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The film is the fourth feature in Sony’s so-called Spider-Man Universe.
By Abid Rahman
International Editor, Digital
Madame Web was finally revealed to the public Monday night after the Sony/Marvel film held its premiere in Los Angeles, and the first reactions have already hit social media.
The superhero movie stars Dakota Johnson in the title role, a woman who develops psychic abilities. The cast also includes Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced, Tahar Rahim, Mike Epps, Emma Roberts and Adam Scott. Directed by S.J. Clarkson, Madame Web was written by Clarkson, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless and Claire Parker.
Madame Web is hitting theaters at a time when comic book movies are experiencing something of a slump, following poor box office returns and critical scores for Marvel’s The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and DC’s The Flash, Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
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The film is the fourth feature in Sony’s shared Spider-Man Universe (SSU), and follows Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and Morbius (2022). Thus far, the films from the SSU have received a critical mauling, although the box office performances have been fair to middling.
After Madame Web, Sony plans to release Kraven the Hunter on Aug. 30 and Venom 3 on Nov. 8.
Full reviews for Madame Web dropped Tuesday morning — with The Hollywood Reporter’s review calling the film an “airless and stilted endeavor,” and Lovia Gyarkye writing that “its lack of imagination would be astounding if it wasn’t so expected.” Read on for a sampling of the first reactions to the film after the premiere before all the reviews come in.
morbius was better
#MadameWeb is an embarrassing mess. Talented stars wasted on probably the worst comic book movie I have ever seen. Filled with atrocious dialogue, awkward editing, & all around laughable structure. I sat there baffled scene by scene someone approved this. The memes will redeem it pic.twitter.com/wwxBZmzf1f
#MadameWeb is totally fine. There’s really not a lot to say here. The leads are charming. Dakota Johnson is a witchy weirdo. The slasher/FINAL DESTINATION meets superheroes vibes are there. But there’s just not a whole lot to it. Not a disaster. Just kinda there. pic.twitter.com/HVf1jsUBnO
#MadameWeb is a clunky, poorly-written, messy, and sloppy movie packed with some mediocre editing and performances.
Even though it had solid cinematography and an interesting concept, it couldn't be saved due to its terrible execution.
Full review dropping at 9am. 🕸️ pic.twitter.com/i2mGhchJzI
I was not, unfortunately, successfully entertained. #MadameWeb is a series of misses and wasted opportunities and not just for obvious reasons… https://t.co/EHXNdtYrbe
I watched #MadameWeb and it was bad. I tried to give it a chance but sadly the poor execution didn’t help it. The cast was awesome but the performances were definitely disappointing… pic.twitter.com/jCRahgVZlQ
Unfortunately for me, #MadameWeb lacked the spark it needed in nearly every dept: writing, acting, action sequences. There are a few good moments with an excellent overall pacing, but gees was this hard to get through. https://t.co/NeLehZlBC2
#MadameWeb is yet another disappointing entry in the Sony Universe. Dakota Johnson is a stand-out, but unfortunately that’s not the case for the rest of the cast. Not as bad as I expected it to be, but it sadly falls short of what could have been a decent movie. 2/5 pic.twitter.com/WdnIXtalBQ
#MadameWeb exceeds expectations! Some of the dialog is cheesy AF, some heavy-handed product placement, and probably couldve been tidied up a bit more. But the cast really work magic with what they had, their chemistry is a lot of fun, and the suits look great pic.twitter.com/UZoD5irjQx
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