The Stream: Slow burn and then the ending kind of falls apart

The Big Screen: Nice adaptation of a new character

The Final Bill: Takes a while to get going but then just flies off the rails

– Trip Fontaine and S2S: Movie Review
Director: S.J. Clarkson
Writers: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Claire Parker
Stars: Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O’Connor, Tahar Rahim
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Rating: PG-13 for violence/action and language
Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes
Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Marvel Entertainment
Platform: Released in theaters February 14, 2024
Notable Trailers: Furiosa: A Mad Max Story, Imaginary, Tarot, Twisters, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Despicable Me 4, The First Omen, The Watchers, Drive Away Dolls,

Hey, Streamers! We are back stuck in Cupid’s web of love. While everyone else was boo loving, we were in these streets watching Marvel’s latest Sony superhero, Madame Web. In Madame Web, Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson), who is a paramedic in New York City, begins to get flashes from the future that catch her off-guard and doubting herself. These glimpses lead her to three young women who are being pursued by an evil Spider-Man-like person, Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim). In order to understand her new-found affliction, Cassie must confront her past and grapple with the death of her mother. Spider webs and origin story hijinks ensue.

Here’s the thing about Madame Web: it’s fine but not very memorable. There’s nothing that really stands out. It’s an origin story that does not do a great job of explaining the central character’s powers or how they are harnessed. Additionally, I don’t think Cassie or many of the other characters make smart decisions. The action is okay. I guess the biggest problem is casting. I like Dakota Johnson as an actor, but this role was not suited for her strengths. She has pretty boring delivery of her lines and her energy drags the whole movie down. There should be more urgency to the action and more of a sense of humor throughout. The next problem is the pacing of the movie. The movie goes from a slow burn to a rollercoaster with no brakes at the drop of a dime. It feels like the filmmakers had a good thought but got caught in how they should end the film. In doing so, they lost their path. This movie went from finding out about powers to mastery of powers in less than a scene. These things just caused the movie to get to a pace that just confuses the audience.

Ultimately, Madame Web is just fine – meh. It is not very memorable but it is not bad either. There are a few good action moments, but it’s not enough to keep you invested. The movie doesn’t do a good job of setting up the character; and, unfortunately, Dakota Johnson is miscast as Cassie Webb. No need to rush to the theater for this one. Just a handful of popcorn will do once it’s on streaming.