Most movies start with the script. The script is what is often used to attract the talent to a project, from the director to the cast. Hopefully there are names that will pre-sell the movie and get an audience interested in what is to come, particularly if its a big project at a major studio.
What’s on paper does not necessarily translate to what’s on screen. What has been written will change at various stages of production based on what can be filmed, and what’s left to work with in the edit. This is why there are occasionally reshoots to fill in some gaps in the narrative after an ‘assembly’ has been made. It is very very rare for a major movie not to have reshoots unless you have a director /producer in solid control of the movie.
And then, there’s the ‘money talks’ aspect.
The ones who put up the money (producers, studio, etc) decide what kind of final product they want, pushing all the other creative people out of the way. That’s a double edged sword which has cut both ways, either improving or destroying a project.
Sony / Columbia’s Marvel projects have often started strong, attracting interesting talents to the major roles, only to fall foul to the detrimental financial interference. Given how things have turned out with the Venom movies, along with Morbius, and now Madame Web, things do not bode well for the upcoming Kraven the Hunter (due in August).
So how badly was Madame Web mangled?
Without knowing what the original script was, it’d be hard to determine the changes, but there are signs of changes and alterations, trying to favour action set-pieces while trying to reason out how the villain functions. Even I have issue with that part.
Ezekiel is a formidable antagonist in the comics, but obviously not quite as formidable here. This version however has a kind of spider-power derived from a special jungle spider that somehow lives more than 30 years. Very few spiders can live 20-30 years… don’t know if they live beyond that, but this is supposedly a mysterious spider from the Peruvian jungle (and is it part of the Amazon jungle, since it was also brought up in the dialogue).
The movie opens with Ezekial (Tahar Rahim) shooting pregnant Constance Webb (Kerry Bishé) for the spider and flees the jungle. Constance is rescued by some tribal spider-people who help try to help her. They manage to save the baby using the spider, but Constance dies (if you follow enough comics, most super-heroes have dead parents anyway, so not really a spoiler) leaving a suitcase of clues.
30-plus years later, Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson) is a paramedic with awkward people skills. A mishap at work awakens her powers, primarily precognition, thanks to that spider. Meanwhile, Ezekiel has also used the spider to give him powers, supposedly build his own personal, likely financial, empire but he’s haunted by visions (apparently for years) of his death at the hands of three women with Spider-Powers. So what’s a villain to do? Steal some facial recognition tech from the NSA to try and find the girls (currently teenagers) based on what he can glean from his vision.
Yah… that sounds like a logical excuse for a narrative push.
How exactly does that work again?
Cassandra just happens to be on a subway train with the same three girls and has visions of their deaths, so intervenes, reluctantly. The rest of the movie from that point is a cat and mouse chase as Ezekiel tries to get a the girls, while Cassandra keeps interfering by using her precognition powers. Why Ezekiel can’t foresee that isn’t quite explained despite his own psychic powers (from the same spider) allowing him to somehow connect with Cassandra for exposition.
For the most part, you could let things go along and ride the wave. That’s the ‘check-your-brains-at-the-door’ option in order to more or less enjoy the flick. Otherwise you might gripe about how people can speak so normally around the chaos of explosions (thank you weird ADR). And just to note, Sony, you don’t always need some major effects extravaganza with muddled visuals for a finale of a super-hero movie. To be fair, the visuals aren’t so bad here.
To be fair tho, the stars did as well as they could with the material they had. Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Conner did fine as the teens in trouble, obviously set up for more (not that it’ll happen now). They are solid individual characters with their own personalities that occasionally get lost in the muddled narrative. Tahar Rahim seems very underserved to present a solid villain. Adam Scott’s take on (yet to be Uncle) Ben Parker is… interesting, but also somewhat peripheral as is Emma Roberts’ Mary (mother-to-be of Peter) Parker. They’re just… there.. to tie in the mythology.
Dakota Johnson actually does a commendable job to hold things together for the most part. Much of the movie actually rests on her shoulders. It’s clear she was interested in the role and invested in the character. It’s hard to know if first time feature director SJ Clarkson (quite successful with certain TV series) and her strange camera angles and movements could have fought for her vision, or was unduly dictated to by the producers.
Like with Venom (the first) and Morbius, the potential was there. Just wish they would trust the script and the talent to do the job, because whatever they (the studio) are doing, it’s not working.
Rating: 🕷🕷 /5
Directed by S.J. Clarkson
Written by (as credited) Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless and Claire Parker & S.J. Clarkson
From a story by Kerem Sanga, Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless
Stars Dakota Johnson, Tahar Rahim, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O’Connor, Adam Scott, Emma Roberts, Mike Epps
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