As of this year, everyone's contender for the worst film released might go to Sony's disastrous Madame Web feature. Based on the Marvel character of the same name, the film is reported to be the fourth installment in Sony's infamous Spider-Man Universe. Unfortunately, this might be the only time we'll see said character on screen as the film is proving to be a critical and commercial failure, with many people deeming it to be one of the worst superhero movies to date. That being said, there's a good chance this film will have a chance of being looked back on for reasons completely different than intended.
The film follows the titular Cassie Webb who ends up confronting her origins and past while trying to save three teenage girls from the future sensing villain Ezekiel Sims. Right from the get go, Madame Web's central problem is how poorly the filmmakers tried and failed to not only connect this should be stand alone feature into their own universe, but also bit off way more than they could chew storywise. The main storyline of Cassie rediscovering herself is too straightforward and perplexing for its own good, not helped by a stiltedly flat performance by Dakota Johnson, and having three different heroines come into play just makes things even more convoluted. It feels like Sony had no faith in this feature to stand on its own two feet and chose to squeeze in too many characters without fleshing any of them out at all. In addition, the dialogue is lousily written and does not sound like how anyone on planet Earth would communicate with one another. It's really telling how poorly written this movie is when even the leads don't sound like real humans one can relate to.
On top of how poorly constructed the film's storyline is, many plot points that should have been explored either get ignored or get brought up out of nowhere. One could argue that certain plot beats were done as a means to hint at possible sequels, but when little explanation is given to Ezekiel Sims' own motives beyond being cartoonishly power hungry, then that's a sign that a lot more time was wasted than it should have been. Also, for a superhero movie, there's surprisingly a lot more talk than spectacle, as hardly any action comes afloat and any sequences that could be enticing are bafflingly edited and are hard to comprehend. It's to a point where sequences that are supposed to give off the feeling of intensity and suspense feel sloppy and pitiful rather than natural. Not to mention, so many character actions make little to no sense, and certain moments where Cassie and the girls try to protect themselves result in some of the stupidest coincidences you'll ever see in a superhero movie. It's sad how this movie is light on action and somehow lighter in brains.
However, with all of those faults said, this movie is a surprisingly hysterical disasterpiece from near start to finish. While it isn't without its utterly boring eye-rolling moments, just watching the admittedly talented cast trying their darnedest to make their lines of dialogue sound convincing is just enough to snicker at profusely. The script is already laughably broken, and the direction from a first time feature film helmer coming into play just adds into the absurd incompetence displayed on screen. The visual effects feel so out of place and come out of left field so much that one would think they're tripping out instead of seeing a widely released movie from a major Hollywood studio. Lastly, the music score is as subtly interwoven into the feature as the constant barrage of product placement throughout the runtime, including one scene in the third act that had the guts to try and make Pepsi seem like a threat. As much as this film is painful to watch and hard to follow along, at least there is some ironic entertainment value from the baffling ineptitude shown in just under two hours.
By coming off as more laughable and bizarre than enticing, Madame Web should be analyzed as a perfect example on how not to make a superhero film. The story is heinously convoluted, the characters are vastly underdeveloped, the acting is hopelessly wooden, and the other filmmaking qualities are utterly broken at the seams. Because of all that, this film has the chance of developing a cult following as a delightfully disastrous thrill fest, and there's a good chance people will get more value out of this for different reasons than the studio intended. I'm sure glad I got more out of it than I thought I would.
The film follows the titular Cassie Webb who ends up confronting her origins and past while trying to save three teenage girls from the future sensing villain Ezekiel Sims. Right from the get go, Madame Web's central problem is how poorly the filmmakers tried and failed to not only connect this should be stand alone feature into their own universe, but also bit off way more than they could chew storywise. The main storyline of Cassie rediscovering herself is too straightforward and perplexing for its own good, not helped by a stiltedly flat performance by Dakota Johnson, and having three different heroines come into play just makes things even more convoluted. It feels like Sony had no faith in this feature to stand on its own two feet and chose to squeeze in too many characters without fleshing any of them out at all. In addition, the dialogue is lousily written and does not sound like how anyone on planet Earth would communicate with one another. It's really telling how poorly written this movie is when even the leads don't sound like real humans one can relate to.
On top of how poorly constructed the film's storyline is, many plot points that should have been explored either get ignored or get brought up out of nowhere. One could argue that certain plot beats were done as a means to hint at possible sequels, but when little explanation is given to Ezekiel Sims' own motives beyond being cartoonishly power hungry, then that's a sign that a lot more time was wasted than it should have been. Also, for a superhero movie, there's surprisingly a lot more talk than spectacle, as hardly any action comes afloat and any sequences that could be enticing are bafflingly edited and are hard to comprehend. It's to a point where sequences that are supposed to give off the feeling of intensity and suspense feel sloppy and pitiful rather than natural. Not to mention, so many character actions make little to no sense, and certain moments where Cassie and the girls try to protect themselves result in some of the stupidest coincidences you'll ever see in a superhero movie. It's sad how this movie is light on action and somehow lighter in brains.
However, with all of those faults said, this movie is a surprisingly hysterical disasterpiece from near start to finish. While it isn't without its utterly boring eye-rolling moments, just watching the admittedly talented cast trying their darnedest to make their lines of dialogue sound convincing is just enough to snicker at profusely. The script is already laughably broken, and the direction from a first time feature film helmer coming into play just adds into the absurd incompetence displayed on screen. The visual effects feel so out of place and come out of left field so much that one would think they're tripping out instead of seeing a widely released movie from a major Hollywood studio. Lastly, the music score is as subtly interwoven into the feature as the constant barrage of product placement throughout the runtime, including one scene in the third act that had the guts to try and make Pepsi seem like a threat. As much as this film is painful to watch and hard to follow along, at least there is some ironic entertainment value from the baffling ineptitude shown in just under two hours.
By coming off as more laughable and bizarre than enticing, Madame Web should be analyzed as a perfect example on how not to make a superhero film. The story is heinously convoluted, the characters are vastly underdeveloped, the acting is hopelessly wooden, and the other filmmaking qualities are utterly broken at the seams. Because of all that, this film has the chance of developing a cult following as a delightfully disastrous thrill fest, and there's a good chance people will get more value out of this for different reasons than the studio intended. I'm sure glad I got more out of it than I thought I would.