Most of the reviews for Madame Web would have you believe it’s one of the worst movies made in years, and a blight upon the entire comic book genre. The reality is actually much more complex, because it’s not quite that bad. It’s not good, but it’s not that bad.
The film stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra “Cassie” Webb, a New York paramedic whose mother died in childbirth while researching spiders in the Amazon. After a near-death experience, Cassie begins glimpsing the future, and soon finds herself protecting three teenagers from a masked man trying to murder them. Alongside Johnson, Madame Web stars Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced, Adam Scott, Tahar Rahim, and Emma Roberts.
Existing as part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, the film belongs to the same illustrious continuity as Venom and Morbius. However, it in no way links to the other films in the franchise, instead operating as a standalone movie within the wider Sony continuity. It introduces multiple supporting characters from Spider-Man’s story, too, including multiple heroes (before they get their powers, for some reason).
Madame Web Is Much Dumber Than It Thinks, But It’s Good Cheesy Fun
As a film whose main character is a powerful clairvoyant, Madame Web’s story has the potential to be fairly cerebral. The time-bending nature of Cassie’s ability is certainly an interesting prospect, but unfortunately the film bungles it completely. Likewise, its inclusion of multiple young Spider-Women is a nice touch, although it’s one that the film wastes by characterizing them as helpless teens unaware that they’ll one day get superpowers. It’s a little infuriating, really.
Basically, Madame Web is the story of a Spider-Man universe without Spider-Man in it. There are various other heroes and villains with spider-related gimmicks, but not the most iconic one (because of rights issues, not for any interesting artistic reasons). Johnson has fun with the cheesy dialogue and poorly-written script, and Adam Scott is as likable as ever, but ultimately it’s a movie defined by its missed opportunities.
The laughable nature of some of Madame Web’s lines actually helps the film, in a backwards sort of way. Instead of being a serious superhero film, it almost comes off as satire, with cliched lines delivered with such gravitas that it’s impossible not to laugh. In that, it’s an entertaining watch, even if it’s not in the way the filmmakers clearly had in mind.
The special effects are passable. The premise is sound, if a little goofy. The cast is talented enough for the most part. It’s really the script that lets Madame Web down, and even that has its moments of unintentional hilarity. It’s by no stretch a great movie, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it could have been. It was better than Morbius, at least.
Rating: 45%
Summary: Madame Web fails in a lot of ways, but for all its faults, it’s still genuinely entertaining.
Highlight: The film’s final line: “The best part about the future is it hasn’t happened yet,” is so utterly ridiculous that it’s the perfect way to end this utterly bizarre adventure.