Madame Web Is… (REVIEW)

Dune: Part Two is directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Arrival, Bladerunner 2049) and stars Timothée Chalamet (Wonka), Zendaya (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Euphoria), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One), Javier Bardem (Skyfall, No Country For Old Men), Josh Brolin (Avengers: End Game), Austin Butler (Elvis), Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Oppenheimer), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter, Catch Me If You Can) and Stellan Skarsgård (Andor, Thor).

Madame Web tries to connect many plots and people together to a confusing, yet ultimately bland result. It tries to balance the comedic tone of a modern superhero movie with what could be a more interesting psychological thriller if it invested more time on developing its hero and villain, rather than spreading itself thin trying to connect all these new versions of characters together. It fails as a one-off and a franchise starter, not telling a fulfilling origin story for Cassie nor giving a compelling argument for the future Spider-Women. The weak dialogue unfortunately stands out, but the few action set pieces harken to the older Spider-Man movies of the early 2000s.

Dune: Part Two expands the legend of Paul Atreides in spectacular fashion, and the war for Arrakis is an arresting, mystical ride at nearly every turn. Denis Villeneuve fully trusts his audience to buy into Dune’s increasingly dense mythology, constructing Part Two as an assault on the senses that succeeds in turning a sprawling saga into an easily digestible, dazzling epic. Though the deep world-building sometimes comes at the cost of fleshing out newer characters, the totality of Dune: Part Two’s transportive power is undeniable.