MADAME WEB – A Review by John Strange
The character Madame Web first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #210, published in November 1980. This film tells of her origin that begins on the day of her birth in the jungles of Peru where her mother is searching for an elusive spider that might be part of the cure for many illnesses. What happens changes the unborn baby and her mother.
Then, with the jump of many years, we are introduced to Cassandra “Cassie” Webb (Dakota Johnson), as a New York Fire Department ambulance driver/paramedic. She begins to experience the powers she inherited in the womb.
The story of her birth and how she came to fully develop and learn to use her powers is the central plot of the film. Throughout the film she protects three teenage girls whom she has encountered at random in recent times, now endangered by a mysterious man who has spider-like powers and extreme wealth.
The action in the film is hot and cold. The scenes of Cassie driving like a character in Mario Kart are interesting for a while. Eventually, those races through traffic lose their shock appeal and get a tad boring. The fight scenes are interesting but not exciting due to being mostly one-sided.
Compared to some of the other Marvel origin stories recently released, this one is okay. It rates about the middle of the pack in terms of excitement and story development.
I like the film but the more I think about it, the less I love it. In the comics, Madame Web seems to be largely relegated to being a secondary character in the Spider-Man storylines. I look forward to seeing how the filmmakers develop a sequel to see what they can do with this base story and whether they use Spider-Man or work with the characters given to us in this story.
Director: SJ Clarkson
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O’Connor, Tahar Rahim, Mike Epps, Emma Roberts, Adam Scott
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for violence/action and language)
Selig Rating: 4.2 Stars
Runtime: 116 Min.
Release Date: 02/14/2024
Language: English
Movie Site: MADAME WEB Official Site
Trailer: MADAME WEB Official Trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well, there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.
