Madonna makes comeback aged 67 – there’s as much sex and chaos as before

What do Benedict Cumberbatch, a car crash, lasers beaming out of vaginas, and a sex act simulated in a toilet have in common? They all feature in Madonna’s new music video.

And it makes for a delectable visual feast.

The Queen of Pop famously doesn’t do things by halves, and as she continues her fervent comeback for her new album, Confessions II, she’s proven that, while she may be 67, she’s not slowing down.

If anything, she’s back to her best.

When we think of Madonna, we don’t think of someone sitting on a stool, bellowing out a power ballad. We think of someone clad in corsets and fishnets, stirring up controversy, using provocative religious imagery, and challenging gender barriers.

Madonna has never been boring, and by now, we should know that she can’t be tamed. But that’s exactly why, over 40 years into her career, she’s at the top of her game.

Confessions II – The Film is reminiscent of everything we know and love about Madonna while still feeling innovative and exciting, a balance she’s struck perfectly for years.

In the 90s, Madonna mastered the art of reinvention as she continuously explored themes of identity, spirituality, female empowerment, and sexuality.

And she didn’t just push boundaries – she pushed buttons, often to the point of censorship and criticism. She was branded perverse and a man-eater, likened to a prostitute, accused of using sex to further her success, and warned of compromising her legacy.

But to me, that is what continues to shape her legacy. The discomfort she elicits, the debates she sparks, and her outright refusal to water herself down.

In Confessions II – The Film, she opens with a monologue about wanting to create a ‘new persona’ and be ‘whoever [she] wants to be’.

Then, she admits to wanting to ‘not care’ about outsiders’ opinions like other people can, but says dancing gives her the liberation to do exactly that.

From there, she declares, ‘I feel so free,’ and transports us to her outrageous world of scandal, sex appeal, resilience, and divaship, where she sings about cocaine, brushes up against shirtless, sweaty bodies in the club, and sinks to her knees in a toilet cubicle.

With cameos from Sabrina Carpenter, Kate Moss, Richard E Grant, Julia Garner, and more, she ensures your attention span never wavers in the ultimate display of influence and star power – because who else could gather all of those people in one short film?

What’s more, for the Taylor Swift-inclined among us, Madonna peppers subtle Easter eggs throughout the film for fans to seek out and references to key moments in her life.

Daniele Sibilli was cast to play Martin Burgoyne, Madonna’s best friend who, aged just 23, died of an AIDS-related illness in 1986 and to whom she continuously pays homage.

Eternally unflinching in her LGBTQ+ allyship and hot off her free concert in Times Square in partnership with Grindr, queerness oozes out of this video, whether it be promiscuous displays or even the hook-up app’s logo plastered on the wall.

Proving that, after all this time – and when it hasn’t always been ‘popular’ to do so – she still stands with the community, Madonna filled a gap in Pride Month that we didn’t know existed until now.

There’s even a nod to how her career began, as she hands out a cassette of her 1982 tune Everybody while in the club bathroom, a reference to her pre-record label days when she would visit local nightclubs and attempt to get her records played.

Eventually, she managed to get Mark Kamins, the resident DJ at Danceteria nightclub, to play her demo, and, well, the rest is history.

In short, while you’d be forgiven for assuming Madonna’s artistry merely consists of suggestive dance moves, skimpy costumes, and explicit lyrics, actually, she is far from superficial.

Everything about this 10-minute spectacle feels like a rebirth, both for Madonna as she forges a new era and also for the music industry.

At a time when visuals are getting sloppy, music videos are becoming a lost art, scoring a TikTok trending soundbite is the primary focus, and AI-generated lyrics are the go-to, Madonna reminds us of what it means to be a pop star. And not just any pop star – she’s the blueprint.

And it isn’t just me who thinks so, as social media is alight with praise for the Vogue hitmaker, declaring her ‘legendary’ and that no one else can ‘compete with her’.

‘I’m genuinely loving this Madonna era, it’s perfect’, wrote @only18plus on X.

‘The concept of Madonna being the last popstar from the MTV era. She’s teaching the new generation a true masterclass on Music Videos’, said @FearcyzD.

‘Madonna, I never doubted you, girl’, @MADGAGBEY stated.

@reiinvention further hailed her as the ‘artist of the millennium’, while @tsmidnights13 echoed that she’s ‘the greatest of all time for a reason!!!’

Basically, committing to ageing disgracefully is the best thing Madonna could’ve ever done.

For those still unable to stomach it, you’re only missing out. Because when Madonna asks the rest of us to meet her on the dance floor, we know it’d be foolish to turn down the invitation.

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