Movie Review

Latest Spider-Man offshoot Madame Web spins its wheels

Since the Marvel Cinematic Universe started going downhill in the wake of Avengers: Endgame, the most popular Marvel character appearing in movies has reverted back to Spider-Man. With Sony in control of all of the surrounding characters in the Spider-Verse, they have attempted to capitalize on Spider-Man’s appeal by giving stand-alone movies to those lesser-known heroes and villains.

The two Venom movies and Morbius were less than successful, so they’re back for another bite at the apple with Madame Web, which centers on Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson), a New York City paramedic whose mother died giving birth to her while in Peru studying – you guessed it – spiders. Following an accident in which she is saved by fellow paramedic Ben Parker (Adam Scott), Webb starts noticing the strange ability to have visions of the near future.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Dakota Johnson in Madame Web.

At the same time, evil guy Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), who has spider powers because of (spoiler), is seeing visions of three women who are currently teenagers – Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor) – in their own Spider outfits killing him at some point in the future. Ezekiel goes on the hunt to kill them before that ever happens, with Cassandra trying to block at him at every turn with her growing powers.

Written and directed by S.J. Clarkson, and co-written by Matt Sazama, Buck Sharpless, and Claire Parker, the film initially shows some promise before being taken over by many of the same problems that have plagued other Spider spin-offs. The film’s set-up, in which Cassandra’s mom meets her demise, is relatively solid, as is the introduction to the work friendship between Cassandra and Ben, which has a fun vibe to it.

However, once the action starts in earnest, Clarkson and her team seem to have no idea how to make the film dramatic or even interesting. The way they chose to show Cassandra’s visions is not that confusing, but the back-and-forth between what might happen and what actually does keep the film from having any kind of momentum. There’s also a sameness to the sequences that take any surprise out of the equation, lessening the excitement in the process.

Even though the film has four credited writers, none of them come close to having anything clever to say with their dialogue. Much of what the actors are required to say is overly expository and/or repetitive. The film is an origin story for Cassandra, Anya, Julia, and Mattie at the same time, which is a lot for any movie to support, much less one as poorly written as this one.

Johnson has done well in other films, most notably The Lost Daughter, but she is not a good fit at all for this role. She shows almost no emotion, part of which is called for by the character, but when the film’s bigger moments need her to show some star power, she has none to give. Merced, Sweeney, and O’Connor are entertaining as a trio, but the film overpromises and under-delivers on what they’re allowed to do as budding superheroes.

Like so many other comic book films in recent years, Madame Web can’t live up to its potential thanks to decisions of the filmmakers. It does have one positive to offer, though: An abundance of CPR scenes gives anybody who sees the film enough of an education to probably get certified themselves.

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Madame Web opens in theaters on February 14.

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Movie Review

Jessica Chastain drama Dreams stumbles through steamy romance

Photo courtesy of Teorema

Isaac Hernández and Jessica Chastain in Dreams.

The opening scenes of the new drama Dreams are bracing, fictional sequences that call to mind real-life scenarios. In them, a young Mexican man named Fernando (Isaac Hernández) goes through a somewhat harrowing journey from the back of a semi truck in South Texas all the way to San Francisco. It’s a familiar immigrant story that seems to set the stage for a film with something interesting to say.

It turns out, however, that Fernando has not made the long and arduous trek for a job. Instead, it’s to be with Jennifer McCarthy (Jessica Chastain), a rich woman who helps lead a foundation dedicated to multiple things, including funding dance academies. Fernando, a talented dancer, and Jennifer have been in an off-and-on affair for years, with Jennifer wanting to keep their relationship a secret.

Although both are drawn to each other in an inexplicable, lustful way, their bond is tenuous, with each of them dissatisfied for different reasons. Fernando clearly sacrifices much more of himself than Jennifer, who wants for nothing except maybe more affection from her father, Michael (Marshall Bell), and brother, Jake (Rupert Friend).

Writer/director Michel Franco seems to try to inject tension into Fernando and Jennifer’s relationship from the start, an attempt that is only halfway successful. It’s clear from the way they greet each other - not to mention a steamy sex scene shortly thereafter - that they have known each other for a good length of time. Franco is able to get across this familiarity with an economy of scenes, and the intensity of their bond holds for a while.

But as the film progresses and both of them grow disenchanted with their arrangement, Franco starts taking the story in some odd directions. The biggest issue is that it’s never clear at what point in time the story is taking place. Fernando ends up making multiple trips back and forth across the border, with Jennifer doing the same at one point, and Franco’s use of flashbacks muddies the waters, wrong-footing the audience when he should be trying to draw them further into Fernando and Jennifer’s complications.

Revelations in the final act make the story even more confusing, as both main characters start saying and doing harsh things that seem to come out of nowhere. That would be all well and good if Franco actually committed to their changes of heart, but he keeps things wishy-washy for most of the final 15 minutes, resulting in an ending that makes little sense for either character.

Despite the story issues, both Chastain and Hernández give compelling performances. Chastain has been a little under the radar since winning an Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, but she keeps this character interesting longer than it should have been. Hernández has limited credits and appears to have been cast for his dancing ability, but he goes toe-to-toe with Chastain on more than one occasion and acquits himself well.

Dreams had all of the ideas to explore a more in-depth story about the complicated immigration policies between Mexico and the U.S., or how wealthy people take advantage of those less fortunate. But Franco never finds the right footing, settling instead for a titillating and somewhat mystifying relationship story that feels half-baked.

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Dreams is now playing in select theaters.

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