Madame Web suffers from a weak villain, cringey dialogue, and a too long runtime. However, there are a few bright spots mixed in.
Many Marvel fans were surprised when it was announced that Madame Web was going to the be the main character in an upcoming film, although most still held out hope that they would be proven wrong with a great movie. Unfortunately, that is just not the case.
Madame Web suffers from a poor script, a weak villain, and no real connection to the greater Marvel / Sony universe. There are a few bright spots sprinkled throughout, but not enough to save it.
This movie follows Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson), who was orphaned as a child when her mother died in the Amazon while researching spiders. She is now all grown up and a New York paramedic. When she survives what should be a deadly accident in 2003, her life is changed when powers to see the future manifest.
After seeing the fate of three teenage girls – Julia Carpenter (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor) – she sets out to stop them from being murdered.
The man who is hunting them has very weak motives. His dialogue is some of the worst in the film, and while he does show off some great fighting skills, there isn’t enough about him to make him a good, or even memorable villain. This isn’t the actors fault, but rather what is on the pages.
Viewers see him in the Amazon with Cassandra’s mother, and then we jump forward thirty years with no explanation as to how he got his powers, his suit, or what he has been up to. It feels like a lot of the exposition was left on the cutting room floor.
At the same time, Sweeney, Merced, and O’Connor do what they can with what they were given, but that just isn’t enough to save this movie. They look absolutely incredible when suited up, however that is for only three scenes and less than five minutes of screentime. Their powers do not manifest during Madame Web, and what we do see of them in superhero action is during visions that don’t give us much.
These suits, and the “spider-people” friends and foe that briefly appear are the only things tying Madame Web to the greater Marvel universe. That and Adam Scott’s character (the best in the movie, by far) being named Ben Parker. If you removed about fifteen minutes of the movie, you would never even know it was part of the Spider-verse. And that is a problem.
One thing that is apparent, however, is that Pepsi was a sponsor of this movie. There is one scene, at a baby shower, where Dakota Johnson quite literally walks around holding a can of Pepsi, showing it off to every camera in sight, without even taking a sip. Just to bring it home that Pepsi paid Sony some money, the final fight takes place in front of a giant Pepsi-Cola neon sign.
Throughout Madame Web, there are several scenes with dialogue so cringe it is laughable, and not in a good way. Whenever something is happening, they make extremely sure you know exactly what is going on — for example, Cassie goes to the Amazon for a week and they tell the audience at least three times that she is gone for a week.
Bizarre decisions are made and there are many convenient plot points that are used just to drive the story forward. The two hour runtime is a bit too long, as Madame Web would have definitely benefitted from cutting it down by twenty to thirty minutes.
Adam Scott and the girls all suited up are the few good things throughout the movie. That and the fact that most of the action is entertaining, even if the visual effects are not up to par. While it certainly sets up for a sequel, unfortunately Madame Web’s future just isn’t that bright.
Rating: 1 out of 5
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About Madame Web
In a switch from the typical genre, Madame Web tells the standalone origin story of one of Marvel publishing’s most enigmatic heroines. The suspense-driven thriller stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic in Manhattan who develops the power to see the futureā¦ and realizes she can use that insight to change it. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she forges a relationship with three young women bound for powerful destinies…if they can all survive a deadly present.
Madame Web comes to theaters February 14th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.