Movie Review: Madame Web

I wouldn't say I like trashing movies. I want to enjoy every movie I watch. When I start a movie, I go into it, rating it a 6 out of 10, and it goes up or down as the movie goes on. In fact, a movie that is so bad it's good will get a higher rating than a lousy movie. Take, for instance, 2012's "Battleship." The movie is complete trash, but I have an absolute blast every time I watch it. For me, the worst thing a movie can do is be bad but not fun. Which brings me to "Madame Web."

Cassandra Web (Dakota Johnson) is a paramedic who begins to experience moments of clairvoyance. When her visions show a masked man killing three girls, she does everything she can to protect them while uncovering secrets from her past.

This is another attempt for Sony to make a Spider-Man movie that doesn't have the web-slinger in it. They come very close: Ben Parker (Adam Scott), the man who becomes beloved Uncle Ben, is there, and his sister is pregnant. The child has a name, but they go to great lengths to not say it: just say the name "Peter" movie! It's not like it'll make things worse! There are many spider people in it; the three girls will eventually become superheroes with spidery names.

I do not blame the actors for how bad this movie is. The movie fails on a script level. The actors are doing the best they can with terrible dialogue, clunky exposition, and weak character development. No actor could salvage this dud of a script.

At this point, Sony (who owns the rights to Spider-Man and all his villains) needs to give up on creating their own series of movies. The only successful movies they have made have been the Spider-Man movies in conjunction with Marvel or "Venom," which was great because of Tom Hardy's commitment to the role. The other movies, including a Venom sequel, have been bad or complete garbage. It is time for Sony to admit that they haven't made a truly great "Spider-Man" movie since 2002's "Spider-Man 2" and work with Marvel to make good Spider-Man movies.

Then again, maybe "Kraven," which comes out in August, will be a masterpiece, but history tells a different story.

3/10

Rated PG-13 for violence/action and language.

1h 57m