Is Madame Web suitable for kids? What you need to know about the new Marvel movie's age rating

Is Madame Web suitable for kids? If this is a question you've been asking, we've looked into the age rating of Dakota Johnson's Marvel movie.

Dakota Johnson's Madame Web is the latest character from the expanding Spider-Verse to get a film of her own, as Sony's partnership with Marvel has seen an upturn in Spidey-related projects make their way to cinemas. Originally an elderly clairvoyant in the comics, Madame Web has morphed into a paramedic living in Manhattan named Cassie. She develops psychic powers following an accident, and is initially something of a reluctant hero. As a standalone story that has been described as a psychological thriller, parents have been wondering whether Madame Web is suitable to view with young children. 

Parents recently asked the same question about The Boy and the Heron age rating, after it scooped and Oscar and they want to watch it with their kids. Others looking for more anime-related shows wondered if Netflix's live action Avatar: The Last Airbender is for young children. There was a big discussion dedicated to the Barbie movie age rating on the blockbuster's release last year - a lot of people weren't expecting the classification it was given. Here's everything you need to know before sitting down to watch Madame Web with your kids. 

Madame Web age rating: Is Madame Web suitable for kids?

Madame Web has been given a PG-13 rating, meaning parents are strongly cautioned against letting children under the age of 13 view it. 

This rating is usually given when a film contains material inappropriate for kids, such as strong language, violence, or depictions of sex and drug-use. Common Sense Media offers views from parents on whether they agree with age ratings, and if they'd let kids watch something classified unsuitable. The majority of parents on the site agreed that kids should be around 12-13 before enjoying Madame Web.

The general consensus was that violence in the film isn't constant, but there are shootings, stabbings, physical assaults, and characters are poisoned. The only nudity comes when a minor character goes home with a man she doesn't know, and appears in her bra before the situation turns dangerous. Those who reviewed the film felt the bad language was fairly minor, if those watching are familiar with low-level swearing.

A major positive coming from many parents relates to the female-centred plot containing many positive messages. The power of women as leaders with the ability to control the path of their lives are important conversations to have with young people watching the film. Accepting responsibility and facing your past with bravery are depicted through the narrative, along with the benefits of teamwork and dependable friendships. However, for those hoping to get the popcorn out and watch with young kids - it looks like you'll need to wait until they're tweens or teens before tuning in to Madame Web.

What does Madame Web have to do with Spider-Man?

The original Madame Web first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man comics in November 1980. She is a supporting character and clairvoyant, who helps Spider-Man solve crime. Her first case with Spidey involved using her powers to locate a kidnapping victim. The first Madame Web is elderly, blind and paralyzed, suffering from myasthenia gravis.

Her autoimmune illness results in her being connected to a life support system with the appearance of a spider's web. The trajectory of Madame Web's life was altered for the film, when she was cured of myasthenia gravis in the womb. While pregnant with Cassie, her mother is bitten by a spider in Peru, curing her of the illness developing in utero. This enables Cassie to be a young, fit paramedic with the gift of sight - completely different to the original comic book elderly character. Spider-Man doesn't appear in Madame Web, for those hoping he might arrive at some point.

Madame Web: Cast

• Dakota Johnson as Cassandra 'Cassie' Webb/Madame Web
• Sydney Sweeney as Julia Cornwall
• Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon
• Celeste O'Connor as Mattie Franklin
• Tahar Rahim as Ezekiel Sims 
• Mike Epps as O'Neil
• Emma Roberts as Mary Parker
• Adam Scott as Ben Parker
• Kerry Bishé as Constance Webb
• Zosia Mamet as Amaria
• José María Yazpik as Santiago

Director S.J. Clarkson specifically wanted to showcase the power of women in the film, telling Hype, "There’s a theme of empowerment throughout the movie that comes from the fact that each of these characters goes on their journey," adding, "Cassie has to resolve the wounds of her past to embrace the future fully, and each of the girls comes to learn that they had strengths within them that they didn’t know."

Dakota Johnson also weighed in on this, saying, "I really like the idea of ordinary people being heroes, because they are. There was an opportunity with this movie to reinvent a Marvel world where, first of all, it’s led by women, and women make it – and because of that, the characters are real, and they are messy, and they are complicated, and they are extremely powerful."

Madame Web: Reviews

The critics have shown they aren't fans of the film, sharing largely negative reviews. Audience members mostly agreed, with the occasional good review mixing with the bad.

Benjamin Lee from the Guardian offered one star, referring to the film as "a tangled mess." He said, "What the average cinema-goer is supposed to get from this unholy mess, made curious only after a read of its torturous Wikipedia page, is a mystery. Superhero films are not dead (just today the trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine broke a YouTube record) but the age of superhero films like Madame Web surely is – soulless boardroom product made by no one who seems to care for no one who wants to watch."

Clarisse Loughrey from the Independent also only offered one star. She said "Madame Web is an $80m (£63m) film with the quality of an unlicensed superhero painted on the side of a carnival ride. It’s desperate and seems embarrassed of itself, the pained shrug of a creative team ordered by Sony executives to keep the wheels turning in their Spider-Man-adjacent universe, all while the actual Spider-Man is out on loan to Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe."

On Rotten Tomatoes, one audience reviewer simply wrote "Absolutely terrible. Such a waste of potential... don't waste your time."

Trying to find some positives, another added "It's not as awful as people make it out to be, it's suspenseful and gets you on the edge of your seat. Is it someone thing out of this world amazing? No. But it was good and showed a unique aspect of the Spider-Verse powers of telling the future and it gave you a hint of suspense. I enjoyed it."

For films you can watch with kids, Netflix's Leo tackles the anxieties of modern parenting, while Orion and the Dark encourages kids to face their fears. For a TV show recommendation, find out why one mum is loving watching the Gladiators reboot with her kids - the reasons run quite deep.