Sony’s Spider-Man cinematic universe is one of the strangest things that modern cinema has given us. Even though Spider-Man appears right in the title, the superhero himself is not in the films. This is due to the nuances of the agreements between Sony, Marvel and Disney, but these explanations do not make it easier for the end viewer, because they get something of «Morbius» quality. We didn’t expect any miracles from «Madame Web» at the announcement stage. In our review, we will tell you how the movie turned out in the end.
Pluses:
interesting concept and idea of the film; the first minutes of the film correctly sets the stakes and introduces the characters; overall, good technical implementation; some people will like the local references
Minuses:
storylines are not properly developed; Cassandra's powers work in a strange way; the film makes the villain almost a clown; the overall narrative is confusing and pointless
«Madame Web»
Genre superhero adventure
Director S. J. Clarkson
In Roles Dakota Johnson, Emma Roberts, Sydney Sweeney, Adam Scott, Isabela Merced, Zasha Memet
Premier movie theaters
Year of release 2024
Site IMDb
Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson) works as a paramedic in New York City and generally enjoys her hard work because she can help people. But after an accident leaves her heart stopped for a few minutes, her life begins to go downhill. At first, Cassandra discovers a gift of foresight that she cannot control, and then it turns out that she is the only one who can save three schoolgirls from a powerful enemy. And all of this has something to do with Webb’s past.
Most viewers know Madame Web thanks to the 1994 animated series «Spider-Man», which is still considered unsurpassed by many fans. There, the heroine was an old woman with knowledge of the future, which regularly spoiled Peter Parker’s plans for an ordinary life.
«Madame Web» in the movie is a young woman who has just gained her powers, and even in their essence there are enough differences between the new adaptation and the comic book cartoon. So this has to be taken into account, and «Madame Web» doesn’t flirt too much with the source material.
This approach freed the filmmakers’ hands, as they could make an interesting original story in their own context and without additional restrictions. And it can be seen that this is exactly what they tried to do.
At the level of the concept and even the first minutes, the film creates intrigue and hints of interest.
As a superhero movie, «Madame Web» revolves around the unconventional idea of a confrontation between an almost ordinary person and a thief with physical superpowers, who has to be defeated by various tricks.
But this idea turns into complete nonsense because of its realization. On the one hand, we have Cassandra’s psychic abilities, which work in a somewhat strange way. There is no clear structure to them, which is why most of the movie raises the question of how and what is happening at all. Also, the stylization of the abilities is manifested through very abrupt and uncomfortable editing.
On the other hand, we have the main villain, Ezekiel Sims, who has quite the Spider-Man powers. But the movie does everything it can to make him look like a complete loser. Because he constantly fails, and all the damage he does is staged in an almost comedic way. It is impossible to take seriously a thief who is hit by a car or pushed back by a piece of wall. And this further ruins the whole movie experience.
The movie focuses on a trio of schoolgirls who are also supposed to gain powers similar to those of Spider-Man. No wonder they were put on the poster, right? And here you can relax, because there are only two scenes with Spider-Women in the movie. Only one of them is important for the plot. That is, Sony made a banal lure, a clickbait in a movie format.
The main problem is that there is nothing special to say about «Madame Web». Even the references to Peter Parker himself remain only at the level of vague hints, so it’s impossible to fully perceive them.
«Madame Web» fell victim to its own advertising campaign, during which almost all viewers immediately called the movie a failure, and the film crew seemed to be making excuses in all interviews for the result that no one had seen yet. Because this movie cannot be called outright bad. It is simply bad, even with elements of «average». Which, in terms of emotional perception, is even worse than being a bright trash.
Oh yeah, there is no post-credits scene in the movie, so you can leave the screening without any worries. At any time convenient for you, what’s more.