If you use TikTok, you’re probably familiar with the Spider-Man spinoff distributed by Sony Pictures, “Madame Web.” Or at the very least, you are familiar with the horrible reviews that the film has received from TikTok users.
As a big fan of all things Spider-Man, especially “The Amazing Spider-Man” movie series, I was eager to watch the movie, despite the harsh backlash it received on social media.
On a rainy Saturday afternoon, I watched “Madame Web.” How bad could it really be?
Apparently, very bad. Warning — spoilers ahead.
For those who are unfamiliar with the plot of this god-awful film, Cassandra “Cassie” Webb has future-predicting powers and saves three teenage girls from the movie’s villain, Ezekiel Sims, who believes he must kill these girls before they grow up, become superheroes and kill him first.
For starters, I found that the character of Ezekiel was unsurprising and predictable. Every move he made was easily guessed and every action he took made him seem as if he only had one trait: being evil.
It wasn’t just Ezekiel that was unsurprising, though. The four lead characters — Cassie Webb, Julia Cornwall, Anya Corazón and Mattie Franklin — were also extremely stereotypical.
This was particularly upsetting to me because this was the first film in the Spider-Man franchise that featured a predominantly female cast. Instead of taking advantage of this, they gave these women the most stereotypical personas.
Cassie Webb is the uninterested and sarcastic lead, who is given more responsibility than she can handle. Julia Cornwall is the shy, yet smart girl who takes off her glasses and suddenly becomes pretty. Mattie Franklin is the quick-witted, rebellious teenager, who constantly argues with the lead.
As mentioned previously, I loved Spider-Man growing up. If I had seen a female Spider-Man on the screen when I was a kid, this would have meant the world to me. So, for Sony Pictures to include this type of representation in such a popular franchise, and then mess it up this badly was extremely disappointing.
Moreover, this film featured a pretty famous cast. With popular actresses such as Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney and Emma Roberts, you would expect some decent acting at the very least.
This was not the case.
When watching a movie, I hope to be fully engrossed in the film, forget that the outside world exists and sit on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next. Unfortunately, I had the exact opposite experience.
There were multiple times when I found myself pausing the movie, either to check how much longer I had to torture myself or to sigh in frustration at the stupidity of the characters and the plotline.
However, it wasn’t all terrible. Like most films, “Madame Web” also had its merits. The movie frequently alluded to the other Spider-Man movies, which is something I appreciated.
Ben Parker was the only character that I liked. Maybe I’m biased because I loved him in the original Spider-Man movies, but he was one of the only characters who has an enjoyable personality, which contrasted with his best friend, Cassie.
I’m sure you’re wondering if the film was able to tie up its predictable and boring plot cohesively. No — the film was unable to do that.
The one positive aspect of the ending was that you are finally able to see the three teenagers and Cassie Webb in their superhero suits and partake in the fast-paced action that is familiar to the rest of the movies in the franchise.
However, after the four women defeated Ezekiel in a fight — a less than suspenseful one I might add — the ending of the movie made no sense.
Cassie, Julia, Mattie and Anya defeat Ezekiel by setting up a trap that involves explosives, but when they successfully capture him, one of the explosives gets ignited and hits Cassie in the face. When Cassie wakes up, she finds out that she is fully blind and paralyzed.
This doesn’t bother her, though, because now she can fully see the future through the “Web of Life” which is where her powers originate from.
Cassie then hits us with arguably the worst line in the entire film: “You know the best thing about the future? It hasn’t happened yet.”
Of course, the future hasn’t happened yet, Cassie.
One thing about my own future, though, is that I will not be revisiting this film.
Let this be my last piece of advice to you: Save your money and time. Don’t go and watch this movie.
“when you take on responsibility, great power will come.” ezekiel didn’t say the line. It was one of the las arañas.