Directed by S.J. Clarkson — Screenplay by Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Claire Parker, and S. J. Clarkson — Story by Kerem Sanga, Matt Sazama, and Burk Sharpless.
If Avengers: Endgame represented the absolute zenith of the 21st-century golden age of the Hollywood superhero movie craze — which was, in a sense, kickstarted in 2008 by Jon Favreau and Christopher Nolan — then I think it would be fair to say that this current moment could be the trend’s nadir. At the very least, this is undoubtedly one of its lowest points. Warner Bros.’s DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is sleeping with the fishes after the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, as Warner is preparing a clean reboot. The once always consistently good Marvel Studios — and their Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) — is struggling in the post-Endgame era, as the existence of Disney+ has led them to wrongly focus on quantity over quality (though some hope exists that they may have learned the error of their ways in time to properly course correct). Meanwhile, Sony and their half-in/half-out relationship with Marvel Studios and their MCU have led to a series of Spider-Man-related spin-offs that are, at best, superfluous curiosities and, at worst, ill-conceived cash-grabs. Credit where credit is due, Sony did create some of the most beloved superhero films of the early 2000s under the direction of Sam Raimi, their animated Spider-Man films are universally beloved, and whenever they’ve teamed up with Marvel Studios on a Spider-Man film, it has led to a final product that fans and the vast majority of critics agree is quite good. But, for some reason, Sony has struggled to cross the finish line without having to limp across it each and every time it has come to their live-action Spider-Man spin-off films. This was already apparent with both of their Venom films (Fleischer’s Venom and Serkis’ Venom: Let There Be Carnage) and it was impossible to deny with Morbius. Unfortunately, S.J. Clarkson’s Madame Web doesn’t change that downward trajectory for live-action Spider-Man spin-offs. Madame Web feels disconnected and desperate.
S.J. Clarkson’s Madame Web is primarily set in 2003, at which point we follow the Queens, New York-based paramedic Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Webb (played by Dakota Johnson), who, following a near-death experiences while on the job, starts experiencing these strange visions of the future that gradually start to come true. However, when she learns to accept them as genuine visions of the future and not merely deja vu, she begins to understand that she may be able to prevent her most disastrous visions from coming true. Thirty years earlier, Cassie’s mother was in the Peruvian Amazon researching spiders when she died in childbirth. Unbeknownst to Cassie, her mother was shot and robbed by the mysterious explorer Ezekiel Sims (played by Tahar Rahim), and when he left Cassie’s mother for dead, she was approached by a mysterious indigenous tribe who failed to save the mother but who also ensured Cassie’s birth and immediate safety. Now in the early 2000s, Ezekiel Sims is plagued by visions of his own demise in the distant future at the hands of three young women — Julia (played by Sydney Sweeney), Anya (played by Isabela Merced), and Mattie (played by Celeste O’Connor) — who will one day fight crime in Spider-Man-esque suits. When Cassie has a vision about Sims’ desire to kill these three young women, she makes it her mission to keep them safe.
One of the weird things about Sony’s Spider-Man spin-off films is that they’re crafting these films around characters that most people don’t have prior knowledge of. Now, Venom was actually a pretty popular character in the mainstream even before his film, but only comic book fans (or Spider-Man animated series fans) knew of Morbius beforehand. The same goes for Madame Web, who I’ve always known as a blind older woman in a seated position. Cassandra Webb is not a character I would immediately think to build a superhero film around. There have even been talks about Sony releasing a film built around the Spider-Man character ‘El Muerto,’ who I, genuinely, never would’ve thought to make a movie for. Whoever is making these decisions at Sony needs to be reminded that not every character has a built-in audience. But I digress, the point is that in taking on the story of Madame Web, Sony has made the deliberate decision to change things about the character (partly because the character isn’t exactly the ideal character to adapt for the big screen). These changes were already apparent when Dakota Johnson was announced to play the clairvoyant Spider-Verse-related older woman. At a time when people are clamoring for more major roles for actresses in their fifties or sixties, it feels like a misstep.
Even before the film was released, Madame Web became a bit of a meme, as its trailers included a preposterous line of dialogue that became instantly iconic for how absurd it was. The line was: “He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died,” and as the internet and several of my fellow reviewers have been quick to point out, the line isn’t in the film itself. This wasn’t too much of a surprise to me, as it always felt to me like the kind of inorganic line of dialogue designed specifically for marketing to clue audiences in on the basics of the premise quickly. That right there isn’t a huge bait-and-switch marketing thing, but that isn’t to say the film’s marketing isn’t guilty of that — it very much feels like it is. In trailers, TV spots, and promotional material, there have been images and glimpses of scenes showcasing its main female cast members in superhero costumes. The marketing is selling a superhero film with costumes, powers, and the whole lot. But once you see the film, you’ll realize that you’ve seen most of the shots of the costumes already in the marketing, which is to say that the costumes are only very briefly in the film. You’ll have to wait until a sequel or another spin-off — assuming that ever comes — to actually see these Spider-Women in their comic book-inspired costumes for longer than it takes you to make microwave popcorn.
That isn’t to say that there aren’t comic book movie references and easter eggs in Madame Web. In actuality, the film is filled to the brim with references. Unfortunately, it feels less like easter-eggs and more like your friend who has only seen a single Spider-Man movie repeatedly elbowing you in the ribs, as if to say “Get it? Get it?” even though they are the most obvious and unnecessary references you could think to include (including incredibly forced dialogue references). The lengths that the writers of the film have gone to tease references with zero value to the actual story just to get people to see the movie feel extremely cheap and, at times, slightly disrespectful. The problem isn’t just that the references aren’t up to par. Madame Web is hamstrung by destructive editing, bafflingly inorganic and inert writing, shameless product placement, and unflattering performances from the actors. In general, Madame Web is the kind of film that feels hacked to bits in the editing room for one reason or another. Performances have been butchered and so, it seems, has the storyline. It feels wrong to single out specific performers for standing out negatively since they were given a particularly raw deal here with a harsh (borderline unlikable) lead character, cardboard-thinly written stereotypical characters, and a couple of utterly pointless supporting roles. But even though it feels wrong, I simply have to point out that Tahar Rahim’s villain character will go down as one of the worst of the comic book genre both due to the insufficient writing and the unflattering presentation. His performance has been especially butchered, and I feel that he has been hard done by the creatives in charge of polishing the final product. Make no mistake, Tahar Rahim is normally a good actor, and this film is not representative of his talent — just like it isn’t for most, if not all, of the other performers in the film.
The problems don’t end there for Madame Web. It also has one of the most baffling third acts of any superhero film in the golden age of comic book movies. It has the kind of narrative climax that is sometimes laughably absurd both due to — and I guess this is a spoiler, so steer clear if you don’t want to know how most superhero movies end — how the world is saved and how the titular character’s most influential superpower is translated to live-action. It also happens to have plot holes the size of a skyscraper, and this is coming from someone who hates to even mention the term ‘plot hole.’ It is a desperate and shocking mess of a film. Still, I will say that the film itself does sometimes cross the line and become so jaw-droppingly bad that it’s kind of entertaining despite itself (although the dreadful Morbius probably is less of a mess than this one is, I’d much rather rewatch Madame Web than give Morbius another go). I’ll also add that the distracting camerawork is admittedly so flashy that I suppose it could be one of the more exciting parts of the experience of watching it. I wouldn’t exactly call that a highlight, though. I will say that I think the idea behind the film is sort of appealing. It is going for some kind of blend of Final Destination and Terminator but existing as a part of Spider-Man’s corner of the Marvel universe. Heck, I even think it is kind of clever to have an evil Spider-Man chasing regular innocent people, even though he looks more like dollar-store Spider-Man than anything else here.
Ultimately, in its current form, S.J. Clarkson’s Madame Web is yet another example of a bafflingly ill-conceived Sony Spider-Man spin-off film, but this one feels especially hacked to pieces and set up for failure, which is a real shame because there is a lot of talent involved here. Not only is Madame Web a sloppy Spidey-spin-off, but it will also go down as a cautionary tale for talented actors betting their mainstream reputation on superhero movies elevating their statuses, as well as yet another example of Sony coming up with a disastrous spin-off that dilutes the Spider-Man brand.
3.5 out of 10
– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 