Madame Web (2024)

Madame Web is at its most intriguing when it treats superhero mythology like a ticking-clock thriller, built around the unnerving idea that seeing the future doesn’t mean you can outrun it. Dakota Johnson gives Cassandra Webb a dry, grounded personality that plays well against the film’s heightened danger, and the New York-set set pieces have a scrappy, street-level energy that’s closer to a chase movie than a capes-and-quips spectacle. What really sells it is the mentor-and-protector dynamic as three young women orbit Cassie’s visions, hinting at bigger destinies while the present keeps snapping at their heels. It’s not for viewers craving nonstop super-suits and sky-beam bombast, but if you’re on the fence and want a superhero adjacent story with a pulpy premise, a bit of suspense, and a different angle on fate, it’s an easy, curious watch.

Madame Web is clearly aiming for a grounded, fate-vs-free-will superhero thriller that sets up bigger Spider-adjacent futures, with Cassandra as a reluctant protector rather than a quip machine. The problem is the execution: the dialogue is clunky and exposition-heavy, the plot moves exactly where you expect, and the supposed tension often feels oddly flat for a movie about imminent death and precognition. Dakota Johnson brings a dry, low-key presence and there are a few fun “what if I change this moment?” beats, but they’re not enough to hide how inert and stitched-together it can feel. If you want sharp action, big comic-book spectacle, or characters who pop off the screen, this will likely test your patience; it’s better suited to viewers who don’t mind a slow, talky origin-style setup with modest thrills.