexing attempt to extend Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Man universe. Unfortunately, the film, starring Dakota Johnson, falls victim to last-minute changes, resulting in a disjointed narrative and an overall lack of coherence.
The movie, conceived in 2019 and greenlit in 2020, underwent filming in 2022, with alleged reshoots in the following year. Madame Web was envisioned as a strategic move after the success of Venom and Into the Spider-Verse in 2018. However, the confusion surrounding the film became evident with the release of its trailer, showcasing a laughably unsure tone, a convoluted plot, and a seemingly disengaged leading lady.
The narrative kicks off with a clumsy opener set in 1970s Peru, introducing our protagonist’s absurd backstory involving spiders and spider-people. Fast forward thirty years, and Dakota Johnson’s character, a young paramedic, discovers her ability to briefly see into the future. As she attempts to save the lives of three teenagers targeted by a madman with ties to her past, the film unravels in a series of poorly written exposition, lousy special effects, and uninspiring action sequences.
With a script credited to four individuals, including director SJ Clarkson, Madame Web becomes a prime example of studio filmmaking at its worst in the 2020s. The attempt to rebrand it as a “suspense thriller” backfires, as the film lacks both suspense and thrills. The disjointed nature of the storyline makes it challenging to suspend disbelief, further highlighting the movie’s inadequacies.
Despite teasing a suspenseful tone, Madame Web fails to deliver any grit or believability. The film’s execution is as schlocky as the worst in its genre, with awkward product placements, uninspiring dialogue, and a distracting disengagement from its lead, Dakota Johnson. The removal of any Spider-Man references adds to the confusion, making it challenging for viewers to connect with the heightened superheroics the film attempts to convey.
In the end, Madame Web leaves audiences with a head-scratching 110-minute experience, a mishmash of questionable decisions, and a feeling that superhero films like this belong to an era that has run its course. As the movie grapples with its identity crisis, it becomes evident that the age of soulless, boardroom-produced superhero films may be over, leaving audiences yearning for more substantial and engaging cinematic experiences. Madame Web is in cinemas on 14 February, but whether it’s worth the watch remains a mystery.
Madame Web: A Web of Confusion and Missed Opportunities
