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.