Why Dakota Johnson’s Madame Web movie was set up to fail.

Dakota Johnson's first foray into the superhero genre was caught in a tangled web of bad reviews. 

Madame Web's reviews have ranged from lukewarm to god-awful. This is despite considerable buzz around the movie's stars, with Johnson and Sydney Sweeney hosting Saturday Night Live ahead of its release, and Sweeney still riding high off the box office success of rom-com Anyone But You.

Madame Web tells the origin story of a beloved comic book character — a clairvoyant who, in the original comics, was someone who helped Spider-Man.

In the film version, Johnson plays the titular role of Madame Web, a paramedic named Cassie tasked to protect three teen girls from Ezekiel, the man who killed her mother while searching for a rare spider deep in the Amazon.

Along with Johnson and Sweeney, the film stars Celeste O'Connor, Isabela Merced, Tahar Rahim, Mike Epps, Emma Roberts and Adam Scott.

Watch the trailer for Madame Web. Post continues after video.

The reviews have not been kind to the gritty female-led action tale.

The Guardian wrote that "the film is as dumb and schlocky as the worst of the genre, with lousy network TV effects, uninvolving action and unfunny and inelegant dialogue". 

Variety labelled the script "confusing, the action stale and the visual effects cheap. A recurring device that places Cassie at the centre of what looks like a giant plasma ball, surrounded by static tendrils, is downright embarrassing."

As for Rolling Stone? They titled their especially savage review 'Madame Web Isn’t As Bad As You’ve Heard. It’s So Much Worse', referring to the film as "the Cats of superhero movies".

Ouch.

Having seen the film myself, I don't believe it's as terrible as critics would have everyone believe — but I will admit, Madame Web definitely has some problems. And it seems they started early on.

Johnson first alluded to creative differences in an interview with The Wrap, revealing that the original script was 'drastically' different to the end product. "There were drastic changes, and I can’t even tell you what they were," she said. 

The movie was rumoured to be featuring an actor who previously played Spider-Man, with reports Andrew Garfield would make a brief cameo — though this never came to fruition.  

Then there was the casting of 34-year-old Johnson, which surprised some comic fans who know Madame Web as an elderly woman. The 50 Shades star wasn't always intended for the role, as back in 2020, Variety reported that the studio had initially eyed a slightly older leading lady, such as Charlize Theron or Amy Adams. 

Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney at the premiere. Image: Getty.

Then came the controversy surrounding the creative team assigned to the project.

The movie was directed by S J Clarkson, who until now, had only helmed TV shows throughout her career. 

Along with Clarkson, and Claire Parker, the screenplay was penned by writing team Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless — a duo who haven't been known for producing quality work. The pair previously wrote critically panned films, Dracula Untold, Gods of Egypt and 2022's most mocked superhero movie, Morbius.

In the film community, this writing team is considered to wield the touch of death for any big-budget movie — and the writing in Madame Web follows suit. It's a weak point, with the most glaring example being the "teenage girls'" dialogue, which was largely unoriginal and humourless. The stale script sounded like the result of a bunch of boomers trying to write Gen Z conversations, with inauthentic jargon dropped and frequent 'hangry' jokes falling flat.

Thankfully, Johnson herself has some redeeming lines in the movie, with her sarcastic quips elevated thanks to the actor's perfectly timed deadpan delivery.

Make no mistake: Johnson is the best thing about Madame Web.

For her part, Johnson has been refreshingly honest about the movie's underwhelming response.

"I had never done anything like it before. I probably will never do anything like it again," she told Bustle. 

"Sometimes in this industry, you sign on to something, and it’s one thing and then as you’re making it, it becomes a completely different thing, and you’re like, ‘Wait, what?’ But it was a real learning experience, and of course it’s not nice to be a part of something that’s ripped to shreds, but I can’t say that I don’t understand."

The actor acknowledged that the nature of the film industry hindered Madame Web. "Films are made by a filmmaker and a team of artists around them. You cannot make art based on numbers and algorithms. My feeling has been for a long time that audiences are extremely smart, and executives have started to believe that they’re not," she said. 

"Audiences will always be able to sniff out bullshit."  

Despite Johnson's charming performance, she couldn't save a sinking ship, especially with comic book fans being a particularly tough crowd to impress. These fandoms often come with allegiances to studios (you're either a Marvel or DC stan), and Madame Web's distributor Sony doesn't have the best reputation in the comic-book community.

"Sony Pictures has delivered yet another outdated comic book movie, which makes all the same mistakes as those released during that mid-2000s era of superhero storytelling," wrote one Comic Book Movie review.

It must also be said that superhero movies with women at the helm have historically been panned by fandoms, with previous attempts like Elektra, Catwoman and Dark Phoenix finding little fanfare upon release.

And for an action flick that hinges on its believable special effects, there was something that felt unfinished and amateurish in the end result. A few scenes featuring Johnson's weblike tendrils sprawling out actually made me laugh, the CGA effects appeared so low-budget.

The dialogue in some scenes felt disjointed with Tahar Rahim's underwhelming villain Ezekiel often speaking when his vocals didn't match his mouth's movements, suggesting dubbing went awry post-edit.

From viewers having a serious case of superhero fatigue, to the struggle for women to break through in such a male-dominated genre, there was a lot working against Madame Web before it even hit cinemas.

And unfortunately, it's not a good enough movie to break through.

This article was originally published on February 16, 2024 and has since been updated with new information.

Feature image: Sony Pictures.