SJ Clarkson, a veteran of acclaimed television, brings the Madame Web character to the screen and talks about some of the issues brought up with the film.
Madame Web is now in theaters. The Dakota Johnson-led film seemed to acquire a Morbius-esque reputation building up to the release. Now that the film is out, critics and audiences are able to see if the movie was perhaps a victim of marketing or if it indeed delivered on some of the underwhelming elements that people online would pick up on. The review from our own Chris Bumbray would point out a lot of the baffling flaws the movie showcased, saying, “It has to be said that some of the dialogue here is ROUGH. It’s jam-packed with so much exposition and references to other Spider-Man characters that it becomes cheesy. […] Ultimately, Madame Web could have been a decent little B-side of a superhero film, but the terrible, cornball dialogue and lacklustre pace doom it early on.”
Something noteworthy about Madame Web is the fact that the movie takes place in 2003. That’s right, just one year after Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man became a box office phenomenon after breaking records on top of records. However, there’s a rumor that the film was originally shot to take place in the 90s, only to be changed to 2003 later on. The film’s director, SJ Clarkson would explain to The Hollywood Reporter, “I was sent the script with 2003 in it.” When some of the soundtrack lent itself to the rumor, Clarkson pointed out, “I don’t know, maybe, although some of [soundtrack songs] are on the edge of 2003. So I think it’s about the mix. When you look at making something in a specific year, I always think it’s dangerous to just have all the music, costumes and cars that came out that year.” She would add, “So I was looking to get this timeless quality to the film across the board to where you weren’t sure when it was. For example, Cassie’s jacket. We found that at the last minute, and it was actually based on a vintage 1970s jacket, which felt really cool.”
Our review from Bumbray would also note how there was no post credits scene at his screening, which can sometimes happen to conceal a big secret until the world premiere. However, this time, Madame Web is breaking the Marvel tradition of featuring a little tease when the movie concludes. Clarkson, explains that this is by design. Clarkson stated, “It was about telling a great story. My father always used to say, ‘If you have to say something, stand up, speak up and then shut up.’ So when I got to the end credits, I felt that we’d said everything we needed to say in the film.”
