Madame Web (2024)

 

The Spider-Man universe is a vast and complex multiverse full of opportunities. With this in mind, it does open up the possibilities for many other characters to shine on through. One of these is the mysterious Madame Web, a woman with super telekinesis and can see variations on the future. So, with the massive success of the prior Spider-Man films from Marvel, it would only make sense that the character would soon follow. And the result is, it's fine. “Madame Web” is the most fine interpretation of a Spider-Man character to date. Does it have problems? Of course it does. But with the stuff that's good, is good on its own accord. “Madame Web” tries to breath new life into a big universe concerning the Spider-Man universe, but it just comes off as a tangled mess.

Set in New York, the story focuses on Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson), a paramedic who has a near fatal accident, and can now view visions of the future. However, these little visions come at a cost: it more often than not shows either the wrong outcome, or having someone dying in the process. In this case, it's three girls named Julia (Sydney Sweeney), Isabela (Anya Corazon), and Mattie (Celeste O'Connor), whose lives are at stake. In this case, it's an evil man named Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), who has a vision of these three girls in the near future planning on killing him. Now, with Casandra's help, these three girls must trust their instincts in order to survive.

“Madame Web” isn't the worst thing to come out of Marvel, but it's also not the best interpretation either.

For starters, the acting isn't the best on display here. Each performance is trying their hardest to take this seriously, but in reality, it's being phoned in. This could be due to the fact that the director of this movie, S. J. Clarkson, mostly has done TV shows, and really hasn't done much in terms of actual movies. As for the performances themselves, Sweeney, Corazon, and O'Connor try their best to get along, but it's not until the second to last act that they really show off some sort of chemistry. Rahim is your traditional villain: wanting to abuse an unknown power for personal gain. It comes off as tiresome and dull. And then there's Johnson. She is trying to take everything in all at once, and has a million questions at once, but it still feels like there isn't enough time to take it all in at once. It doesn't leave the audience invested.

This brings up another problem with the movie: the pacing. At almost two hours, “Madame Web” feels a lot shorter than that. And the reason behind this is because there isn't enough action on screen, and more time being with the characters. Now, character growth is one thing, but when the whole premise is centered around superheroes, there is bound to be some action. And here, the action is mostly reserved for short intervals and the climax. It feels like a wasted potential.

And the biggest contributor to all of this is the writing. Penned by Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Claire Parker and Clarkson, the script is basically taking a rather safe route when it comes to superheroes. By that, it means that everything just feels like it was trying to be serious, but also play it safe at the exact same time. In doing so, the entire story feels very predictable, and there's no major twists or turns in the process. If this is supposed to be a thriller, then the shock value isn't there.

Another thing wrong with the story is that there are a lot of plot holes being thrown around. Most of this concerns Cassandra and her powers. They turn off and on at random, or are needed when the plot is necessary; mostly the latter in this case. A lot of questions are raised from the audience, and and are never answered, or, are just baffling in the process. For instance, Cassandra heads to Peru in order to learn about her past, and activate most of her powers, when, why couldn't she have done it back at home? It boggles the mind that these writers would go the predictable route.

With that being said, “Madame Web” does have a few good qualities attached to itself.

For instance, the costumes look nice, as they fit the time period of the early 2000's well. The composed soundtrack is also a nice addition, as it provides a nice composition against the hip hop soundtrack. When the action does occur, it is nice to see as everything moves fast against the explosions, and you can clearly see a lot of effort went into the making of this moment.

But that's pretty much it.

In conclusion, while “Madame Web” isn't the worst thing that Marvel has delivered, it certainly is one of the most disappointing entries in a long while.