Marvel films ruled the cinema a few years back, with pretty much every release guaranteed to make serious bank. But Marvel's star seems to have faded recently, with the likes of Eternals and The Marvels entering flop territory. And judging by the newly released trailer for Madame Web, the losing streak might be set to continue.
The film stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic who discovers she may have clairvoyant abilities. In the comics, Madame Web appeared alongside Spider-man several times, with the enigmatic character becoming a fan favourite. But the trailer is setting alarm bells ringing.
Firstly, there's some pretty weird editing going on. Take a look at the scene below, in which one character throws a rock at another. Why is it so difficult to deduce who is standing where, who's talking to who, and who threw the rock? Why are there approximately 78 cuts in the space of five seconds? Sure, things are usually edited differently for a trailer, but it's unnecessarily convoluted to say the least.
As an editor, this hurt my eyes and soul https://t.co/IZgEqsTuAsNovember 15, 2023
And then there's the voice acting. Several viewers have taken issue with Johnson's bizarrely monotonous intonation, which sounds as if she's reading the dialogue for the first time. Sure, it's not easy to make exposition like, "he was in the Amazon with my Mom when she was researching spiders right before she died," sound thrilling, but it's also difficult to make it sound quite this dull:
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAThis, without exaggeration, is the single funniest line delivery I’ve ever seen. The amazingly overwritten exposition. The way Dakota Johnson sounds like she has a gun to her back. I can’t stop laughing at this. https://t.co/r6j4XvDrAeNovember 16, 2023
when she was researching *blanks, quickly glances at notes* SPIDERS! right before she died https://t.co/k6oD5Z7VRdNovember 16, 2023
I'm not kidding, this has to be one of the worst CBM trailers I've ever seen https://t.co/Jql5DmY0AwNovember 15, 2023
Time will tell whether Madame Web goes the way of Spider-man or Eternals, but one thing's for sure, the trailer ain't looking great. But don't worry, we've already seen one awesome trailer today – we're loving the look of Netflix's new stop-motion Pokemon series.
