Madame Web is the kind of film that invites all sorts of questions: What went wrong? What was the original plan? Did the people involved know what they signed on for? And is there a better version hidden somewhere beneath the surface?
Let’s scour the Blu release to find out…
Sony’s attempts at mining the world of Spiderman for live action spin-offs has proven…iffy.
Kraven has been delayed a billion times and the Sinister Six movie never even got off the ground. Morbius is better left undiscussed, which leaves Venom as the benchmark to beat. Let There Be Carnage is a (queer) mess, which is also an apt descriptor of the first film, though the appeal of Tom Hardy vs a tank of lobsters cannot be overlooked.
There was a possibility that the tide could turn with Madame Web, though those hopes were dashed by an underwhelming trailer, scathing reviews, and a paltry box office take. But is the film worth all of the bad press and vitriol?
The answer, for the most part, is yes. Sadly it’s not a very good film. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t an entertaining film, albeit not for the reasons that writer/director S.J. Clarkson may have intended.
Madame Web is an origin story set in 2003 that follows protagonist Cassandra Web (Dakota Johnson, oscillating between confused and bored). At the start of the film she’s an average EMT working in New York city with her partners Ben (Adam Scott) and O’Neill (Mike Epps).
One day a near death accident on the job awakens Cassie’s latent precognitive powers, which allow her to see into the future. Shortly thereafter she has a vision of a man in a black Spider-Man suit attacking three teenage girls on the subway, prompting her to intercede and change the future when she sees them in real life.
Although Cassie doesn’t know Julia (Sydney Sweeney), Anya (Isabela Merced), or Mattie (Celeste O’Connor), the three girls quickly bond, principally because Cassie strands them in the woods while she high-tails it to the Amazon. It’s here that the film’s uneven pacing and focalization begins to take its toll: not only does Cassie’s investigation into her mother Constance (Kerry Bishé)’s research split the narrative in two, it literally keeps her away from the girls that she’s meant to be protecting/mentoring.
Naturally the trip does result in some clarity about her powers, as well as the identity of the masked villain, Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) aka her mother’s research partner. He’s also the man who killed Constance and he now believes that the three girls pose a threat to his future.
Alas Ezekiel’s motivations and characterization are paper thin, so the talented French is completely wasted in a thankless role.
The shallow characters are another of the film’s many weaknesses. Despite being saddled with sad parental backstories, none of the girls make an impression. Even more problematically, outside of their Spider-powered future we briefly glimpse in Ezekiel’s vision, none of them have their abilities yet, so they’re basically just pawns or damsels in distress.
That leaves Johnson as the film’s lynchpin. While reviews were unkind to her performance, there is a glimmer of amused awareness in some of her line delivery. Ironically enough, Johnson has much more energy and comedic verve, particularly with Scott, in the gag reel on Madame Web‘s special features.
Ultimately the film is undone by an overly predictable script, its laughable dialogue, shallow characters, and the split narrative that prevents Johnson from interacting with the girls for long stretches. And yet, the nearly two hour run time doesn’t drag, the 2003 time period provides fun/random Easter Eggs, and the predictability of being able to guess every narrative beat is oddly comforting?
The reality is that Madame Web is not a good movie. But in the right frame of mind, with the right crowd, and the right mix of controlled substances, it *can* be a fun movie.
Other Observations:
- The inclusion of Ben and Mary (Emma Roberts) Parker, as in Peter Parker’s uncle and mother, is such an unnecessary detail. These characters feel like a note from the Sony suits to ensure Madame Web contains ties to the larger Spider-Man universe. This becomes even more frustrating when you release that Peter’s impending birth, which is a plot point in the climax, is the whole reason that the film is a period piece!
- The rooftop climax is reasonably entertaining, if only because there’s the briefest suggestion that Cassie may still be too green to effectively battle both Ezekiel and save all three girls.
- But also: Checkov’s CPR? Really?
- Cassie’s precog abilities aren’t exactly novel, but at times it feels as though the film forgets about them. Arguably the most disappointing aspect of her powers is that they’re not more visually exciting; more often than not, her visions of the future play out like what we see in a Final Destination film.
- With that said, Cassie’s initial inability to understand what’s happening does produce some fun moments, such as when she inadvertently offends all of the mothers at Mary’s baby shower.
Special Features
The physical release is severely lacking special features and those that are present are scant (several of them even recycle sound bites from other featurettes). None of these run longer than 8 mins and many are puff pieces done during filming, on broad topics such as casting, fight choreography, and Easter eggs.
Most of the interviews stress the female camaraderie, the interest in being in a female superhero film, and the attraction of a supe whose powers are her mind.
Strangely, despite referencing her extensive familiarity with comics, Clarkson stressing the character’s unique mental powers completely disregards big name characters like X-Men’s Professor X and Jean Grey. That omission aside, it’s clear that Clarkson does know her Madame Web lore, as evidenced by the Easter Egg feature that highlights a number of very specific comic references.
Arguably the most intriguing aspect of the extras is what isn’t included. There’s no audio commentary, and no featurette on replicating the 2003 time period.
All of the interviews were also clearly shot during production or shortly thereafter because none of them speak to the finished product. Obviously a tell-all of what went wrong with the film was never going to happen, but it is odd to hear the cast, particularly the three girls, gush about how well developed their characters are and how integral their arcs are to the film (None of this comes through in the actual film).
There is, however, one intriguing element hidden within the special features: a BTS glimpse of Cassie fighting in the climax in her red leather future timeline outfit. It’s not rare for films to shoot scenes that are edited or cut from the final print, but this suggests a whole other costume change was originally a major component of the film’s finale.
It should be noted that this omission is NOT captured in the disc’s single paltry deleted scene, which runs less than 30 seconds and features Cassie and Ben simply getting into a car (It’s beyond superfluous and didn’t merit inclusion).
Alas the special features on the disc are bare bones and extremely underwhelming. If there are answers about what really happened to Madame Web, they’re certainly not revealed here.
Final score:
- Movie: 2/5
- Extras: 1/5
Madame Web is now available on 4K, Blu and VOD