Madame Web

Literally one of the worst superhero movies I have ever seen.

From the advertisements, I knew this movie wasn't going to be great but still, it surprised me how bad and boring it was. Everything about the direction, writing, characters, technical aspects, and designs are really awful. The writing is poor as there are many concepts, ideas and aspects that are messy and bland. The messy script creates poor dialogue from the cast and the characters are not interesting. The special effects looked even worse than the marketing and all of the performances were pretty bad. I honestly do feel bad for Dakota Johnson cause she is a good actress but she deserves to have better roles then this. It can be said for the same for the rest of the cast members.

The uses of product placements are annoying, action moments are dull, and and all in all, it was boring. Superhero movies shouldn't be boring but this really dragged on. It's unfortunate cause female superhero leads are something I love to see more like Wonder Woman and The Old Guard which are pretty fun. But unfortunately, it seemed that it likely isn't going to happen anytime soon.

There really isn't anything else to say.

Bad.

I don't understand what the big problem is. Yes, the movie may not be the best superhero movie, but the low ratings aren't justified either. Overall, the story is sometimes told in a rushed manner and the script doesn't deserve an Oscar, but overall the movie was entertaining. To be honest, I was expecting the worst and I was biased because of the negative ratings. After watching the movie, I couldn't understand all the hate for the movie at all. I'm already reasonably discerning when it comes to movies, but guys, let's be honest, this isn't an art house movie, this is popcorn cinema. The movie is supposed to entertain and it did. Even if it was a bit bumpy in places. Overall, I can recommend the movie to people who just want to be entertained. Not more and not less.

First Impression:

The opening of the Madame Web was immersed in a mystique and ambition, enhanced by great musical score; yet, as the movie progresses, it becomes a mixed bag and a rollercoaster of emotions.

The Positive:

Musical Score and Sound Design: The standout feature of "Madame Web" is its musical score. The soundtrack not only enhances the emotional depth of the film but also succeeds in creating in some moments genuine goosebumps. The sound design really enhances this impact by carefully using sound pans, bass, and reverse effects. It creates a sense of tension and immersion which is one of the film's strongest features.

The Mixed:

Visual Effects and Costume Design: Some of the visual effects in "Madame Web" were visually appealing. The costume design, like Casey's red jacket and the three spider girl villain outfits standing out as particularly stunning contributions to the film's aesthetic, but it was not often shown in the film since the films direction and focus was different. I was disappointed.

Acting and Direction: Although I thought Casey's character development - her ability to see the world from a different perspective - was great, I didn't like how it was visually presented. The way it was edited was poorly done. The editor could use 2 distinct color grading features where one sees the future and two, she sees the present moment.

However, The performances throughout the film feel lackluster, with the actors appearing confused and disengaged. This, combined with direction that fails to maintain interest or coherence in many scenes, significantly undermines the film's potential.

Negatives:

Cinematography: Cinematography is bad since some pictures don't show a clear image. The camera moves so fast that I cannot comprehend the picture. I kind of recognized that it tries to initiate the rapidness of the events from the spider's eye point of view but it was a tasteless decision. The Cinematography is not something like wow. The reason why Cinematography was lacking is because it was heavily based on medium closeups and dutch tilts which on one hand was a unique choice but on the other hand very hard to watch. I found the 180 degree round camera rotations super cool, but again, I expected varied distance shots, not just medium shots. The train scene Cinematography was the best in the film.

Editing and Pace: The editing is arguably the weakest element of "Madame Web," with its rapid cuts and disjointed flow detracting significantly from the storytelling. This lack of coherence makes it challenging for the audience to fully engage with the narrative.

Plot and Overall Execution: The storyline of "Madame Web" is cluttered and clichéd, suffering from a lack of originality and clear direction. The film's ambition is evident, but the execution falls short of creating a compelling narrative.

The Conclusion:

"Madame Web" presents a paradoxical experience, with exceptional music and sound design standing that sharply contrasts with its various flaws in editing, cinematography, and direction.

Although there are some visually and emotionally stunning moments, they are frequently overshadowed by a lack of coherence and clarity.

Also, I think this film would be reasonable and great to be incorporated in a TV series which would have allowed for a more in-depth exploration of characters and plot.

Nevertheless, Madame Web is a bit of a mixed bag, with moments of potential that ultimately leave the viewer something different visually.

Rating: 3/10.

Based on Madame Web's woeful reviews I was expecting this film to be an utter car crash. To its credit I will say it isn't entirely without merit, but it is incredibly boring and bland.

Mostly this is because nothing particularly happens. It's a superhero movie with little to no superhero action and a painfully long set up for an underwhelming final act. The characters are so underdeveloped that there is no emotional connection or investment in any of them. Everything about the story and writing just feels lazy, vacuous and corny.

Then there's the villain who is utterly uninspiring. He is constantly complaining about 'everything he has built' being destroyed. What has he built you might ask? The film has no interest in exploring this question. He's easily one of the more two dimensional and weak superhero villains I've ever seen committed to screen.

Perhaps the most heinous crime this movie commits is to waste the talents of Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Adam Scott, Emma Roberts, Zosia Mamet and more. Such a good cast was assembled and they were given absolutely nothing to work with, so I don't blame the performers. It's just such a shame to see such great talent put to the sword like this.

As if all of this wasn't enough, the movie also feels remarkably low budget and feels excruciatingly long despite its relatively short runtime.

Ultimately I think this film suffered because it was clearly intended as a set up for a wider Spider-Woman franchise which is unlikely to come to fruition. There seemed to be no interest in making a good stand alone movie, and no respect for the audience. A massive waste of time.

... when I saw Dakota Johnson was starring in it. Naturally I can't lay the entirety of this hot mess at her feet. But there is some really bad campy acting happening on her part, reminiscent of the Fifty Shades of Grey movies in which she starred. Perhaps it was because the director was more interested in the placement of Pepsi cans than her performance, but I digress.

Basically, this movie plays out like the cut scenes from a budget Xbox 360 game. From the ground up this thing just feels designed to fail. It feels almost Producersesque in its approach in just how every aspect is seemingly intentionally mangled, yet no one seems to care. How have we come so full circle to go through the glory of Infinity War/Logan/The Dark Knight to arrive all the way back to Batman and Robin and Catwoman levels of superhero flicks? (Bam!, Pow!, Gosh yes Batman!)

How did this movie make it so far that it has an actual release, and no one stopped it? How did this idea get green lit? Why did Sony give 80 million and turn over their valuable IP to the people that wrote Morbius, Gods of Egypt, Dracula Untold and The Last Witch Hunter? How did this get past the writing process and again have that script greenlit? How could no one on the set at any point stop things? How did no one in the editing room point out how bad it looked and how much of a mess it was?

But to the suits it's not about art and story. Instead it's about business, and people are just a commodity. It's cheaper to recycle known quantities, and practice nepotism and involve maybe less than talented friends, people you've worked with before, than go out and find artists with worthy stories. They don't care about art, they don't care about stories, they care about making this work for them financially, regardless of loss of reputation with audiences as a whole.

Youtuber Chris Stuckmann did a deep dive on the topic of big studios being generally run by folks who came up through management rather than the creative rungs such as writing and directing when he discussed this film. His take is worth watching. For some reason, Chris doesn't do critical movie reviews since he has become a filmmaker, but I can tell by his tone that, like me, he was completely displeased watching this one. I'd avoid it.