And we thought “Venom” and “Mobius” were bad. To be fair, they're bad, but nothing like this, nothing like “Madame Web.”
Among several projects since the original “Spider-Man” trilogy starring Tobey Maguire and directed by Sam Raimi, the strange choices Columbia Pictures and its parent company Sony have made with the web-throwing hero A surprising number of projects ended in failure. A shining moment.
Sure, Spidey's presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the animated film Into the Spider-Verse is great, but everything Sony has done on its own has steadily deteriorated from mediocrity in recent years, reaching an all-time low. ing. In the latest attempt.
Thankfully, there's nothing completely insane, disgusting, or reprehensible about Madame Web, but it lacks anything remotely good or any hint of passion for the source material. That's what makes this work so bad. To be clear, this is not the cast or crew's fault. They all deserve a job and a paycheck. But due to the incompetence of the studio and the people behind this mess.
After a near-fatal accident, Manhattan paramedic Kathy Webb (Dakota Johnson) discovers that she can see into the future and use that insight to change it.
Cassie is forced to face revelations about her past and develops relationships with three girls (Sidney Sweeney, Isabella Merced, and Celeste O'Connor). All three are bound by a powerful fate if they can survive the deadly present.
That notable threat is Ezekiel Sims, a former explorer who knows Cassie's mother and sees the three young heroes killing him in the future. Cassie and Ezekiel, the embodiments of mythical rainforest spiders, fight for their future with the lives of three girls as their prize.
Where do I start? Let's start with Johnson. Johnson has nothing to work with and plays an unlikeable character who seems like he's “in it for the money.” Johnson is hit or miss, but she does a great job in parts that suit her style, but this is not all. Of course, it's the script that makes Cassie so unlikable.
And then there are the three young women who embarrassingly accepted. It may sound like a broken record here, but the actors are doing their best. But giving each one his one character trait with no real depth or complexity makes them feel more like trophies for Cassie and Ezekiel to fight and win, rather than actual characters whose lives are at risk. .
As the film progresses – the longest two hours of my life – it's clear that there's no attempt at creating a visually interesting or compelling work of art. All characters need to explain what happened and explain everything, rather than showing it to the audience using a visual medium. It doesn't help that some of the visual elements that appear alongside the expository scenes are full of lame CGI effects. Again, it's not the fault of the underpaid and overworked artists, it's the studios forcing them to meet impossible deadlines.
All of this is encapsulated by the inclusion of younger versions of Ben Parker and Mary Parker, the uncle and mother of future Spider-Man Peter Parker. I actually quite liked the casting of Adam Scott as Ben and Emma Roberts as Mary, although it doesn't save the movie. It's just a shame they didn't do anything actually important in the story.
What's worse is that the producers and screenwriters couldn't make it natural for the audience to understand that Cassie's paramedic partner is Uncle Ben. She has to awkwardly say, “That's my partner, Ben Parker,” and he has to leave a message on her machine, “Hi Kathy, it's me, Ben,” and this clueless This has happened six times just to hammer home to Spider-fans that this guy is Uncle Ben.
Sony announced this week that it would pivot its plans for its own Spider-Man universe after a disastrous opening weekend and derision from critics. good. Pay attention to Marvel's main series and animated works. Because this is just embarrassing.