Sony execs should probably hang up their web-slingers, as the abysmal Rotten Tomatoes scores of their entries into the Spider-Man universe (which has no Spider-Man in it) have proven so ruthlessly
A new post by the X account Culture Crave has compiled the scores received by five of Sony’s dalliances with the Spider-verse, all of which failed to reach the review aggregator’s favorable 60% score and were branded with the much-feared “Rotten” status.
It comes fresh off the release of Venom: The Last Dance, which marks Sony’s most recent foray into the Spider-Man universe. From least to most well-received (spoiler alert, even the highest-scoring movie didn’t do that well), the list begins with the Dakota Johnson-starring vehicle Madame Web, which was released earlier this year and received an 11% score among critics.
This won’t come as a surprise for fans, since it was the poor quality of the film — which follows Johnson as a peripheral friend of Peter Parker’s parents — became the subject of countless memes and an equally chaotic (yet undeniably entertaining) press tour.
The film was so bad, in fact, that some fans believed Madame Web did a U-turn and became something of an iconic, campy delight — in a ‘so bad it’s actually good’ kind of way — but Rotten Tomatoes didn’t agree.
The consensus among critics for Madame Web was rather scathing, describing the movie as “a forgettable superhero adventure” with a “predictable plot and uneven execution.” For those who aren’t fluent, that’s critic-speak for “pure trash.” Placed just a few percentage points above Madame Web on the Rotten Tomatoes scale is a movie whose mere title will send a shiver down your spine, Morbius.
Earning just 15% on the critics Tomatometer — which brands Morbius “uninspired” and “nonsensical” — the origin story of one of Spider-Man’s comic book villains was loathed even by some of its stars, so perhaps this score was to be expected. Especially considering it was the screenwriter sibling of Madame Web, as both films were penned by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (who should be stopped at all costs).
The remaining Sony Spider-Man films in Rotten Tomatoes’ bad books are all part of the same franchise, with Venom, Venom: The Last Dance, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage receiving 30%, 39%, and 57%, respectively. It’s here that the gap between audience and critic scores is most apparent since the first two installments of the Tom Hardy-starring franchise both received 80% or more among fans, who almost universally enjoy the odd couple, symbiote-loving movies.
Critics said Venom was “chaotic [and] noisy,” and that its successor was only for “fans of the original’s odd couple chemistry.” Since it has only just arrived, we’re yet to hear the consensus for The Last Dance (and even its 39% score is subject to change), but perhaps the final Venom movie will be the beacon of hope Sony needs to redefine its vision for future Spider-Man entries.
If not, maybe they should scrap the whole endeavor entirely and just let Tom Holland do his thing, and spare themselves the destiny of ending up like 0% Rotten Tomatoes-getters like SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2 and Gotti.
Published: Oct 25, 2024 03:10 am