Madame Web is one of the finest Spider films which focuses not on superhero action, but on supernatural tension! The movie is directed by S.J. Clarkson who directed episodes of Jessica Jones and The Defenders. It has a story by Kerem Sanga, Matt Sazama, Burke Sharpless with a screenplay by S.J. Clarkson, Claire Parker, Sazama and Sharpless. Sanga is the writer and director of the drama, The Violent Heart (2020). Sazama and Sharpless were the writers for the comic book horror movie, Morbius (2022). Parker was the producer for the thriller mini-series, Anatomy of a Scandal. This is the fourth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe that started with Venom (2018).
Madame Web is based on the character created by Denny O’Neil and John Romita, Jr. She first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #210 (1980). We hear the sounds of the jungle as it opens to “The Peruvian Amazon, 1973.” This is surprising setting for what may be a superhero movie. There is a closeup of a spider-web before there is a focus on photographer, Constance (Kerry Bishé). Sister Molly Finister was played by Bishé in the dark fantasy series, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. The spider and jungle brings to mind the horror film, Arachnophobia (1990). Behind her, a man, Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) opens a red umbrella. Rahim starred in the historical drama, Napoleon (2023).
Ezekiel was introduced in Amazing Spider-Man #30 (2001) by J. Michael Staczynski and John Romita, Jr. Their conversation brings up Las Arañas, a “mythical spider people.” Constance is searching for the peptides, a string of amino acids used for biochemical functions, that may be in a rare spider. She is stuck by pains from her pregnant belly. Ezekiel walks back to the camp and begins going through Constance’s journal taking photos of her spider research. Constance returns triumphantly with the spider in a jar. Ezekiel shoots two members of the reseach team! He grabs for the jar and in the struggle the gun goes off!
The trees shake with movement, shades of the Predator (1987), Ezekiel runs off at disturbance. The Las Arañas, vines wrap around them like webs, appear from the trees and take away Constance! She is taken to a cave pool and the leader, Santiago (José María Yazplk) has a spider crawl from his arm to Constance! It bites Constance and she is not saved, but her baby is lifted from the water. The baby's cries shifts to honking of car horns in “2003, New York”, thirty years later. Cassie Webb, played by Dakota Johnson, is an ambulance driver taking a patient through traffic. Johnson was in the horror remake, Suspiria (2018). Her partner, Ben Parker (Adam Scott), struggles to watch over the patient. Scott stars as Mark in the sci fi workplace drama, Severence.
Ben Parker may be better known as Uncle Ben, the uncle of Peter Parker, from Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962) by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. This is of course a much younger version of the character. Cassie jokes that he must have been homesick for the army. I really like the subtle connections to Spider-Man, but non-comic readers may not pick up on how important is the character since we have not seen him in the current films. Cassie continues to charge towards the hospital, a young skateboarder, Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor) is nearly struck by the ambulance! O’Connor faced a serial killer in the horror comedy, Freaky (2020). Mattie was introduced in Amazing Spider-Man #5 (1999) by Howard Mackie and John Byrne.
At the hospital, Cassie and Ben check in, and told that the patient is stable. A boy (Yuma Feldman) presents a drawing to Cassie as thanks. Cassie is awkward in accepting the drawing and the boy’s step sister, Julia Cornwall, played by Sydney Sweeney, brings him back to the family. Sweeney is currently in the comedy film, Anyone But You. It is intersting since the last name of her comic character was Carpenter. Her first appearance was in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #6 (1984), created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck. At a break room, Cassie tries to make excuses to Ben, and get out of a barbeque. Ben brings up that he has started a relationship. Comics fan know that this is May, later Aunt May! Cassie reads her fortune which only has, “You will - ”, before fading to black. Interesting touch.
Cassie returns to her apartment, now wearing her red leather jacket, she sees by the entrance, the super is stopped at the door of Anya Corazón. She is played by Isabela Merced. Fiona Avery and Mark Brooks created her character in Amazing Fantasy #1 (2004). Anya makes excuses for the rent. At her apartment, Cassie pours some milk for a cat that enters through her window. She opens a suitcase to put in the boy’s picture, inside is her birth certificate, and a photograph of her mother. Cassie gets an emergency call with an accident at a bridge! A car is upside down by the edge of the bridge. Cassie calms the driver while she cuts his seatbelt. Ben is able to pull him out. Suddenly, the car plunges down with Cassie trapped inside! Cassie is floating in the darkness with webbing like threads of fate spreading from her.
She hears voices along the threads and sees images when she is revived by Ben. He says she was underwater for three minutes until he pulled her out. Ben checks her oxygen levels at the ambulance. Cassie takes off the blood pressure cuff and Ben says, “You need a real doctor.” This repeats and Cassie already knows her oxygen level. She says she just wants to go home. At an opera, Ezekiel walks in dressed in a tuxedo. He finds a woman in a black dress. Ezekiel takes her to his apartment where we also see a leaf covered slab that has a circular glass tank. It holds the spider! Later, he has dreams, images of himself with white hair, and facing Mattie, Julia, and Anaya as superheroes! In comics, Julia took the identity of Spider-Woman. Mattie also appeared as Spider-Woman and was seen in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).
Anaya was known as Araña. Madame Web had gathered Mattie and Julia together in Spider-Woman #1 (1999) by John Byrne and Bart Sears. Ezekiel wakes from his nightmare and tells the woman, "they took my spider" which hints at their origin. He says that he “will find them and kill them first”! Ezekiel just needs the facial recognition systems from the National Security Agency where the woman works. At the barbeque, Cassie’s fire department colleague, O’Neill (Mike Epps) is at the grill. Epps was in the video game horror film, Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). Ben is there and they both send Cassie inside to see Mary Parker (Emma Roberts) for her baby shower. Roberts starred in the series, American Horror Story. Mary Parker was introduced in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 (1968) from the creative team of Stan Lee and Larry Leiber.
She is only seen, but comic readers found out about Mary Parker in the limited series, Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business (2014). She is the mother of Peter Parker! Mary says her husband, Richard in the comics, is in Mumbai or Shanghai. Mary asks her guests about the planned name of the baby. No mention of Peter as his name! The game moves to mothers and Cassie admits that her mother died giving birth to her. It gets awkward. A balloon pops! Loud noise or dialogue begins Cassie’s clairvoyance episodes. The situation repeats, Cassie thinks it is deja vu, but then they get an alarm fire at the docks. Cassie is giving CPR to a victim. She gets a vision of he bloody hands! The fire chief tells O'Neil that he is needed at triage. Cassie asks to drive the ambulance, but O'Neil refuses and starts to drive away.
Cassie gets a vision of he bloody hands! The fire chief tells O'Neil that he is needed at triage. Cassie asks to drive the ambulance, but O'Neil refuses and starts to drive away. Cassie is walking when a truck slams into the ambulance! She starts to use CPR on O'Neil and finds her hands are bloody! Ezekiel in his office has the spider crawl along his knuckles. There is a woman, Amaria (Zosia Mamet) checking the screens identifying the three girls. She notes that they are teens and this is before they get their powers. Her character is not developed and just a tech. Cassie is getting her eyes checked confused by her visions. The doctor recommends her to take a week off. She later watches the 1951 Scrooge movie while her voice message catches Ben telling her about the funeral for O’Neil. Cassie sees the movie and says, “You can’t change anything.”
Five Webs out of Five!
#MadameWeb, #SJClarkson, #ClaireParker, #KeremSanga, #MattSazama, #BurkSharpless,#DakotaJohnson, #SydneySweeney, #CelesteOConnor, #IsabelaMerced, #TaharRahim, #AdamScott, #EmmaRoberts, #KerryBishe, #JoseMariaYazplk, #MikeEpps, #ZosiaMamet, #YumaFeldman
No comments:
Post a Comment