Released on February 14, Madame Web tells the story of Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson). She gains psychic powers while still in the womb after her mother is bitten by a spider before she dies.
After an accident, Cassie starts seeing the future. She tries to save three girls from a killer. Played by Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor, these girls are meant to become Spider-Women.
Even though the film features star-studded cast, it fails to impress the Spider-verse fans. It did poorly at the box office during the holiday weekend and got bad reviews even before it came out.
With this, Dakota Johnson has now become a part of a project that holds an embarrassing record in Marvel history.
Dakota Johnson and Michael B. Jordan Match Embarrassing Marvel Record
Madame Web didn’t do well when it first came out. It had one of the lowest openings for a Marvel character movie, making it the first Marvel movie to do so since the 2015 Fantastic Four reboot.
Despite other critical failures in the Marvel universe, Madame Web stands out due to its low box office earnings ($6 million opening day) and terrible reviews (13% on Rotten Tomatoes).
One of the Rotten Tomatoes‘ Top Critic, Wall Street Journal’s Kyle Smith noted, “It collapses so pathetically that studio executives might as well have dialed 911 to rescue it.”
The film now joins the ranks of Marvel’s one of the most disappointing movies—Michael B. Jordan‘s Fantastic Four (2015). Though the Fantastic Four franchise played a crucial role in Marvel Comics’ history, it hasn’t had successful movie adaptations.
The 2005 film did well at the box office but was slammed by critics. Even its 2007 sequel didn’t meet expectations. With Marvel Studios potentially regaining the film rights, 20th Century Fox rushed to make a new movie.
The 2015 reboot, titled Fant4stic, also turned out to be a disaster and is considered one of the worst superhero movies ever made. But, it looks like Madame Web has now claimed its spot on the list of Marvel’s top misfires.
Madame Web Claims Title of Worst Spider-Man Film
Sony’s Madame Web is hard to defend—whether you’re a Marvel fan or not. Despite its talented cast and inspiration from Spider-Man comics, it fails to tell a compelling standalone story.
The film also suffers from unrealistic and awkward dialogue. Its characters frequently explain events without prompting, using unnatural phrases. The lead character’s story is hard to follow, and her powers seem random. Even the details about Madame Web and her friends’ abilities are not clarified.
It doesn’t fully develop its main characters. While Cassie Webb lacks depth, Julia, Anya, and Mattie are one-dimensional stereotypes: the nerd, the outgoing teen, and the rebel. They lack compelling reasons to be heroes other than the plot’s demands.
Madame Web movie promised superhero action but didn’t deliver. The trailers showed Madame Web and her allies in action, but those scenes were just dreams or future visions. So, it won’t be wrong to say that the Sony and Marvel Spider-Verse movie lacked real superhero action, overall.
Madame Web is currently screening in theatres.
