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Madame Web, the fourth film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, has been branded a "tangled mess" by critics, who have largely savaged it.

Starring Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney, both the film premise and the acting have come under fire in a string of one-star reviews.

Based on Marvel Comics, the film centres around a paramedic with arachnid-based psychic powers.

Last year the trailer went viral for its "laughably unsure tone".

In a single-star review, the Guardian's Benjamin Lee called the film "as dumb and schlocky as the worst of the genre, with lousy network TV effects, uninvolving action and unfunny and inelegant dialogue".

Variety's Peter Debruge also slated the film, saying it felt "superfluous" in a "world already a little overcrowded with arachnid-related superheroes".

The title character has "ill-defined powers and nothing especially interesting to do", he added.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68292731

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