Madame Web (4 Stars)

I'm a Marvel fan. Everyone knows that. For this reason it breaks my heart that recent Marvel films haven't been as good as they used to be. Since 2021 I've only given one Marvel film, "Spider-Man: No Way Home", a five star rating. I rated all the other films two or three stars when I saw them in the cinema, but in retrospect I think I should have rated them lower. Marvel isn't what it used to be.

When I walked into the cinema to see "Madame Web" I was hoping it would be a masterpiece. I always do. I had no knowledge of the character. She wasn't introduced into the comics until the 1980's, at which time I hardly read any comics, so I didn't know her. I'll leave it to others to tell me whether or not she's accurately portrayed.

The film takes place in 1973 and 2003, at a time when neither Spider-Man nor any of the other super-heroes existed. Cassandra Web has random visions of things that will happen in the immediate future. A man called Ezekiel Sims has recurring dreams about three women who will kill him. He steals NSA software to search for these women, and he finds they're all still teenagers. He sets out to kill them, but Cassandra has visions of his threats and does all she can to protect them.

"Madame Web" isn't a bad film. It's better than "The Marvels", "The Eternals" and all the other films that have been made in the last three years. It's not a great film, but it's the first step towards recovery. I found Dakota Johnson convincing as the overworked paramedic Cassandra Web, and the three teenagers hanging out with her were refreshingly immature. It offers promise for a sequel.