Madame Web is (some of) the Weakest Writing Material Known to Man.
Written & Edited by: Lee Fenton
‘Madame Web’ defines mediocrity.
Albeit, it’s not nearly as awful as most critics would have you believe. It doesn’t reach ‘Morbius’ levels of bad – yet, this movie is so bland and predictable – that it’s (essentially) the cinematic equivalent of paint-by-numbers. Which begs the question; how did the filmmaker manage to botch the more formulaic aspects of this movie?
All this picture required was standard superhero fare:
tell an origin story, craft a villain with little to no characterization, and finish it all with an action set-piece atop some towering structure – skyscraper, scaffolding, monument, etc. If this formula was followed – we would’ve had an average Marvel movie.
Not a masterpiece, but enjoyable viewing nonetheless.
Why, then, is Sony’s Madame Web worse than your run-of-the-mill Marvel flick?
I would argue – that they took a B-list hero – with a really neat power – and completely failed in the execution of said “power”. Madame Web’s ability to see into the future is something that fans are interested in, in fact, Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ is a film property that’s proving to be a global phenomenon. The crux of the main character (Paul Atredes) is his ability for prescience or “second sight”. This implies that the public has at least some interest in the premise. The problem: this movie doesn’t commit to the creative editing needed to emphasize the surreality of the situation. Clairvoyance is tricky to convey visually; and try as they might, the filmmaker (S.J. Clarkson) only managed to make it slightly engaging.
The tones are a mixed-bag; at times – I had the distinct feeling I was watching a millenial “coming of age” picture — at other moments it seemed more like a rom-com action flick hybrid.
Honestly, the bits with Dakota Johnson solo; the first act and up to the second act’s opening/rising action, are fairly competent. We get some fun jokes and one-liners, a visual motif of spider-web achieved by framing her apartment staircase just right, and some pleasant chemistry between Adam Scott’s “Ben Parker” and Johnson’s “Cassandra Webb”. The convolution arises when other members of the main cast are introduced, in the form of the three sidekicks to our hero (Sydney Sweeney, Isabella Merced, Celeste O’Connor). Similar to the girl-power film ‘Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn’ the characters don’t feel like they get near enough screen-time or dialogue vis-à-vis characterization suffers heavily. Villains don’t need to be expertly written in these types of movies, although it certainly can help – look at ‘Avengers: Endgame’; that film’s staying power is mainly due to the performance by Josh Brolin as “Thanos” and the writing behind the “most epic bad-guy the MCU has ever known”. But more importantly, if you don’t write your heroes well – you really don’t have a cinematic experience. That kind of goes for any television or film media.
While viewing ‘Madame Web’ I sensed the film might be the result of multiple scripts that had been amalgamated into one incoherent mess – meddling by studio execs perhaps?
Who knows.
“The actress [Dakota Johnson] told The Wrap that the early version of the Madame Web script was very different to the story that made it to screen, though she didn't offer any specifics about the adjustments the writers decided to make. ‘There were drastic changes,’ Johnson told the outlet. ‘And I can't even tell you what they were.’"Feb 14, 2024 [2] IGN.com
Afterall, it’s not uncommon for these lower-tier superhero adaptations to be treated like a marketing endeavour rather than a piece of art or fiction.
That’s how we ended up with messes like: ‘Green Lantern’ (2011), The Eternals (2021), ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ (2009), and ‘Superman II’ (1980) to name a few. [1]
Rating: 3/10
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Just eat a whole bucket of pop-corn.
That usually improves a bad movie.
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Sources:
[1]https://movieweb.com/movies-ruined-by-studio-interference/
10 Movies That Were Ruined by Studio Interference
[2]https://www.ign.com/articles/madame-web-dakota-johnson-script-drastic-changes-after-signing-on
Article on IGN.com
