Movies have unusual shelf lives. Usually, a film comes out, and it is judged. Sometimes favorably. Sometimes not. Then, a film can be reconsidered, with audiences coming around to the fact that the initial verdict was too harsh (or even too soft). Said pushback is usually inevitable. But I sure don’t like what I’m seeing on social media lately. Ever since Dakota Johnson’s standalone superhero story Madame Web reached paid VOD, some fans have been trying to rewrite the film’s narrative. A few people are even going so far as to say it’s better than most modern MCU movies, and superior to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: No Way Home (easily one of the best Spider-Man movies ever made).
Friends, I will not let that type of slander exist on the Internet.
No matter the intentions of the people involved, Madame Web turned out to be one of the worst comic book movies ever made. Critics destroyed the movie. There were two separate Madame Web jokes made during this year’s Oscars telecast. The film sits at 12% on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s aggressively bad. And yet, now that people can sit with the movie and reflect on it thanks to its availability on digital platforms, the hot takes are pouring in. This has become a common refrain:
this scene in madame web is better than anything marvel has done in years btw pic.twitter.com/Ki5lXCa6zmMarch 17, 2024
Stop it. This scene is one of Cassie Webb’s premonitions, a look into the future where she keeps seeing these potential Spider-Women being murdered by Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), a powerful… well, I’m not certain what he is, though he has harnessed the power of Peruvian spiders and wears a costume that sort of resembles Spider-Man’s (though Spidey, in this story, is a baby in his mother’s womb).
Calling it “better than anything Marvel has done” overlooks or flat out ignores the triumph of Loki Season 2, the emotional complexities that James Gunn and his team brought to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the reunion of all three Spider-Man actors in Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Speaking of, some viewers are using No Way Home as a way to contrast Madame Web, claiming:
this is kind of insane pic.twitter.com/XRGcCwQ0DsMarch 17, 2024
But even stating that ignores completely the fact that Spider-Man: No Way Home filmed the bulk of its footage under stifling COVID protocols. Tony Revolori wasn’t even in the same country as his co-stars when that scene was filmed due to travel restrictions. Cinematographer Mauro Fiore shot both Spider-Man: No Way Home and Madame Web. Only, he shot the latter without the painful restrictions enforced thanks to a global pandemic. Naturally, individual shots might look better in Madame Web, for just that reason! It doesn’t, in any way, make Madame Web a better movie, overall.
I do understand Dakota Johnson fans coming to her aide, to support her film, and possibly her work in it:
This whole scene is so satisfying to watch! 😮💨🕸 #MadameWeb pic.twitter.com/w0IfBNcDtdMarch 18, 2024
But there’s no way anyone can share the scene of Cassie talking about the time her mother died in childbirth AT A BABY SHOWER and still defend Madame Web as a good movie.
and what if i said this scene from madame web is the funniest so far of this year? pic.twitter.com/jbsihuz2d9March 17, 2024
Sony’s live-action Spider-Verse has been a mixed bag, at best. The initial Venom made a lot of money, but its sequel made a lot less. Morbius didn’t perform well. El Muerto with Bad Bunny was cancelled (and no one was asking for it in the first place). And Madame Web was bad, an ill-conceived idea that distanced itself from the Spider-Man narrative by setting itself in the 1980s, then focusing on a C-list Spidey character that had no audience connection or narrative urgency. There’s an awful lot of pressure on Sony’s upcoming Kraven the Hunter movie to justify the direction of Sony’s Spider-Verse. Because at the moment, I think there needs to be significant creative change if any Spider-Man universe can be salvaged.