While the comic book genre has been around for quite some time, there was no metric in place to expect the pop culture explosion that landed at cinephiles feet over the past decade. While the likes of Superman ’78 and Batman ’89 showed the potential success of the genre, 2008-2022 showed studios that the ideology of “if you build it, they will come” held as comic book properties of little to no prior fame or popularity were released and despite the quality would always garner a substantial box office.
As 2023 arrived, things began to change as most comic-book films flopped critically and financially, leading to the question, “Have we finally hit the over-saturation of the genre?” To some, that answer was yes, even before 2023, but when it was affecting the bottom line, it was quite an eye-opening year for the genre. What were once event films became chore-like entities that needed a revamp.
Would the first entry in the 2024 slate provide the revamp cinephiles were looking for? Unfortunately, Madame Web is a tangled web of disappointment and frustration. It is a soulless cash grab that echoes memories of Catwoman, Daredevil, and Elektra as not just one of the worst films within the genre but the bottom of the barrel in the Sony-verse.
The story of Madame Web revolves around a girl named Cassandra “Cassie” Webb (Johnson), who has to confront her past when she finds out that her mother was researching spiders in the Amazon just before her death. With this discovery, Cassie must protect three teenagers who have superhero-like abilities from a person from the past who is trying to harm them.
Madame Webb‘s screenplay fails the film dramatically as Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Claire Parker, and S.J Clarkson’s script could be more coherent. In their efforts to reimagine The Terminator in comic book movie form, the script ultimately is a convoluted chore.
The lackluster screenplay leads to cinephile “secondhand embarrassment” as the film is a cacophony of clichés and cringe-worthy dialogue wrapped in a thinly veiled attempt at obtained action, but in turn, is a cliched execution thought to be a thing of comic book movie past.
Failing to weave a compelling story leads to underwhelming performances across the board. While the dynamic between Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, and Isabela Merced was the film’s highlight, Dakota Johnson struggles to inject any life into Cassie that would allow any investment into her story.
While Adam Scott is wasted, seeing him on the big screen is always nice. The film’s ultimate failure falls at the feet of Tahar Rahim’s Ezekiel Sims. Not only is it one of the worst villains in comic book movie lore, but it’s also one of the worst performances. I failed to engage with any of Rahim’s choices as a “villain of the week” from the Smallville days would have been better suited in Madame Web.
While the VFX in comic book films has been critiqued over the past few years, the film doesn’t help that narrative as the CGI would fall in line with a low-budget 90’s comic book films; I’m looking at you, Fantastic Four ’94. With noticeable green screen work, every visual aspect of Madame Web feels like it was thrown together at the last minute with no regard for quality.
Ultimately, Madame Web is a tangled mess whose lasting impression and lesson is that only some comic book properties must be adapted. To make matters worse, the line from the trailer that became a meme, “He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died,” was not even in the film. The 2024 slate within the genre is off to a shaky start.
