Madame Web (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – Cassandra Webb is a New York metropolis paramedic who begins to demonstrate signs of clairvoyance. Forced to challenge revelations about her former, she needs to safeguard three young women from a deadly adversary who wants them destroyed.

My Take – While they deserve full credit for backing the ongoing ‘Spider-Verse’ series of animated films, a live action cinematic universe based on Spider-Man characters, but without Spider-Man always seemed like a far-fetched idea, yet Sony, who owns the licenses of everything Spidey related, continues to adamant to bask in the critical and financial glory of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Though the run began fairly well with Tom Hardy led Venom (2018), a buddy comedy with an alien symbiote that ended up grossing $856.1 million worldwide and was followed up with an also successful sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021). But then came Morbius (2022), the Jared Leto vampire flick that bombed both critically and commercially. Becoming the subject of Internet memes mocking both its reception and quality.

Spreading quite skepticism around their latest feature which is based on Cassandra Webb, an old paralyzed, blind clairvoyant deep-cut comic book character who has been both ally and antagonist for Spider-Man throughout the years.

But with Dakota Johnson in the lead role, the S. J. Clarkson directorial aimed to create a new take and introduce casual viewers to three Spider-Women characters. Throwing our heroines into a threat-filled supernatural romp that often feels more like a Final Destination inspired 2000s teen horror product than a Marvel flick.

Resulting in an inoffensive paradoxical superhero experience, with exceptional sound design and decent performances that sharply contrasts with its various flaws in writing, editing, cinematography, and direction. Indeed, the concept is interesting on paper, but it couldn’t be saved due to its terrible execution.

From its lack of stakes to its absence of style, and from its laughable CGI to its palpable discomfort with the rhythms and tropes of its genre, it feels like it was made by and for people who have never seen a modern superhero film.

Sure, it isn’t as bad as Morbius, yet it fails as a one-off and a franchise starter, not telling a fulfilling origin story for Cassandra Webb nor makes a compelling argument for the future Spider-Women.

With Venom 3 and Kraven the Hunter still on the dock for release these year, along with a lot more in development, only time will tell what the future of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) holds.

Opening in the Peruvian Amazon during the 70s, when her scientist pregnant mother is attacked and killed while looking for a spider with strange powers, the story moves forward to 2003 New York and follows Cassandra “Cassie” Webb (Dakota Johnson), an awkward paramedic who works alongside Ben Parker (Adam Scott), mostly avoiding any new human connections.

However, following a near-death experience Cassie begins to have visions of the future and ends up babysitting a trio of teenage girls, which includes snarky rich-kid skateboarder Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor), nerdy Julia Cornwell (Sydney Sweeney), and the trait-deprived Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced).

Putting her on a warpath with Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), the super-powered man who killed her mother and has been having premonitory visions of his own, which revolve around the said girls who will supposedly kill him years later, after they’ve become conspicuously spider-themed superheroes.

No doubt, the idea here is fun, but the film packs a lot into its 116 minute runtime when it really doesn’t need to. The script, co-written by S. J. Clarkson, Claire Parker, and Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (Dracula Untold, Morbius), tries to connect many plots and people together to a confusing, yet ultimately bland result.

It tries to balance the comedic tone of a modern superhero film with what could be a more interesting psychological thriller if it invested more time on developing its hero and villain, rather than spreading itself thin trying to connect all these new versions of characters together.

A scene in which they try to sell the idea that all four women are connected in some cosmic way is so wildly strained and inconsequential, that it feels like the stitched-together product of a bunch of people who weren’t actually collaborating.

Even the inclusion of Ben Parker (Adam Scott) and his very pregnant sister-in-law, Mary Parker (Emma Roberts) is shoehorning at its most meaningless. Leaving the depiction of those visions and the mystical realm of Cassie’s ever-connecting web as the film’s most creative element.

Director S. J. Clarkson is noted for work on series like EastEnders, Heroes, House, Dexter, and Succession, but her experience seems lacking here, with some strange choices, including a distracting use of shaky cam that comes in during some dialogue scenes. Perhaps it’s fitting it takes place in 2003, as that style was pretty dominant back then, but it seems bizarre now.

Like so many films of its ilk, it teases the film fans actually want to see, that is a full-on Spider-Women team-up film, which is something we seemed to be promised by the trailer. Given the modest budget, there’s also very little in the way of action until the finale, which sets up future adventures for the cast.

The cast is wonderfully exciting, but there’s only so much they can do with the material. Dakota Johnson does all she can. Her cool-girl deadpan is always interesting and funny and, thankfully, director S.J. Clarkson has the good sense to keep the camera on her as much as possible. She makes gems out of nothing and finds humor even while the script and story are crumbling around her.

Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O’Connor, bring the requisite spunk to their roles and may be excellent choices for a future team-up film, but have very little to do here.

Rahim has proven himself to be a blistering presence, but befalls the curse of being a Marvel villain. Delivering an awkward, petulant performance, Rahim is forced to wrestle with weird dialogue, while being blasted aside by automobiles no fewer than three times.

The always fun to watch Adam Scott and Emma Roberts appear in thankless roles, taking on curious incarnation of Spidey’s Uncle Ben and Mary Parker. In smaller roles, Zosia Mamet and Mike Epps are wasted, while Kerry Bishé brings a charm and gravitas to her cameo. On the whole, ‘Madame Web’ is a subpar superhero feature failed by its clunky and messy execution.