Summary
-
Madame Web
(17% Tomatometer rating) receives scathing reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics slamming its poor decision-making and lackluster performances. - The film deviates from the source material, resulting in characters that feel out of sync and a villain reminiscent of a B-movie serial killer.
- Critics compare
Madame Web
to subpar 2000s comic book movies, criticizing its weak execution, special effects and action sequences.
Sony’s Spider-Sense must be tingling off the charts today. Now that the embargo has lifted, critics are filing their reviews on Rotten Tomatoes for the Dakota Johnson-led superhero film, Madame Web. And the latest entry in Sony’s live-action Spider-Verse (Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Morbius) is coming in hot with one awful critique after another. And, at the time of this writing, Madame Web only registers 17% on the Tomatometer against 60 reviews. Only Morbius’ 15% rating is worse. David Fear of Rolling Stone writes:
It is the Cats: The Movie of superhero movies. Not a single decision seems of sound mind. Not a single performance feels in sync with the material.
Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair says:
“Mostly, the movie is a Pepsi ad strangely populated by performances turned to low volume. Johnson, so likable in fare as varied as 50 Shades of Grey and Suspiria, is a minimalist performer. Her casting here is an unfortunate mistake.”
Madame Web
1/5
- Release Date
- February 14, 2024
- Runtime
- 1hr 57min
- Studio
- Columbia Pictures, Marvel Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)
- Franchise
- Marvel
The problem with Madame Web is its blatant disregard for the source material. Cassandra Webb (Johnson) and the film’s villain, Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), are nothing like their comic book counterparts. In fact, without spoiling anything, Ezekiel feels more like a dime-store serial killer from a terrible B-movie who skulks around at times and tries to kill Julia (Sydney Sweeney), Mattie (Celeste O’Connor) and Anya (Isabela Merced) while sporting a cheap, Evil Spider-Man-esque costume.
Grace Randolph of Beyond the Trailer adds:
“A new low for Sony’s Spider-Man-less movies… Madame Web is connected to the source material in name only, and seems more like a bland, watered down episode of Netflix’s Jessica Jones or the CW’s Birds of Prey than a professional film. Yikes.”
Check out Randolph’s review in its entirety below:
Madame Web Breaks Hearts
It’s sadly apropos that director S.J. Clarkson’sMadame Web is opening on February 14 because Marvel fans are likely to have their hearts broken by Sony’s Spider-Verse debacle this Valentine’s Day. Prior to all the bad reviews dropping on Rotten Tomatoes, Madame Web was only tracking to make $39 million over its opening weekend domestically. And now, it seems likely those poor numbers could sink even further. Kaitlyn Booth of Bleeding Cool writes:
Madame Web has some good ideas, but poor execution mimicking the worst aspects of early 2000s comic book movies drags down the entire production into something as thin and flimsy as a spider web.
Madame Web Cast and Character Guide
Discover the cast and characters featured in the upcoming release of Madame Web.
Chris Joyce of Movies and Munchies says:
“While the plot has some intriguing aspects and some of the editing works to enhance the experience, the production is hampered by poor special effects and even worse action sequences, marred by blurry and indiscernible stunts.”
Check out Joyce’s review in its entirety below:
Dakota Johnson insists that Madame Web takes place in a “standalone universe,” but it would be more appropriate to call it a standalone movie. Without giving away any spoilers, there are plenty of Spider-Man characters in the film, including a Young Uncle Ben (Adam Scott), who was revealed in the official trailer. But fans shouldn’t waste their time waiting to watch any mid or post-credit scenes — there aren’t any. Tessa Smith of Mama’s Geeky writes:
Suffers from a weak villain, cringey dialogue, and a too long runtime — that Pepsi very clearly sponsored.
Check out Smith’s review in its entirety below:
Madame Web
opens in theaters on Valentine’s Day. And be sure to check out
MovieWeb’s
Madame Web
review
, which claims the film “disappoints in every regard.”
