Madame Web is the latest “addition” to Sony’s Spider-verse. The Spiderman film franchise has been hugely successful thanks to amazing leads like Toby Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland.
However, it looks like not even Dakota Johnson’s acting skills can wrap the movie up nicely. We know Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steel sold the Fifty shades fantasy well. Her personality bleeds into Anastasia Steele and she sets up the submissive role perfectly.
Additionally, Dakota Johnson’s dry humor is what makes her likable in interviews.
Madame Web Trailer
So why do audiences and film critics not like the latest Spider-verse “addition”?
To start, the trailer revealed a voice over by Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson) that wasn’t even in the film. While some audiences may not care about this minor detail, it could have been useful to include it. Especially since the antagonist had a major role to play on how Cassandra came to be.
There were some awkward lines in the movie as well that deserve a meme comparable to Anakin’s in George Lucas’ Star Wars. Anakin’s “I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.” is similar to “Hope the spiders were worth it, Mom.” In fact, the line has become a meme commodity for the internet.
So bad dialogue aside, the directing also contributes to the film’s meme-worthiness. S.J. Clarkson did work on some episodes of successful series like Dexter, House, and Heroes. The director also worked on a Game of Thrones prequel entitled Bloodmoon, however, HBO didn’t air it. Most of these series have a tone vastly different from that of a superhero movie, and that’s probably the reason why Madame Webb just didn’t work.
While Madame Web is spinning out of control, one could wonder if the film’s meme status could reclaim it. Although it’s not a main Spiderman arc, Madame Web should be a solid reminder not to approach superhero movies the way Sony did Morbius.
For all intents and purposes, the movie is not a main continuity movie. For some film-goers, they eventually might grow to love Madame Web as its stand-alone film. Dakota Fanning does say we’ll love it and we’re going to see it twice.
Dakota Johnson talks about her character in #MadameWeb pic.twitter.com/ptEtQVf49r
— best of dakota johnson (@bestofjohnsons) January 11, 2024
