As many critics point out, the superhero genre on the whole feels like it’s on a decline. Marvel and DC films haven’t been making as big of a splash as they once did, and thanks to a string of duds like the aforementioned “Morbius” — and now “Madame Web” — Sony’s attempt at weaving a web between itself and the MCU feels like an exercise in futility. Over at USA Today, Brian Truitt noted that “Madame Web” is a disservice to this ailing genre, bringing it back several steps rather than forward: “Instead of being a breath of fresh air akin to the Tom Holland Spider-flicks, ‘Madame Web’ is instead a reminder of the Worst Superhero Times (aka the mid-2000s).”
Lex Briscuso at TheWrap was blunt, like many other critics — and said that the movie is just poorly made as well as being a cruddy entry into the ongoing Marvel story: “Not only is the latest addition to the Marvel canon lacking a true emotional core, it’s devoid of many key elements that make a movie successful in the translation from the screen to the audience’s psyche.” Valerie Complex at Deadline Hollywood Daily also took a shot at the superhero genre, writing, “‘Madame Web’ embodies the pitfalls of mainstream superhero cinema: films not driven by story and character but seemingly by studio mandates, and franchise considerations.”
On the topic of superhero movies and “Madame Web,” Nick Schager at The Daily Beast may very well have the last word: “On the basis of Madame Web, however, Sony’s “Spider-Man” Universe is now completely lifeless—and in no need of resuscitation.”
