Madame Web 2024 ‧

“Madame Web” is not the unmitigated disaster that its clunky trailer or its calendar spot in February would suggest.

It’s a low-stakes superhero origin story with a thoroughly amusing Dakota Johnson performance at its center. But the feature debut from longtime television director S.J. Clarkson gets visually chaotic within its (literally) explosive conclusion, and much of the dialogue along the way consists of leaden exposition. Sometimes that can be used to comic effect, as Johnson’s Cassie Webb must repeatedly explain to people the bizarre things that are happening to her, her exasperation growing each time. But often the information dumps in the script credited to Clarkson & Claire Parker and “Morbius” writers Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless are unintentionally hilarious in their banality.

Maybe that’s inevitable, though, when you’re introducing a new character to a wide audience. Still, within these oversaturated times for comic book movies, “Madame Web” is blissfully breezy in its pacing, which helps make it a more enjoyable watch than some of the super-serious, end-of-the-world fare we often see. 

A flashback to the Peruvian Amazon in 1973 reveals an extremely pregnant Constance (Kerry Bishé) searching for a rare breed of spider that’s known for its healing properties. Flash forward to 2003 and the child she was carrying, Cassie, is now a paramedic in New York City (Queens, specifically, which also happens to be the home of one Peter Parker). But during a bridge rescue with her fellow EMT, Ben (Adam Scott), she ends up tumbling into the river, triggering her version of a Spidey sense. Now her mind is filled with confusing visions as she finds she can see the future — except no one believes her. (Her name is Cassandra, after all.) At one point, she literally has blood on her hands as she envisions someone’s death but doesn’t know how to prevent it. We’ve seen this reliving of events with multiple chances to get it right many times before, from “Groundhog Day” to “Final Destination” to “Happy Death Day.” Still, while the premise isn’t exactly novel, “Madame Web” finds some compelling avenues into it. Watch Movie.  

Madame Web - Enjoy The Trailer: